Kentucky governor vetoes nuclear energy legislation due to the method of selecting board members

abcnews.go.com:

Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed legislation promoting nuclear energy in coal-producing Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday vetoed legislation promoting nuclear energy in coal-producing Kentucky, but stressed his objections dealt with an advisory board and not with the use of nuclear power.

Beshear said he supports an “all-of-the-above” energy policy that includes nuclear energy. For generations, coal fueled the state's economy but its dominance has slipped. Supporters of adding nuclear energy to that mix had touted the bill's passage as a pivotal moment for Kentucky's energy future.

The governor's criticism focused on the method to select voting members on the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority, which would nurture the development of nuclear power. Many of the members would be designated by private sector groups, bypassing the appointment authority of the governor or other state constitutional officers, Beshear said.

“The legislature can’t just say ’you in this position in the private sector and you in that position on a private sector association are automatically on a board' and then given governing authority,” the governor said at a news conference. «That’s not the way the executive branch works, not the way that the power can be delegated to carry out the law.”

Senate Bill 198 was among a small batch of vetoes announced by the Democratic governor. The Republican supermajority legislature reconvenes in mid-April for the final two days of this year's session, when lawmakers can vote to override vetoes. Beshear has signed a number of bills and continues to review stacks of other measures.

The nuclear bill's sponsor, Republican state Sen. Danny Carroll, noted that it drew bipartisan support