Deborah Yetter, and Tom Loftus

The Courier-Journal

Stunning advocates who have fought for years for a law to get better help for severely mentally ill people, Gov. Matt Bevin on Monday vetoed a bill known as "Tim's Law" aimed at ending the cycle of jail, hospitalization and homelessness experienced by some who don't get proper treatment.

Advocates were shocked by the veto of Senate Bill 91, which passed with near-unanimous approval in the House and Senate this legislative session. It allows a judge to order outpatient treatment for up to a year for some people unable to recognize the severity of their mental illness and with a history of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization.

"It's a real kick in the gut," said Sheila Schuster, a longtime mental health advocate with a group called the Advocacy Action Network. "We think the governor has been misinformed."

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Bevin, in his veto order, called the law "a dangerous precedent that would threaten the liberty of Kentucky's citizens."

The governor's veto message appears to echo concerns voiced in the past by state public defenders that such measures might encroach on individual civil liberties.

Ed Monahan, head of the state's Department of Public Advocacy, has also acknowledged his concern that such a law would add to the workload of his department's already overloaded public defenders.

Schuster said judges already have the power to order someone committed to a psychiatric hospital and "Tim's Law" — named for a Lexington man, Tim Morton, who died after years of cycling through jails and hospitals — provides better care by allowing a judge to order outpatient care as well.

Schuster said 44 states already have similar measures in place and Kentucky is not breaking any new ground.

"We're bringing up the rear," she said.

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Schuster said supporters had no idea the governor was considering a veto and had been planning to ask Bevin to hold a ceremonial bill signing to celebrate passage of the law.

Now Schuster said mental health advocates instead are urging people to call lawmakers and ask the General Assembly to override Bevin's veto of the bill, which passed 95-0 in the House and 34-3 in the Senate.

The measure is sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, a Louisville Republican and chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Schuster said she learned Monday night from Adams that Bevin planned to veto the bill.

Adams didn't respond to a request for comment but in a Twitter post about the veto said, "I'm so disappointed. Beyond words."

Lawmakers meet Wednesday and Thursday of this week for the final two days of the 2017 legislative session.

The toll-free legislative number is 1-800-372-7181.

House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell, R-Lancaster, noted the bill passed the House unanimously, but said the bill and veto must be carefully reviewed before he could predict whether the House would override the veto.

“It seems to be something that we need in the state, and I trust Sen. Adams and her expertise in this field. ... And we didn’t hear any concerns about it during the legislative process," Shell said. "But there may be something that’s in the bill that we didn’t recognize. … My guess is that unless there is just something overtly wrong with it, we’ll consider veto-overriding it, but right now there’s no definitive answer to that.”

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Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, a Georgetown Republican, said he was surprised by Bevin's veto of Tim's Law and said he expected the Senate's GOP leaders to discuss Wednesday whether to seek an override.

Bevin, questioned by reporters at an afternoon appearance, said it's up to lawmakers to decide whether to try to override his vetoes.

"It's certainly their prerogative," he said.

The veto was one of four issued by Bevin on Monday, according to the General Assembly's website. The other three measures he vetoed were:

» House Bill 540: A bill that deals with regulation of drones. Bevin called this “a well-intentioned, but premature piece of legislation that is pre-empted by federal law. Substantial air safety issues are raised when state or local governments attempt to regulate the operation or flight of aircraft.” Bevin called the bill an “unnecessary and overly restrictive” measure that “sends the wrong message to a growth industry with tremendous potential in the commonwealth.”

» A line item within House Bill 471 that would have mandated all funds Kentucky receives from Volkswagon Mitigation Trust Agreement be held in an account that could not be spent without "the express authority of the General Assembly." Bevin called this overly restrictive language. He said his administration will adhere to the agreement itself and spend the money “to the greatest benefit of the commonwealth."

» Senate Joint Resolution 57, which names a number of roads in honor of people or historic events. Bevin said the naming of one road — the proposed Copperhead Trail in McCreary and Whitley counties — falls outside the Transportation Cabinet’s road naming policies. Bevin said this name “deviates from precedent in that it does not represent something of historical significance.”

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at 502-582-4228 or at dyetter@courier-journal.com. Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at 502-875-5136 or tloftus@courier-journal.com.

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