A JOINT RESOLUTION limiting the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to participate in litigation only pertaining to interests particular to his or her office.

2025 Regular Session

Limits the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to office-specific litigation; only the Attorney General may bring federal cases for the Commonwealth, voiding noncompliant actions.

to State Government (H)

#attorneygeneral #civilactions #federallawsandregulations #governor #lieutenantgovernor

Summary — HJR 64 (2024/2025): Limits on Governor and Lieutenant Governor Litigation Authority

Bill type: Joint Resolution
Primary sponsor: Rep. Carns
Subject areas: Attorney General, civil actions, federal laws/regulations, Governor, Lieutenant Governor
Jurisdiction: Commonwealth of Kentucky
Status (selected): Filed 11/12/2024; introduced in House Feb 19, 2025; reported by committees Feb–Mar 2025; delivered to Governor Mar 5, 2025; enacted Mar 19, 2025.

Purpose

HJR 64 seeks to restrict the Governor and Lieutenant Governor from initiating or participating in litigation on behalf of the Commonwealth except where the litigation concerns interests particular to the Governor’s or Lieutenant Governor’s office. The resolution centralizes authority to bring or participate in federal-court litigation regarding federal executive action with the Attorney General.

Key provisions

Section 1: Limits the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to participating in litigation only to defend or vindicate interests particular to their individual offices (i.e., not to serve as general litigators for the Commonwealth).

Section 2: States that, notwithstanding KRS 12.210, only the Attorney General may bring or participate in litigation on behalf of the Commonwealth in federal court when the suit concerns federal executive action or seeks relief from such action.

Section 3: Declares any action by the Governor or Lieutenant Governor contrary to Sections 1 or 2 to be void. Authorizes the Attorney General to enforce the resolution, including by intervening in court as the sole party empowered to represent the public interest and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth.

The text references KRS 15.020 (Attorney General duties) and cites the U.S. Supreme Court decision Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center (2022) regarding the role of state attorneys general.

Who is affected

Governor and Lieutenant Governor: restricts their ability to commence or join litigation on matters beyond their office-specific interests.

Attorney General: consolidates or reaffirms chief responsibility for representing the Commonwealth, particularly in federal suits addressing federal executive actions.

Commonwealth agencies and political subdivisions: may see representation centralized in the Attorney General’s office and limited ability of the executive to separately litigate.

Existing and future cases: suits initiated by the Governor/Lt. Governor that fall outside the new limits could be challenged as void; the AG is empowered to intervene.

Potential impact and notes

Centralizes litigation authority and could reduce parallel or conflicting state litigation by executive officers.

May affect state participation in multi-state lawsuits or challenges to federal regulations where the Governor previously acted independently.

Enforcement mechanism vests the Attorney General with authority to intervene and seek voiding of contrary actions.

This resolution expresses a statutory policy allocation of litigation authority among state executives; implementation and any judicial review could involve procedural and constitutional questions if disputes arise.