Lawmakers are at loggerheads over how to proceed with the search for a new Legislative Research Commission director.
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo says a draft audit of the troubled organization by the National Conference on State Legislatures identified the basic problems and right now the commission is a “rudderless ship” without a leader. Wednesday lawmakers failed to pass a motion that would form a search committee for a new director.
"We, much like a board of directors of a giant corporation, are divided on certain issues, so we need an implementor and that's what a director would be," the speaker told reporters.
But Republican Senate President Robert Stivers says he can’t support the search without assurances that the NCSL will produce a more detailed report comparing Kentucky’s LRC model with those in other states. He told reporters it comes down to ensuring that a nonpartisan environment inside the commission.
"This is critical information that we deal with. We make multimillion and multibillion dollar decisions... based on our philosophies and positions, be it Democrat or Republican, House or Senate. We want to make sure we're getting impartial information," Stivers said.
House and Senate leadership must now work behind the scenes to clarify what, if any, additional reporting the NCSL must produce.