Beshear challenges law shifting fair board appointment power

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has asked a judge to strike down a Republican-backed law eroding his appointment authority over the state fair board. The measure transferred power to appoint a majority of the board’s members to the agriculture commissioner. The current commissioner is Republican Ryan Quarles. Beshear and a member of his cabinet are challenging the law. Their lawsuit says the majority of appointments to executive branch boards have been reserved for the governor as the state’s chief magistrate under the Kentucky Constitution. Quarles says on social media the governor “refuses to accept laws” enacted by the legislature.