All Democrats voted against the proposal and were joined by nine Republicans. The bill could pass out of the Senate by Wednesday, Republican leaders said.
House Bill 1 would allow regional universities and "quasi" state agencies to avoid a massive spike in pension costs and incentivize them to freeze pension benefits for their employees and move them into 401k-type retirement plans.
The attorney general charges that the governor's proclamation calling lawmakers into special session is too narrowly drawn and doesn't allow the General Assembly to consider alternate proposals for dealing with the pension crisis.
The governor's proclamation calling a special session is tailored so lawmakers will likely only be able to consider a proposal that Bevin has hammered out with Republican leaders of the legislature.
Michael Broihier announced his candidacy Thursday. Like Amy McGrath, he is a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and entered politics with an evocative video aimed at national, small-dollar fundraising.
As a candidate in 2015, Bevin initially said he would abolish the expansion, then said he would request a waiver of federal Medicaid rules so beneficiaries would have "skin in the game" through premiums, co-payments, deductibles or health savings accounts. After he was elected, he added "community engagement" requirements including work, but those have been blocked in federal court.
