Gov. Andy Beshear surveys damage in Prospect from Tuesday's severe weather. (Gov. Andy Beshear X account)

Gov. Andy Beshear said a Kenton County resident died in a car accident as a result of the severe storms and tornadoes that swept Kentucky Tuesday, while emergency management officials have reported no other major injuries or deaths.

Beshear in a Wednesday news conference praised emergency management officials, first responders and utility workers for their response during the severe weather outbreak.?

“This storm and the tornadoes involved had statewide impacts hitting numerous areas,” Beshear said. “I am so thankful that Kentuckians have remained so weather aware.”?

The governor said the Kenton County death occurred “when this first line of strong storms and rain were coming through” and that the death of the young man was a “tragic occurrence.”?

Beshear said federal weather officials are still surveying, but preliminary National Weather Service surveys have confirmed separate EF-1 tornadoes in Anderson, Nelson, Jessamine and Bourbon counties, along with another EF-1 tornado that hit the city of Prospect in Jefferson and Oldham counties. Other counties including some in Eastern Kentucky could have tornado damage, he said. He said he thinks at least seven tornadoes will be confirmed once surveys are done.?

The governor said states of emergency requests had been received from Union County in the west to Elliott County in the east. Cities across the state had also declared states of emergency including Ashland, Louisville, Mount Vernon and Catlettsburg.?

Additionally, Beshear urged Kentuckians to take photos and document any damage before cleaning up in an effort to help the state qualify for federal disaster assistance, particularly to qualify for individual assistance.

New legislative limits on administration’s emergency response spending

Beshear also renewed calls for the GOP-dominated state legislature to remove funding limits in the pending state budget for agencies responding to emergencies and disasters. Beshear said his administration wouldn’t have been able to respond to Tuesday’s storms in the way it did if such funding limits had been in place.

“We’ve made this plea to leadership on both sides. I admittedly don’t understand why it’s still in there when these are our Kentucky neighbors,” Beshear said, mentioning that if the funding limits remain in place he could have to call a special legislative session during emergencies to appropriate money for a response. “It’s just not smart policymaking.”

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, in an emailed statement through a spokesperson said Beshear already has “access to $100 million” in emergency spending. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to Lantern questions about if the $100 million referred to funding allocated in the current fiscal year or future fiscal years.

“If an emergency is so significant or tragic that it requires spending more than $100 million, the governor has a responsibility to call the General Assembly into a special session. Otherwise, he suggests we forgo our constitutional duties as the branch responsible for the purse of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Stivers said. “The cost of calling the General Assembly, your representatives in Frankfort, in for a special session would be pennies on the tens of millions of dollars we’d allocate and would ensure the governor’s collaboration with the legislative branch of government.”

Emails sent to a spokesperson for Republican leadership in the Kentucky House of Representatives asking about Beshear’s renewed calls were not immediately returned.?

The latest version of House Bill 6 — the state executive branch budget passed by the legislature on the last day before it adjourned for the veto period — sets various funding limits for emergency responses:

• A $4 million limit for “emergency forest fire suppression” in each fiscal year.
• A $50 million limit for each of the next two fiscal years on funds the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs can use to match federal disaster funding “in the event of a presidentially declared disaster or emergency.”
• A $25 million limit in each fiscal year for Kentucky National Guard operations when an “emergency or exigent situation” is declared by the governor.?

Beshear in a March press conference referenced the next budget’s $25 million funding limit on the Kentucky National Guard and said that lodging at General Butler State Park wouldn’t have been able to be opened for survivors of a Trimble County tornado if the funding limit imposed by the legislature was in place for the current fiscal year.

In a January letter sent to lawmakers, State Budget Director John Hicks said a $50 million limit on matching monies for federal aid hadn’t been exceeded in past fiscal years but could be exceeded in the current fiscal year. Hicks in his letter said a $4 million limit on “emergency forest fire suppression” has never been exceeded.?

This story has been updated with a statement from Senate President Robert Stivers.