Bluegrass Institute praises legislature for overriding governor’s veto of legislation ending government collection of union dues, political contributions

The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions (BIPPS) issued the following statement in response to today’s vote by the legislature to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 7,  which prohibits government employers from automatically deducting union dues and political contributions from the paychecks of teachers and other public employees.

Despite the governor’s attempt in his veto message to distort the purpose of this bill, we commend legislators for ending the practice of directly transmitting taxpayer dollars in the form of union dues and political contributions from government payrolls to public-sector union coffers.

Senate Bill 7 does not prevent the collection of union dues or political contributions. However, it removes government involvement altogether and requires unions to collect these funds directly from employees, who have the right to decide whether membership is beneficial to them.

These funds are used to support political organizations and activities which members may not support.

Neither does the bill prevent the deduction of donations for charitable causes.

SB 7 also requires unions to provide their members with an annual spending report, which will reveal how membership dues’ monies get spent.

The Bluegrass Institute thanks the GOP leaders in both chambers  for their unwavering support and leadership to achieve this important policy reform.

We also commend the efforts of Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, and Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, for their hard work in shepherding this policy change through their respective chambers.

For more information or comment, please contact Bluegrass Institute president and CEO Jim Waters at (270) 320-4376 or jwaters@freedomkentucky.com.