Governor Andy Beshear signed eight bills on Tuesday, including measures to provide tougher penalties for child robbers, prohibit solitary confinement for pregnant inmates, and facilitate pension payments for quasi-government agencies such as rape crisis centers and health departments.

Beshear also vetoed five bills, including one that would restrict requests for open records outside of the state and another that would take away food aid from non-caring parents who are arrears on child support.

Beshear said the bills he rejected were not in the “public interest or would be against the constitution”.

Legislators are currently on a 10-day hiatus during the legislature while Beshear contemplates vetoing or signing bills passed so far this year.

Republicans control at least 75% of the seats in both legislative houses and can easily override Beshear’s vetoes during the last two days of the March 29th and 30th session

On Monday, Beshear vetoed five bills that would restrict his powers, including one that would remove his power to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate.

Republican House spokesman David Osborne said Beshear “has no intention of working with someone who might differ in their opinion”.

“It is clear that he wants to continue dictating inconsistent and arbitrary guidelines behind a desk in the Capitol. The executive is just one of the three branches of government in our state and each has a specific responsibility and authority, ”Osborne wrote in a statement.

Earlier this year, Beshear rejected several bills that would remove his emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic. Legislators have overridden these vetoes, but a court has blocked parts of the measures while a lawsuit is being initiated against them.

Here are the bills Beshear signed on Tuesday:

• Senate Act 66 to strengthen background checks on workers in youth camps.
• Senate Act 64, which increases penalties for online child robbers.
• House Bill 472, extending the statute of limitations for crimes against children from five to ten years
• House Bill 7, creating a body to set standards for recovery in Kentucky to step up their drug abuse prevention and treatment efforts.
• House Bill 273, excluding photos and videos of death, rape, or abuse from Kentucky’s Open Records Act.
• Senate Bill 84, prohibiting solitary confinement for pregnant inmates in Kentucky prisons.

Here are the bills that Beshear vetoed on Tuesday:

• House Bill 475, which prevents Kentucky’s Occupational Health and Safety Commission from enacting safety regulations that are stricter than federal regulations.
• Senate Bill 65, which takes away food aid from non-caring parents if they default on child support payments. Beshear called it a “cruel bill” that deprives children of food benefits.
• House Bill 312, which restricts requests for non-governmental records and gives the legislature final authority to release its own records.
• House Bill 272, which allows water districts to charge 10% late fees despite the state moratorium on late fees during the pandemic.
• House Bill 105, which creates procedures for establishing accountability for abandoned and destroyed real estate.