A bill limiting how much outside attorneys can earn when hired by the state was passed by Kentucky's Republican lawmakers on Thursday, despite objections that it would hurt the attorney general's ability to win large awards from corporate wrongdoers.
The House voted 57-36 to send House Bill 198 to Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
The measure also would apply to the governor's office and other statewide constitutional offices, but the debate focused on the attorney general's office.
It would set limits on contingency fees paid to outside lawyers.
Supporters said the aim is to return as much money as possible from settlements or judgments to benefit those hurt by a transgressor's actions.
Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear has said the limits could hamper recruiting outside attorneys whose expertise can help win large awards for the state.
When outside lawyers are hired, they don't get paid unless they win the lawsuit. They sign a contract with the Attorney General's office that guarantees them a certain percentage from a settlement or judgment.
The measure would apply to future contracts. Under the bill, those fees would be capped at 20 percent of a settlement or judgment up to $10 million. Fee percentages would shrink for amounts above $10 million.
Those cases can yield potentially lucrative judgments, but often pit the state against corporations with vast resources and high-powered legal teams.
Attorneys general sometimes hire outside lawyers to help with big cases, as Beshear has done in suing pharmaceutical distributors he accuses of inundating Kentucky with dangerously addictive opioid painkillers.
Democratic Rep. Angie Hatton of Whitesburg talked about the devastation caused by drug overdoses in her eastern Kentucky district. She said the bill's fee limits would curtail the AG's ability to win lawsuits against drug companies.
"We are never going to do anything about our drug problem if we don't hit the big pharmaceutical companies where it hurts," she said.
Rep. Kevin Sinnette, a Democrat from Ashland, said the bill would result in "handcuffing our attorney general on doing what is he constitutionally elected to do."
Republican Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville said his bill aims to make sure hiring outside counsel is necessary, that the contracts are transparent and injured Kentuckians are the biggest beneficiaries of awards.
Rep. Jim DuPlessis, a Republican from Elizabethtown, said the outside lawyers could still earn millions of dollars in contingency fees — enough for them "to go to bat for us as a state."
"This is a common-sense, small-government, little-guy bill that puts more money back into the people's hands," he said.
This story has been updated.
