FRANKFORT, Ky. — Following override votes on six of his vetoes Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear has sued Republican legislative leaders over a series of bills that directly impact his ability to deal with the coronavirus.

“Today, the General Assembly attempted to surrender to COVID-19 and accept the casualties,” Beshear said. “As your governor, I cannot let this happen.”

The six bills lawmakers gave final approval on Tuesday would limit the governor’s power in some way:

• House Bill 1: Allows businesses and schools to reopen as long as they follow CDC guidelines or the governor’s executive orders, whichever is more lenient.
• House Bill 2: Gives the Kentucky Attorney General more authority to enforce abortion regulations.
• House Bill 3: Requires constitutional challenges to state law to be heard in the county they’re filed in instead of in Franklin Circuit Court, where the state capitol is and where a majority of the state’s main offices are.
• House Bill 5: Limits the governor’s ability to reorganize state boards.
• Senate Bill 1: Limits a governor’s emergency orders to 30 days unless they convene a special session to consider extending them.
• Senate Bill 2: Creates more legislative oversight on the governor’s emergency powers.

Beshear’s lawsuit involves House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, and Senate Bill 2.

MORE: Gov. Beshear's lawsuit against Republican legislative leaders

Republican House Speaker David Osborne said the lawsuit isn’t surprising, and it doesn’t have any merit.

“We did not repeal a single executive order with anything we passed today. We didn’t pass or repeal a single emergency order with the legislation we passed today,” Osborne said. “We set a framework for how we would deal with this going forward. When this would become of consequence, quite frankly, is when we leave in March.”

For the most part, Democrats voted against each bill Tuesday.

Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) said House Bill 1 effectively creates a new set of guidelines for businesses to follow in Kentucky.

“I find this bill to be confusing, I find it to be reckless, and I think this bill will lead to more loss of life,” Roberts said.

Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville) pushed back against Senate Bill 1.

Senate President Robert Stivers defended Senate Bill 1, saying the state constitution requires more legislative input.

“This is a prudent vote for the people who are elected to set the policy in this state; to be consulted in the future about the direction, even if it takes a called special session,” Stivers said.

Lawmakers have passed seven bills so far. Senate Bill 9 — a bill requiring doctors to do all they can to keep an infant alive after they survive an abortion attempt or other life-threatening birth situations — was not signed by the governor and went into law automatically after the veto deadline passed.

The bills passed Tuesday all have emergency clauses, meaning they’re supposed to take effect immediately, but Beshear argues in his lawsuit that because he vetoed the measures, the constitution says they can’t go into effect until 90 days after the session ends.