LEXINGTON, Ky. — The GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate has seized new authority over who will lead the state's wildlife management agency under legislation that responds to years of political controversy surrounding the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The changes, outlined in House Bill 10, grant the Senate final approval over employment contracts for future heads of the department, a power previously held exclusively by the nine-member Fish and Wildlife Commission. Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the measure as an attempt to "assert political control over the Governor's appointments," but the Republican supermajority easily overrode his veto.

The shift stems from long-standing tensions involving current Commissioner Rich Storm. In 2019, the commission interviewed eight candidates for the top job before controversially hiring Storm, who was serving as the commission's chair at the time. Storm had asked to be considered after the commission had named three finalists.

"When things are chaotic, when there's personal agendas running amok, when it's affecting the efficacy of the agency — we get the flags, we get the complaints, and we feel compelled to act," said Sen. Robin Webb, R-Grayson, a member of the legislature's Sportsmen's Caucus who helped shape the new language into law.

The controversy intensified recently around Chuck Meade, chair of the Fish and Wildlife Commission, who has expressed interest in becoming commissioner. The Kentucky attorney general's office demanded Meade's resignation in December, arguing he did not hold the required five consecutive years of hunting or fishing licenses. Meade countered that he had been hunting on his own farmland, where licenses are not required.

New laws now require Fish and Wildlife board members to wait two years before becoming eligible for the commissioner position and mandate they hold five consecutive years of hunting and fishing licenses. Future commissioner candidates must hold 10 consecutive years of licenses in Kentucky or another state. The laws also eliminate a farmland exemption from license requirements that was previously used to qualify for board service.

House Speaker Pro Tem David Meade, R-Stanford, said the changes ensure "all commissioners are now held to the same standard — requiring consistent, demonstrated participation through the purchase of a license over time."

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said it will comply with the new legislative requirements and remains focused on its conservation mission.