Gov. Bevin: Kentucky counties will be 'screwed' without pension reform

Gov. Matt Bevin says Kentucky's counties will be "screwed" financially if the state's Supreme Court invalidates a new law making changes to the state's struggling pension systems.

The Republican governor said Wednesday that if the high court strikes down the pension law, it would be as "disregarding of the actual law and the authority of our legislature to make laws" as a lower-court judge who blocked it from taking effect.

Bevin's comments came during a hard-hitting speech at a conference of local government officials in Louisville. The governor warned that few counties will be able to afford the higher pension costs without the changes included in the embattled pension law.

Bevin also doubled down on his analogy that compared opponents of the pension changes to drowning victims.