🎥 Kan. governor vetoes limits on her power but loosens rules

By JOHN D. HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Democratic governor on Tuesday vetoed a sweeping Republican coronavirus measure that would have limited her power to direct the state’s pandemic response but then ceded to local officials the authority to keep restrictions on businesses.

Gov. Laura Kelly not only killed a bill approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature last week but also issued a new state-of- emergency declaration to replace one set to expire Tuesday night. Many Republicans question whether she has the legal authority to do that — and retain the governor’s broad emergency powers — so her action is likely to keep an intense partisan dispute burning and risk a potential court challenge.

Kelly also is heightening the potential conflict with GOP leaders by calling the Legislature back into special session on June 3 to extend the new state of emergency past June 10. However, Republicans have a long list of proposals, including shielding businesses and health care providers from possible coronavirus-related lawsuits.

Lawmakers ended their 2020 session in a single, frenzied 24-hour stretch after reconvening Thursday from a coronavirus-mandated spring break that started March 20. Kelly called the process of pushing through the coronavirus bill “messy, confusing and complicated.”

“The bill is purported to address the pandemic but instead would make a mess of the state’s ability to respond in times of crisis,” Kelly said during a news conference.

Kelly joined fellow Democratic governors in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in facing a strong backlash from Republicans over their handling of the pandemic. The others govern in swing states important to President Donald Trump’s reelection, but he won Kansas handily in 2016 and is expected to carry it again this year.

Because lawmakers are out of session, they can’t challenge Kelly’s veto, though the special session gives them a chance to try again to curb her power.

The bill Kelly vetoed would have required her to get the permission of legislative leaders to extend the state of emergency through June or continue closing businesses for more than 15 days.

The measure also would have given legislative leaders the final say over how the state spends $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds. They called it necessary oversight; Kelly said it would delay the money’s distribution.

The bill also would have shielded businesses and medical providers from lawsuits, a priority of Republicans nationally.

Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican and a vocal Kelly critic, declared victory because Kelly also is converting her mandate for a phased reopening of the state’s economy into merely a set of recommendations for the state’s 105 counties. Kelly had planned to keep some restrictions until at least June 23, and county health officers will now decide what happens.

“Essentially, what we were wanting to do was to open up business,” said Wagle, also a U.S. Senate candidate. “She spent a lot of time condemning our work, but we’ve won.”

Republicans believe Kelly has moved too slowly to reopen the state’s economy and has too aggressively imposed restrictions. She imposed a statewide stay-at-home order from March 30 until May 4 before announcing a phased economic reopening.

Democrats objected to curbing Kelly’s power and said Republicans also were protecting substandard nursing homes and manufacturers of defective personal protective equipment from liability.

Kansas has seen its reported coronavirus cases increase by 76% since the statewide-stay-at-home order expired three weeks ago, to more than 9,200 as of Monday, the state health department said. Much of the increase has been driven by outbreaks among employees of meatpacking plans at a state prison outside Kansas City.

Kansas reports 188 COVID-19-related deaths, while Johns Hopkins University puts the number at 208.

The state’s top health official urged Kansans who joined large gatherings at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks during the Memorial Day weekend to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

Social media posts showed large crowds at pools, bars and restaurants near the lake without any social distancing or masks. Kelly said it’s not clear how many Kansans were there.

Governor Laura Kelly opened her new conference Tuesday afternoon saying the final day of the legislative session was the “most embarrassing, irresponsible display of government that we have witnessed throughout this ordeal.”

Kelly said state health officials will have “constant communication” with county health officers about restrictions on businesses going forward.

But she acknowledged that she turned the power to set restrictions over to county officials to persuade GOP lawmakers to extend the state of emergency she declared Tuesday.

Without a state of emergency, orders Kelly issued to deal with the pandemic would all expire, and she said Tuesday she would reissue some of them. However, the initial list released by her office Tuesday evening did not include a previous order banning evictions of people who can’t pay their rent and blocking foreclosures for people behind on their home mortgages.

State Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, issued a legal opinion last week saying Kansas law doesn’t allow multiple declarations during the same emergency. His opinion is non-binding, but could fuel a legal challenge.

The House’s Republican leaders issued a joint statement saying Kelly’s veto “does nothing but create more uncertainty and less stability for Kansas.”

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Democratic governor on Tuesday vetoed a sweeping coronavirus measure passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, ratcheting up a partisan dispute over her response to the pandemic and possibly setting up a court fight over her power to direct it.

Gov. Laura Kelly not only vetoed the measure approved by lawmakers in the last moments of their 2020 session to curb her emergency powers, but promised to issue a new emergency declaration to replace one that was set to expire. Many Republicans believe she doesn’t have the legal authority to do that.

Kelly also is heightening the conflict by calling the Legislature back into special session on June 3 to tackle coronavirus measures.

The bill was meant to shield businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits and take control of the state’s pandemic response from Gov. Laura Kelly, including decisions about how to spend $1.25 billion in federal relief funds.

The lawmakers’ last day in session lasted 24 hours straight. Kelly has called it the “most embarrassing, irresponsible display of government that we have witnessed throughout this ordeal.”

“The process was messy, confusing and complicated but it didn’t have to be,” Kelly said during a news conference Tuesday.

Democrats had objected to curbing Kelly’s power and shielding substandard nursing homes and manufacturers of defective personal protective equipment from liability.

The bill approved Friday required Kelly to get permission from legislative leaders to keep businesses closed for more than 15 days or to exercise other broad powers granted to governors during emergencies after May 31. Counties that could document a case for lesser restrictions could impose them.

Shielding businesses from lawsuits is a priority of Republicans and business groups nationally. Unions said the bill could grant “total immunity” and called it dangerous.

Because legislators adjourned for the year, they cannot override a Kelly veto. Republicans had hoped that passing a bill would box Kelly in because her existing state of emergency was set to expire Tuesday.

The bill would have extended the state of emergency through May 31, then required Kelly to seek permission from the Legislature to extend it.

If the state of emergency had ended, some 30 orders that Kelly issued would expire, including those banning evictions for people who can’t pay their rent during the pandemic and prohibiting utility cutoffs.

The state’s top health official meanwhile urged Kansans who joined large gatherings at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks during the Memorial Day weekend to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

Social media posts showed large crowds at pools, bars and restaurants near the lake without any social distancing or masks.

“The reckless behavior displayed during this weekend risks setting our community back substantially for the progress we’ve already made in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Lee Norman, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “If you traveled to Lake of the Ozarks over the weekend, we urge you to act responsibly and self-quarantine to protect your neighbors, coworkers and family.”

In a media release late Tuesday afternoon, the governor's office reported.

After careful review, Kelly has vetoed House Bill 2054. This sweeping, hastily crafted legislation pushed through the Kansas Legislature last week includes provisions that will damage Kansas’ ability to respond to COVID-19 and all future disasters. The bill also weakens local county health officer authorities and adds unnecessary layers of bureaucracy to their emergency response efforts.
Kelly has signed a new state disaster declaration to ensure that Kansas can effectively respond to the current emergency situation, which includes an unprecedented economic emergency and the imminent threat of new outbreaks of COVID-19, specifically regarding food supply. This will also ensure the state can continue its coordinated response with federal and state partners.
Kelly has called a special session starting June 3. She has asked the Legislature to put politics aside, work with her, and deliver an emergency management bill that has been vetted, debated, is transparent and addresses the need to keep Kansans safe and healthy.

“As I’ve said from day one, the safety and well-being of Kansans is my number one priority. What the Legislature sent to my desk does not protect Kansans. It does not help Kansans. It puts their lives at risk,” Kelly said. “I’m calling on the Legislature to come back and put a carefully crafted, bipartisan bill on my desk that will provide the resources Kansans need, in a timely manner. We must stop putting Kansans at risk.”

The new state disaster declaration addressing the current emergency enables Kansas to provide the following services through the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas National Guard and the federal government:

Allows National Guard members supporting numerous field missions throughout the state to serve communities in response to the disaster and threat. To date, a total of 678 National Guard personnel are supporting these missions.

Allows KDEM and National Guard to provide vital food support to communities and protect against threat of food supply shortages. Guard members have packed more than two million meals which are being distributed to food banks across Kansas.

Allows KDEM and National Guard to swiftly provide medical and non-medical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals, first responders and many more to combat the imminent threat of COVID-19 surges. To date, over 7,000 cases of PPE have been delivered across the state, which includes 3.2 million individual pieces of PPE. More will be needed to address the imminent threat of new outbreaks.

Allows KDEM to assist the Kansas Department of Corrections to provide support personnel – including medical and food preparation personnel.

· Allows KDEM to make deliveries of Remdesivir to counties across Kansas. So far, KDEM, along with their state agency partners which include the Kansas National Guard, Kansas Highway Patrol and Civil Air Patrol, have made 26 deliveries of Remdesivir to 10 counties. Remdesivir is delivered to hospitals to treat critical patients, and this service is potentially life-saving for those patients. KDEM makes these deliveries immediately when needed for patients throughout the state.

· Allows KDEM to continue providing non-congregate shelter for positive and exposed persons who are essential workers. There are currently 50 contracts related to non-congregate sheltering needed for the present disaster. Continuing to provide this support will mitigate the threat to the food supply and the threat of surges in COVID-19 infections.

· Allows medical workers and first responders to rely on the Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System to decontaminate their PPE. This system is provided by FEMA and continuing to provide this service will mitigate the threat of surges in COVID-19 infections.

· Allows KDEM to manage donations and warehouse space necessary to store PPE. This storage is necessary due to the threat of new COVID-19 outbreaks as statewide restrictions are lifted and the economy reopens.

· Allows KDHE to provide community-based testing under the State Emergency Response Plan. Increased testing will help the state mitigate the threat of, or respond to, future outbreaks and allows businesses, employees, and customers to resume economic activity with increased confident that outbreaks will be prevented or mitigated.

· Allows KDEM to continue transporting testing samples. KDEM has transported over 1,000 samples to state labs since April 29, 2020. By transporting the tests via KDEM couriers, the tests arrive at the lab the same date they are collected, and results are provided the following day. Without this same-day service, the results of the tests will be delayed and the ability to contact-trace will be severely limited, risking additional illness and death as well as economic insecurity.

· Allows KDEM to provide translation support. Currently, KDEM is providing 16 translators to support contact-tracing operations to mitigate the current and imminent threat of a new COVID-19 outbreak.

· Allows the Civil Air Patrol to continue to provide needed emergency transportation.

If the state disaster declaration is not extended by the Legislature within 15 days, the following significant problems will likely occur:

Possible closure of meat processing plants;
Inability to assist hog farmers with the euthanasia and disposal of excess hogs;
The loss of unemployment benefits;
Significant delay and possible frustration entirely of the economic recovery of the State;
Reduced PPE inventory for healthcare workers and first responders;
KDEM would be unable to receive, sort, package, and transport PPE and other commodities to health care workers and first responders;
Food shortage and an inability of state agencies to provide the various food programs needed to assist Kansans;
Reduced testing and a lack of timely test results;
Inability to conduct contact-tracing missions;
Increased outbreaks of COVID-19 in the prison population;
Increased outbreaks of COVID-19 in nursing homes;
Inability to service or transport ventilators or anesthesia machines;
Inability to coordinate mission assignments or take emergency actions necessary to deal with issues related to the current disaster;
No immunity for state employees or volunteers providing vital services;
Inability to initiate and maintain the Kansas Response Plan; and
Increased costs to the State of Kansas as a result of losing federal funding.

Under the new disaster declaration, the operative provisions of the following Executive Orders will be reissued:

20-08: Temporarily expanding telemedicine and addressing certain licensing requirements to combat the effects of COVID-19
20-12: Driver’s license and vehicle registration and regulation during public health emergency
20-13: Allowing certain deferred tax deadlines and payments during the COVID-19 pandemic
20-17: Temporary relief from certain unemployment insurance requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
20-19: Extending professional and occupational licenses during the COVID-19 pandemic
20-20: Temporarily allowing notaries and witnesses to act via audio-video communication technology
20-23: Licensure, Certification, and Registration for persons and Licensure of “Adult Care Homes” during public health emergency
20-27: Temporarily suspending certain rules relating to sale of alcoholic beverages
20-32: Temporary relief from certain restrictions concerning shared work programs
20-33: Extending conditional and temporary relief from certain motor carrier rules and regulations in response to COVID-19

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TOPEKA —Governor Laura Kelly held a press briefing Tuesday afternoon to discuss the latest updates regarding COVID-19. She responded to the legislatures's pandemic legislation and confirmed she will not sign the bill that would have given the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature control over the state’s pandemic response.

The Legislature approved the bill early Friday to limit Kelly’s emergency powers, including decisions on spending $1.25 billion in federal relief funds. Kelly vetoed the bill Tuesday.

The bill also would have shielded businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Republicans believe the Democratic governor is moving too slowly to reopen the state’s economy and has too aggressively imposed restrictions.

The current emergency declaration expires Tuesday night and the governor has issued a new disaster declaration.

She also is asking the state legislature to return to work to consider portions of the emergency management act.

The governor originally did not have a news conference scheduled Tuesday. At 11a.m., her office announced she would hold a briefing at 3p.m. She delayed the start until just after 3:30p.m.