Republicans extend Kelly’s pandemic power, but vow ‘dictator’ won’t control everything

Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to reopen Kansas, which keeps some statewide coronavirus restrictions in place while lifting others, will continue until at least May 26 while Republican legislators try to limit her authority.

GOP leaders made clear Wednesday they plan to rewrite the state’s emergency management laws when the Legislature returns next week in response to executive orders that have closed businesses and limited religious services.

During a bitter hour-long conference call, the State Finance Council – chaired by Kelly and made up of top Republican and Democratic legislators – voted along party lines to extend the governor’s emergency authority for 12 days instead of the maximum of 30 allowed by law.

The shorter extension means Kelly will be unable to carry out her entire reopening plan, which is designed to last until at least mid-June, unless the full Legislature approves a further extension when it reconvenes on May 21.

It also sets up a possible standoff between the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The time frame puts pressure on Kelly to sign any bill the Legislature passes if she wants her emergency powers to continue. At the same time, lawmakers can’t override a veto because the Legislature is only meeting for one day.

“It would be in your best interest to sign it because if you don’t then it expires,” Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, told Kelly.

Kelly responded that “my best interests are not what’s at stake here. It’s the interests of the citizens of the state of Kansas.” Previously in the call, she suggested Republicans were attempting to gain leverage over her.

Since the coronavirus swept into Kansas in March, 7,468 people have tested positive and 164 have died. In response, Kelly has twice issued disaster declarations that have granted her broad power to waive regulations and impose stringent rules to slow the spread of the virus. She didn’t say whether she would issue another declaration if the current one expires.

For weeks, Kansans were ordered to stay home except for essential trips and non-essential businesses were closed. School buildings were closed. For a time, in-person religious gatherings of more than 10 were prohibited, leading a federal judge to block the requirement before the regulation expired.

On May 4, Kelly began implementing a multi-phase reopening. Kansas is currently in phase one, which allowed restaurants to begin offering limited dine-in services and retail stores to reopen with social distancing measures. Kansas could move to phase two, which would further relax rules, next week. Kelly said she expects to announce whether that will happen late Thursday or early Friday.

Republican members of the State Finance Council said they want the Legislature to consider a bill that would impose fresh limits on the governor’s authority but gave few specifics.

“We won’t allow one dictator to determine everything,” Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican who is also running for U.S. Senate, said. “We will have a check and a balance of power and we will make sure we move forward protecting Kansans from the virus and making sure our economy opens, people go back to work and can once again make a living.”

Kelly, sounding exasperated, warned against rushing through a significant overhaul of the state’s emergency management laws in a single day. She urged lawmakers to consider also developing a resolution that would extend her emergency powers in case of problems.

The governor said the implications of the process “getting screwed up” and being left without a disaster declaration “is beyond what I can describe to you.”

Both House and Senate committees are expected to hold hearings in the coming days on the governor’s emergency authority.

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 5:30 PM.