Kansas Republicans want to give counties power to overrule Kelly’s pandemic directives

Kansas counties would have the power to disregard Gov. Laura Kelly’s coronavirus restrictions under a bill Republican lawmakers will try to pass Thursday.

Senate GOP leaders outlined their plans to curb the Democratic governor’s pandemic emergency powers on Wednesday. The bill itself is still being written and could be amended during debate.

“She can certainly make recommendations, but what we are trying to do is make sure a one size fits all is not the direction that we’re going,” Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine, an Emporia Republican, said.

The bill, as described by Republicans, would add to the patchwork of local rules and requirements that have proliferated since Kelly launched her phased-in reopening plan in early May. The governor’s blueprint allows local governments to be more restrictive – but not less – than her statewide standards.

The GOP legislation would free counties to create their own standards, either more or less restrictive. The measure would effectively strip Kelly of her power to set the pace of the state’s reopening. Republicans, most prominently Senate President Susan Wagle, have complained that Kelly’s rules are discriminatory, allowing some businesses to reopen while keeping others shut.

“We have plenty of hospital space to take care of ICU beds, we have plenty of ventilators and people want to go back to work,” Wagle said.

Republicans have honed in on the fact that many Kansas counties have few confirmed coronavirus cases. Several rural counties, primarily in the western half of the state, have none. Statewide, at least 8,539 cases have been reported as of Wednesday, resulting in 178 deaths.

Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, said the virus doesn’t respect geopolitical boundaries.

“In a transient society, if someone travels in between two counties, then they can become a carrier,” Haley said.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell said it would be “great” to devolve decision making to the county level.

A former state senator, O’Donnell said he talked with House Speaker Ron Ryckman on Friday about “giving us a little more authority and just giving us the ability to work with our partners in the community to find out what’s the right fit for Sedgwick County when it comes to reopening our economy.”

O’Donnell said he’s seen some of that from Kelly with her lifting of rules this week that had shut down museums, theaters and other attractions.

But Kelly, who was in Washington on Wednesday to meet with President Donald Trump, has previously said that orders without the ability to enforce them are “toothless.”

Kelly’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, has urged legislators to not rush through significant changes without proper vetting. He acknowledged that a comprehensive review of the COVID-19 response is needed, but said changes in the middle of the emergency could create unforeseen issues that jeopardize the health and safety of Kansans.

“Even as we are carefully re-opening the state, there have been many reports of the potential for a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall. The state must be able to continue to plan for this and continue to identify and obtain resources to be prepared,” Lawrence said in written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Kelly has exercised broad emergency powers during the pandemic, including closing school buildings and suspending some evictions and foreclosures. She has prohibited large gatherings and for weeks closed non-essential businesses to slow the spread of the virus.

It wasn’t immediately clear how far the Republican legislation would go in limiting many of the non-controversial orders the governor has issued, such as suspending regulations on telemedicine. Lawmakers have appeared most concerned with restrictions on the ability of businesses to reopen.

Republicans have also raised concerns with how Kelly’s orders can be enforced through criminal prosecutions. State law currently makes violations of a governor’s emergency orders a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, is writing a legal opinion on whether the law allowing prosecutors to enforce violations of the emergency orders is constitutional.

The Eagle’s Dion Lefler contributed reporting

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 4:58 PM.