Kansas Gov. Kelly backs bill limiting her COVID-19 powers after negotiations with GOP

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday she supports new legislation introduced by Republican leaders that would restrict her emergency powers but also keep the state’s pandemic response in place over the next several months.

The Democratic governor and GOP leaders both say the bill – expected to be debated in the Legislature later Wednesday – represents a compromise, a product of negotiations with high-ranking lawmakers that started last Thursday.

The deal paves the way for a potentially quick special session, which Kelly called after vetoing another bill limiting her powers. The governor said the first bill, passed after a frenetic 24-hour gathering of lawmakers, was unconstitutional because lawmakers voted after a midnight deadline.

Kelly offered only tepid praise for the new bill, even as she signaled she will sign it if passed.

“I will support this bipartisan bill that was created with input from Republicans, Democrats, and stakeholders that I believe will provide the framework our state needs as we continue on the path to recovery. To be clear, there are parts of this bill that I do not support,” Kelly said in a statement.

“However, my priority is and will always be the interests of Kansans first,” she said. “I believe that the majority of this legislation accomplishes that and upholds my commitment to work across the aisle to move our state forward.”

The House and Senate gaveled in at 8 a.m. Wednesday to begin what could be a lengthy day. House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican, told fellow GOP lawmakers in a caucus meeting that while he was disappointed Kelly vetoed the first bill, lawmakers have an obligation to “provide certainty and clarity for our state.”

In some ways, the proposal is more restrictive than what the Legislature previously approved. It prohibits the governor from closing businesses until Sept. 15, and after that only for 15 days unless the State Finance Council – comprised of top legislators and chaired by Kelly – authorizes an extension.

Business closures are at this point a moot question after Kelly lifted all statewide coronavirus restrictions last week. But a second wave of the virus, which public health officials anticipate in the future, could cause her to reconsider.

Like the first bill, counties would have the power to adopt rules to fight the coronavirus that are less strict than Kelly’s statewide standards.

New to the compromise proposal is a provision requiring the governor to obtain permission from the State Board of Education before closing schools. Kelly was the first governor in the nation this spring to close schools statewide for the rest of the academic year – a controversial move that health experts credit with slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The bill also contains a new section providing privacy protections to individuals who are contacted by health officials tracing the spread of the disease. Contract tracers would be prohibited from revealing the identify of an infected person to their contacts.

Under the deal, Kelly would have to receive permission from the State Finance Council before spending hundreds of millions in federal coronavirus relief funds. The old bill had the Legislative Coordinating Council – a panel made up of only legislative leaders – the power to block spending requests.

The governor’s expressed agreement with the new bill was one its chief selling point in a House Republican caucus meeting.

Ryckman said that accord should prevent any further legal disagreements like one that occurred the day before Easter, when the state Supreme Court ruled the LCC couldn’t overturn Kelly’s order limiting church gatherings to prevent COVID-19 spread.

“We’ll have a signature on this bill,” Ryckman said. “When we did this the first time with a House resolution, we had an agreement with the governor’s office that said that (she) would work with the LCC.. And we were taken to court . . . and while we were in court the chief counsel said to our Kansas Supreme Court justices that the only time you have an agreement with the governor (is when) we give her a bill and she signs it.”

A disappointment for some Republicans is that the bill contains no relief for Kansans who may be struggling to pay their property taxes because of job loss or closure of their business for COVID-related reasons.

At the almost-24-hour marathon meeting May 21-22, a bill passed separately from the main COVID-response package would have allowed counties to forgive interest and penalties on unpaid property tax payments that were due May 10, as long as the bills were paid by August 10.

Kelly vetoed that and Rep. Barb Wasinger, of Hays, said she wants it added to the new bill.

“I want that to be included, to help taxpayers,” she said. “I know that a lot of people are hurting very badly.”

Ryckman said there has been no discussion of that with the governor’s office because lawmakers involved in the negotiations didn’t know if Kelly would veto property tax relief at the time they hammered out the new bill.

This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 10:13 AM.