The Kansas Supreme Court says the Legislative Coordinating Council did not have the authority to override Governor Laura Kelly’s executive order capping the number of people attending church gatherings or funerals.
In a 14-page ruling issued almost 12 hours after it started an extraordinary Saturday morning hearing, the high court sided with the governor after she announced her lawsuit Thursday and the Coordinating Council voted Wednesday. The original issue was the vote to override, but the Supreme Court focused both on the timing of a concurrent resolution approved by both legislative leaders and the governor which required the State Finance Council to act first — it hasn’t acted at all — and the resolution’s language.
The Supreme Court ruling aligned with part of Kelly’s chief legal counsel Clay Britton’s opening argument.
Representing the Coordinating Council, Brad Schlozman argued the language involved “did not reflect everyone’s understanding” but it was written so the Coordinating Council would have the power to override the governor.
The Supreme Court’s ruling pre-empted other legal questions as brought up during oral arguments, such as whether a concurrent resolution passed by the Legislature can delegate its oversight authority to the Coordinating Council under the Kansas Emergency Management Act; whether state law creating and enabling the LCC affects the Emergency Management Act’s framework; and whether the executive order was legally valid or constitutional despite its limits on religious gatherings.
In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Dan Biles questioned the legality of the concurrent resolution, saying proper measures were not taken to enact it. Writing separately, Justice Caleb Stegall concurred with the majority, saying the resolution itself was flawed to the point of being “textual hash” and expressing concerns all involved knew of the potential issues after a conversation with Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington says the textual issues upended the Legislature’s plans. To Smith, a big question is how the oversight process moves forward.
Smith says some people will think the Supreme Court ruled against religious freedoms, but that was never part of this particular lawsuit. Both sides in the case declined to link any religious freedom concerns to the case, saying those issues should be addressed in another pleading.
Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine and 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber, both of Emporia, have not commented. 51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego is declining comment at this time.
House leadership says it will honor the Supreme Court’s decision, but it says the action forces the state’s emergency disaster declaration to end May 1, possibly putting federal disaster aid in jeopardy. House Republicans also said Kelly’s decision to go to court instead of reaching a compromise agreement “has created a new level of uncertainty that does nothing to help our state through this crisis.”
Click here to read the Supreme Court’s opinions.
Click here for KVOE News’ story after Saturday’s oral arguments.
