Concerns about extending the COVID-19 state of disaster for Kansas are now of high importance to lawmakers after the Kansas Supreme Court sided with Governor Laura Kelly in a dispute over gathering sizes at churches and funerals.
The Supreme Court said the Legislative Coordinating Council did not have the authority to override the governor because the concurrent resolution outlining the LCC’s powers and the length of the current state of disaster was badly structured and just as badly worded. On KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment Tuesday, 76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington said the goal was to provide a check and balance on the added power granted to the governor. He says a fix is needed and it’s easy to see where.
The fix, however, will have to take place in the Statehouse as opposed to online. That’s a major concern to Smith, who says upwards of 300 people — lawmakers included — would have to go to the Capitol once the veto session begins. Lawmakers are supposed to go back to session April 27. The current state of disaster ends May 1.
The stay-home order ends Sunday, and Governor Kelly has strongly indicated she would extend it. If it’s not extended, Kansas could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.
