As Governor Laura Kelly mulls her next steps after Friday’s veto session came to a close — including the prospect of vetoing the new emergency powers structure passed by lawmakers — two Republican lawmakers representing Lyon County are speaking out on why they supported the measure.
Senate Vice President and 17th District Senator Jeff Longbine says the legislation in question was a fix devised after a Kansas Supreme Court ruling from six weeks ago that faulted the Legislative Coordinating Council’s decision to override the governor’s limit on church and funeral gatherings. Part of that ruling, Longbine said, indicated a possibility the governor’s executive orders ran counter to state law.
The bill passed by both chambers early Friday has the governor applying to the State Finance Council if she wants to issue a state of disaster emergency after the current declaration ends May 31. 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber says the emergency powers are now set up so the State Finance Council can approve “rolling 30-day extensions” from the governor instead of approving one and then having the full Legislature vote on a longer extension.
Schreiber says the spate of executive orders issued by the governor over the last two months have Republicans concerned.
Schreiber’s concern is making sure there are no issues for the State Emergency Operations Center. He wants to look at the entire emergency declaration process and has suggested forming a committee to study the matter further.
Kelly also questioned the legality of the bills — including the one on emergency powers — that passed after midnight, when sine die was supposed to take effect. Schreiber voted against continuing the session, saying most lawmakers “needed a rest” and it wasn’t good lawmaking to continue past midnight. Longbine believes there shouldn’t be a problem with the legality of the votes, but if there is a challenge and it’s upheld, a special session may be needed and the end result may well be the same as what lawmakers passed.
51st District Representative Ron Highland and 76th District Representative Eric Smith have been unavailable for comment.
