A Johnson County judge says recent changes to state law that let residents sue cities and counties for using COVID-19 protocols leads to “the equivalent of legal anarchy” and says the changes are unconstitutional — thus eliminating that policy.
Senate Bill 40, passed by lawmakers and signed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly earlier this legislative session, lets residents file lawsuits if they feel “aggrieved” by the use of coronavirus mitigation strategies like mask usage and social distancing. Districts, cities and counties then have to prove they use “the most narrowly tailored” methods to maintain public health and safety. District courts that don’t have hearings in 72 hours and then have rulings in a week have their mitigation policies automatically thrown out.
Also as part of SB 40, all the governor’s executive sessions had to be reviewed by the Legislative Coordinating Council for final approval. The bill also granted emergency dispatchers first responder classification, a status they had sought for years.
The ruling from District Judge David Hauber followed a challenge to the Shawnee Mission School District’s mask policy. Last month, Hauber said said SB 40 likely had “significant constitutional challenges” because it deprived school districts, cities and counties of due process and told Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican candidate for governor who helped to draft the law, to explain the bill. Schmidt said those concerns were invalidated when the state’s emergency order was canceled by the Legislative Coordinating Council.
Hauber disagreed. He repeated his issues with due process concerns and added the law violated separation of powers between judicial and legislative branches of government.
Schmidt has already said he will appeal.
