TOPEKA – Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed six bills Friday afternoon, drawing the ire of Republican leadership who promised veto overrides when the Legislature reconvenes April 10.
House Democratic Leader Brandon Woodard, D-Lenexa, voiced support for the vetoes, citing concerns with power grabs, overreach and threats to public health in the bills.
Senate Bill 29 addresses the rights of the county or local health officer and others to prohibit gatherings of large groups for reasons of infectious disease.
“Taking away the authority of public health officials to prohibit public gatherings and issue quarantines when necessary for the control of infectious or contagious disease directly contradicts effective, evidence-based health intervention advice and would put the health and safety of Kansans at unnecessary risk,” Kelly said. “While this legislation is likely motivated by the politics coming out of the recent pandemic, it would cause actual harm in efforts to mitigate current outbreaks related to measles, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.”
Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, issued a joint statement condemning the governor’s “Friday afternoon news dump vetoes.”
On SB 29, they said: “Fauci-ism — and its unconstitutional restrictions and dystopian rules — deserves to be on the ash-heap of history. This bill protects the right to assemble — think churches, funerals and weddings — while enhancing core due process rights.”
Kelly said House Bill 2217, which expands the scope of the inspector general to audit and investigate all state cash, food or health assistance programs, was unnecessary because a fraud investigations unit already exists within the Kansas Department for Children and Families.
“This bill also removes statutory protections for participants’ data and health privacy,” she said. “It makes no sense from a legal, policy or fiscal standpoint to make this change.”
Masterson and Hawkins said Kelly was ignoring an opportunity to protect against fraud.
“After the $700 million unemployment fraud debacle on the governor’s watch, one would think she’d learn from past mistakes and work toward ending waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare system — ensuring benefits go to the people who truly need them,” they said.
Senate Bill 79 bars anyone on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from buying candy and soft drinks with food assistance. Kelly called the bill “simply wrong,” saying it would make it more difficult for Kansas families to access food they need and would harm Kansas businesses.
“The waiver required by this bill is confusing and will cause problems for our grocers and small businesses. Under the definition in that waiver, Kansas businesses would be mandated to stop accepting food assistance benefits for protein bars, trail mix, and other food products many would consider ‘healthy,’ ” she said. “Meanwhile, items like Twix, KitKat and Twizzlers would still be eligible for purchase using food assistance benefits. It’s nonsensical.”
Masterson and Hawkins said studies show obesity is impacting children with low incomes the most.
“It’s disappointing the governor doubled down on her anything-goes approach to welfare,” they said.
Woodard said the legislation would harm low-income families “by limiting access to food, health care and more.”
“While Democrats have pushed for essential changes to improve childhood nutrition and reduce stigma,” he added, “Republicans have continuously blocked these efforts.”
House Bill 2291 would create a regulatory relief division within the Attorney General’s Office and established an advisory committee. Kelly said she supported the bill’s intent but had concerns about the lawmaking power of the advisory committee.
House Bill 2284 sets written policies to govern procurement of managed care organizations to provide state Medicaid services. Kelly said she supported it in its original form and supported a more transparent process. However, she said, amendments made it “unworkable.”
“Additionally, this bill is a dramatic overreach by the Legislature into the role of the executive branch, which is charged with administering and executing policy,” she said. “It also overreaches into the judicial branch by removing the courts from the process entirely and vesting that duty squarely with the Legislature’s ad hoc ‘appeals committee’ — a move that calls into question the very constitutionality of this bill by denying the rights of ‘judicial review’ to those involved.”
Masterson and Hawkins said the legislation would provide a more transparent bidding process for government contracts.
“Taxpayers deserve better than lost paperwork, backroom deals and made-up rules on the fly,” they said.
House Bill 2033 adds programs and services to approved at-risk educational programs, both Kelly and Woodard saw the bill as getting in the way of the Kansas State Board of Education.
The governor allowed House Bill 2101, which prohibits municipalities from adopting and implementing a guaranteed income program, and House Bill 2020, which requires a quarterly report listing the names, addresses and alien registration numbers of certain noncitizens who have been issued a driver’s license, to become law without her signature.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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