Kansas lawmakers, Gov. Laura Kelly working on new COVID-19 measure
Kansas lawmakers, Gov. Laura Kelly working on new COVID-19 measure
let me start by saying that I hope everybody had a good and safe holiday weekend. I know many of you celebrated the service and sacrifices of men and women of our armed forces this Memorial Day. They truly do represent the very best of America this Memorial Day. We also took time to honor and remember, as I do often the 188 Kansans. We've lost Two Cove in 19 188. We have more than 60 towns in Kansas that have fewer than 188 residents. We just need to think about that for a minute. We have lost enough people to fill many of our communities. Last Friday, I expressed my grave concerns and frustrations regarding the actions taken by legislative leaders on signing died. At that point, there had not been much time to reflect on all that had happened or to review the legislation that had been passed. Over the weekend. My team and I undertook the process in earnest, starting with a thorough analysis of House Bill 2054. House Bill 2054 is a sweeping piece of legislation that would have longstanding consequences for the people of Kansas. As we continue to mitigate the impact of Cove in 19 on our state, I support certain elements of the bill, most notably provisions that extend the emergency declaration upon which Kansas is entire Cove in 19 response effort is based without an emergency declaration in place. Critical federal support through FEMA, in addition to all executive orders issued under the previous act, will expire. Months of sacrifice and work on the part of Kansas families, local officials, public health leaders an emergency response teams to limit the harm inflicted by this global public health pandemic would be lost. Unfortunately, I have concluded that this legislation creates more problems than it solves. The bill is purported to address the pandemic, but instead would make a mess of the state's ability to adequately respond during times of crisis. The bill itself limits how disasters can be declared, jeopardizing our ability to continue aggressively responding to the pandemic, and would further delay our ability to get the Cares Act funding to communities across the state. This would only prolong the economic pain of this crisis. The bill also weakens authority granted to local health officers to protect the public during health crisis by adding additional layers of bureaucracy when response time is critical and can literally mean the difference between life and death. The process was messy, confusing and complicated, but it didn't have to be. The Kansas Emergency Management Act, which has been in effect since 1975 outlines how the state should respond to emergency. It's most commonly used in the aftermath of severe weather. It allows the state to coordinate local and federal resource is to quickly respond to crisis situations. Among other things, it temporarily suspends bureaucratic red tape to allow the state than necessary flexibility to nimbly respond. It also activates response network of emergency managers across the state to coordinate their efforts and centralized their communication. The public rarely hears about them. But all across the state, there are hundreds of a county emergency management personnel and public health officials who assistant, coordinating responses, supplies and information. And all of these sorts of responses start and end with a formal declaration of an emergency from the governor. The Kansas Emergency Management Act allows the governor to declare a state of emergency when needed for up to 15 days to provide for legislative oversight. The act requires any extension after 15 days to be approved by either the full Legislature or the state Finance Council. This all might sound extraordinary, or like a tool that is rarely used. But it really isn't all that uncommon. In fact, Kansas has had more than 37 state disasters declared in the last 10 years. And last year, when I issued a state disaster declaration to respond to flooding, the Legislature unanimously extended it more than six months through January of this year. But rarely, if ever, did. These declarations sparked the kind of partisan bickering that marred this entire process nearly from the beginning. And it is this kind of partisan bickering that fueled the Legislature's rushed and haphazard changes to the Kansas Emergency Management Act. This legislation was not rooted in the spirit of what truly matters and at a time when it was most needed. This was not the work of the better angels of our nature, as President, Lincoln famously said. Instead, it was symbolic of our ills partisan, self serving and short sighted. We know this because the original resolution that would have extended this disaster declaration until January 25th 2021 as is standard practice in our state for major disasters past the Kansas House, unanimously 116 to 0 and was sponsored by every member of the Republican leadership team. Think about that. It was sponsored by Republican leaders and received unanimous support. I can tell you that it is not every day that a bill receives unanimous support in the Legislature. Kansans deserved legislation that met this unprecedented moment in our history. They deserve to have their leaders put aside partisanship and put forth a united effort to address the health and economic crisis inflicted upon our state by Cove in 19. They deserved a plan that could withstand constitutional scrutiny scrutiny to provide a stable path forward. However, once the resolution reached the Senate politics, politics took hold, and as a result, Kansans have paid the price. Since the Senate politicized this crisis, we have seen repeated roadblocks to our emergency response efforts and have even had to sue the Legislature in the Supreme Court to uphold these efforts. That brings me to today. The legislature granted a brief five day extension in House Bill 2054 but conditioned that extension on several other politically motivated measures by placing them all in the same bill in it. In an attempt to coerce me to sign the bill. After a thorough review, I have strong concerns about the full contents of the bill. For example, it is unconscionable toe limit a county health officers authority during a pandemic or jeopardize our economic response. Likewise, it is unconscionable to make rushed, unvetted long term changes to our state's Emergency Response Act, which has been on the books for 45 years and do that on a partisan whim. As such, I have no choice but to veto House Bill 2054 beyond the long term policy implications of House Bill 2054. I also have grave concerns about the constitutionality of the legislation, given that it was passed after the midnight deadline that the Legislature itself said it also contained multiple subjects which is not permitted under the Kansas Constitution, the Senate president said during debate last week. And I quote, we've been told by all of our attorneys that we have to complete our work by midnight. Anything that we pass after midnight that is litigated could be called unconstitutional because the day ends at midnight. I agree. Unfortunately, they didn't do that. Instead, Fight signed this legislation. It would have put the state at risk for additional costly legal battles at a time when we can least afford them. And even more importantly, it would have hindered a response to this crisis. Allowing this bill, which legislators did not even have time to read before voting on to become law, would be irresponsible. Unfortunately, this also means that by vetoing this bill, the current emergency disaster declaration will expire tonight at midnight. This was also an announcer unnecessarily short deadline that the Republican legislative leadership imposed through the State Finance Council. Therefore, I am issuing a new emergency declaration tailored to the emergency our state now faces. This new declaration is not ideal. It is a direct result of the political games that have been played up to this point. Regardless, it is necessary to protect Kansans from the current economic disaster, the economic threat to reopening if we're unable to mitigate and respond to additional spread of the virus and the imminent threat of surges in escalating cases. If we don't conduct serious emergency response activities in short. The intent of this new disaster declaration is to help Kansans in the state recover economically and to prevent the imminent threat of further cove in 19 surges. There are a number of changes with this new declaration. First, I am removing the statewide order that put us into phase two of the reopening plan. Instead, the ad Astra plan is now being offered as guidance for counties to follow the power to administer and regulate. The plan will be up to each county. If it county wants to remain in phase two with face to restrictions, it will need to issue its own emergency order to that effect. I want to be clear. Just because I'm lifting most of the of the executive orders does not mean the current threats from Cove in 19 are any less than the threats we have faced over the last few months. Quite the opposite we saw last weekend how irresponsible some party goers were at the Lake of the Ozarks. Their actions resulted in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issuing a self quarantine advisory earlier today for those Kansans who were in attendance at the gathering in the Ozarks after weeks of taking preventive measures. I know we are all tired, but we must remain vigilant. The threat from Cove in 19 is still very real. I know that allowing each county to set its own guidance will likely be confusing to the public. Unfortunately, this is a direct result of the Legislature's unfortunate actions. Last week. In addition to returning control to local health authorities, we will also be issuing a new executive organ orders targeted at dealing with the economic impacts of Kobe. 19. No gubernatorial executive orders issued under the new disaster declaration will be used to restrict businesses from operating or to restrict the movement or gathering of individuals. Again. It is now up to local county health officials to issue those orders. We will continue to collect and analyze the data and make recommendations for counties to use in making those decisions. The new declaration is being issued to ensure that the state's emergency response plan stays activated, and we can continue to use the full resources of the federal government, the state, the National Guard, the Kansas Department of Emergency Management and other state agencies to mitigate the spread of the disease and get our economy on the road to recovery. The new declaration is critical to allow KTM and the National Guard to provide food support to Kansas communities to protect our food supply, to deliver personal protective equipment to hospitals and first responders, and to administer Cove in 19 testing and transport those test samples. These services are vital Kansans, and we cannot afford to have them delayed or discontinued. The consequences would be disastrous. We could see increased outbreaks of Cove in 19 me, um, we could see increased outbreaks of cove in 19 meat processing plants forced close frontline workers without the equipment they need. Finally, I've also issued another proclamation that calls for a special legislative session to begin on June 3rd. The Legislature must come back, stop playing politics and extend the deadline of the new declaration. If the Legislature fails to act, the results will be disastrous to cities and counties were not likely to get 1/3 shot at getting this right. As I said before, this should not be a partisan issue. We need legislation that reflects this. There are those who will see the actions of the legislature, and my actions is solely about power, who has it and who wants it. But this is not about power. It is about leadership. Being a leader means Bill being willing to do what's difficult and even unpopular. It means standing up for what's right and not being bullied into taking action. That would be disastrous to the people of Kansas, and that will always be my top priority. It's not only my job to lead, but it's the job of every elected official, especially during these difficult times. That is why I am calling the Legislature back into session. To do its job, Kansan should know that today's actions are the result of thoughtful consideration and much deliberation. I do not take any of these decisions lightly. I look forward to working with the legislature, health officials and local leaders to continue to improve our health and economic conditions. Kansans deserved have all of their leaders working together in the best interests of Kansans to solve problems. Finally, I just want to take a minute and thank all the Kansans who have been doing everything you can to help slow the spread of this disease. We have seen how protests and pool parties make the news. But what doesn't make the news are those of you who have been doing everything asked of you. You've been wearing masks. You've been limiting your exposure and avoiding mass gatherings. The data show we are flattening the curve. The Ad Astra plan has been working and is because you have been doing everything you can to keep yourself and those around you safe. All of the steps we put in place are designed to prevent a second spike in the disease. But this will only happen if you continue to be responsible with your actions and continue to follow the advice of from your local and your state health officials. Thank you all. I'll take some questions. Yes. Keep your okay. Um, we didn't keep theme plan mandatory because we looked at the data that were available to us and decided in other information that was available to us and decided that what we really needed to do from the state perspective now is to move into the economic recovery phase of this and it under an emergency declaration act. Eso We felt that this was a better route to take right now. More probable, Peters, that was. I think you're being very honest with you all. I think that we want to make sure that we have an emergency declaration in place. We don't want this to either be rejected by the Legislature or to necessarily end up in litigation that might perhaps eliminate an emergency declaration altogether. In which case, the consequences are dire. Leaders and parties. No. Uh and you know, you you can never really guarantee that because you never know who might decide to litigate. But got the argument for Republicans might be essentially on their people reopening the car. You just can't that their pressure work it forced. You know you're not signing your bill. The pressure they've been building, Senator Ringel has made this. That the hearings pressure you into redoing your Astra or and now, like working with you. Oh, John, certainly I would have preferred that, you know, a long time ago that the Senate would have just passed the house resolution and we would have ended this discussion to be brought up again next January, Should the need still exist, and hopefully it will not. But, you know, we're not removing. We are putting the three authority and responsibility for implementing safety precautions, whatever they might be, including related to businesses on our county officials. So it's not not completely taking us out of the equation. Remember that the state health department works through the county health departments. Eso there will be constant communication. We will certainly provide them all of the data. And I think our county officials have shown themselves to be incredibly responsible through all of this. And if anything, they've they've instituted more strict restrictions then than even the state. So I'm I'm comfortable that our local county, public health and elected officials can take this bull by the horns and do what needs to be done to protect their folks. Ideally, you would like No, wait. Are you confident? Absolutely. You know, you continue with the plan, our intent, you know, if you know, if the state Finance Council had not done what they had done and imposed this midnight tonight deadline on on this declaration, would we have done this problem? No, probably not. This isn't a direct response to the reckless actions of the legislature last year, but we think that it is the best possible response. The most responsible response that we could possibly do to make sure that we continue to move forward in our our health recovery and our economic recovery. Do you have any concerns about your ability to issue another? I don't have any concerns about that. And governor, that stays in effect. Yes. So that would be midnight. Yeah, I think I think it is Midnight the 10th. When, uh, this emergency declaration expire. That was one of the reasons that we set June 3rd as the date for the special session of the Legislature to bring the legislature back and give them enough time to do this right? What if they go? Not that I'll deal with that. That's their response. Yes, I can, you know, legally. Yes. I can compel them to show up what it would mean if they decided not to leave their houses and not to come back to Topeka. I don't think that's ever happened, but we'll see like those. Are there any contact tracing being? I don't know how many Kansans were actually at the Lakeview Ozarks event? Hopefully, none. I think what we did through Katie H. E putting out that self quarantine advisory was strictly a cautionary measure to ensure that, you know, if people were there or even around that event, that they recognize that they may be infectious themselves. And they may risk putting family friends loved ones at risk. So we just wanted to let him know that that's exactly the kind of thing you know, that that mass gathering, where your clothes, there's no social distance and going on no masks that that's exactly what we shouldn't do. So I'm hoping that they will take the advice of Katie H. G and Self Quarantine and Self Report, if if need be, but certainly going forward. I'm hoping that Kansans understand that that's really bad idea. 15% limit on is a recommendation from your office. I will be in place if count choose to that. That is correct. That's correct, John. From from 12 01 tomorrow, Theo authority to impose those kinds of restrictions will be placed upon the local county health officials. You alert the attorney General? I don't know, John, over Jim, whatever your name is. No, I think that there was there was an attempt and I think we did talk particularly to our local county of officials. They're the ones most impacted by this. And so I know that they they were on a a conference call earlier today to go over this so that they understand this is coming and what they need to do by midnight tonight. So you're expecting them? Probably a flood of local workers dealing with subjects. I fully expect that there are many of our counties who will put in place their own orders. What what exactly you want? Sure, terms of letters. There's the extension of state. Whether that's really all we need is just Theis extension of the Emergency Management Act. Um, we really I don't believe we need anything else from them. Are we willing? Have conversations with legislative leadership and others on other aspects of the Emergency Management Act? Yes, we would be willing to do that. I would prefer that we not try to make significant changes to it. Even such a short time is a special session, but rather and laid the groundwork for an interim committee where we might be able to delve into a little bit deeper. I think it's really important. The Emergency Management Act, obviously, is a very impactful statute and I think it's important if we're going to make changes to it, that we understand all the implications. Eso that we don't run into unintended situations fiction, mortgage Perhaps I think we will. We'll publicly put those out for you all of the executive orders and what changes will occur that should be coming out later today.
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Kansas lawmakers, Gov. Laura Kelly working on new COVID-19 measure
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature are working on a compromise to give lawmakers oversight of the state’s coronavirus response. Democrats on Wednesday sought protections for workers infected on the job. Some legislators are also expecting a debate on expanding the state’s Medicaid program. That's been a priority for Kelly since she took office. The Legislature convened Wednesday for a special session called by Kelly after she vetoed a sweeping coronavirus bill GOP lawmakers approved in May moments before adjourning their annual session.A new Republican plan unveiled Tuesday contains similar provisions, but GOP leaders hope the details are different enough that Kelly will sign it.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature are working on a compromise to give lawmakers oversight of the state’s coronavirus response.
Democrats on Wednesday sought protections for workers infected on the job. Some legislators are also expecting a debate on expanding the state’s Medicaid program.
That's been a priority for Kelly since she took office.
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The Legislature convened Wednesday for a special session called by Kelly after she vetoed a sweeping coronavirus bill GOP lawmakers approved in May moments before adjourning their annual session.
A new Republican plan unveiled Tuesday contains similar provisions, but GOP leaders hope the details are different enough that Kelly will sign it.