Kansas voters will decide in November if Legislature needs veto over agency regulations
Kansas voters will decide this November whether the Legislature should have the power to override executive branch regulations without the governor’s support – a move that would shift the balance of power between the two branches of government.
The Senate voted 27 to 12 Wednesday to approve placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot establishing a Legislative veto.
The amendment was proposed last year by Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor and championed by the GOP supermajority.
It passed in the House last month before moving to the Senate.
Throughout the debate, Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican and candidate for attorney general, said lawmakers can only send a letter if they are unhappy with regulations. However, under current law the Legislature is empowered to overturn regulations by passing a law - they just need either the governor’s signature or a veto-proof majority.
The constitutional amendment would make it easier for the Legislature to take that action by removing the need for gubernatorial approval.
Proponents said the measure was necessary as a check on government bureaucrats who enforce law in a manner different from what lawmakers had anticipated or who overstep their boundaries.
“This restores the checks and balances between the executive branch and the legislature,” Warren said.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said lawmakers could solve that issue by simply doing better work on the front end to understand the laws they are passing.
“Maybe what is needed is that we get educated or more educated lawmakers who are asking what are the repercussions of this,” Sykes said.
The amendment is the second constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot this year. In August Kansas will vote on an amendment determining whether or not the Kansas constitution protects a right to an abortion.
The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 2:28 AM.
