Amid coronavirus crisis, Kansas Senate plays politics with limits on governor’s power
The Kansas Senate hit a new low in political gamesmanship Wednesday, slapping down Gov. Laura Kelly and attempting to diminish her power in the midst of a public health emergency.
If the health and safety of almost 3 million Kansans weren’t at risk, lawmakers’ actions would be laughable, but in this perilous moment, the Senate’s attempt to limit the governor’s authority during the coronavirus pandemic is appalling and potentially tragic.
Kelly has not been bashful about using broad authority granted her under Kansas law. She has closed schools, prohibited foreclosures and evictions, temporarily stopped utility shutoffs and blocked large gatherings of people in the state.
All were important and necessary actions.
Senators, led by Republican Caryn Tyson of Parker, said they were worried about overreach. They offered a series of changes to a resolution endorsing and extending the governor’s coronavirus emergency declaration, which expires near the end of March. The not-so-subtly partisan move was aimed at putting specific restrictions on Kelly’s emergency powers.
The original resolution,which would extend the emergency until January 2021, passed the House unanimously. But some senators apparently hate to see bipartisanship, particularly in the face of global disaster. They decided to limit the time frame for the emergency declaration to May of this year — subject to extensions — and impose other limits on the governor’s authority.
“The Governor shall not have the power or authority … to utilize all available resources of the state government and of each political subdivision as reasonably necessary to cope with the disaster,” the Senate amendment said. The governor cannot “perform and exercise such other functions, powers, and duties as are necessary to promote and secure the safety and protection of the civilian population,” it said.
The measure would limit the governor’s ability to restrict the sale of guns and ammunition, seize private property if needed, suspend or limit alcohol sales or control movements of people or animals.
In the Kansas Senate, it’s whiskey and weapons for everybody, even as the coronavirus bores in. The other impacts from the Senate resolution — how its provisions might actually limit Kelly’s authority — were not clear.
What is clear is the Republican amendments were nakedly political, aimed at a Democratic governor who has been acting to protect Kansans.
During floor debate,Tyson said she found that claim “offensive.” Really?
Here’s what’s offensive: limiting the emergency authority of the state’s highest elected official without holding a hearing, without public debate and without any attempt to let the people of Kansas make their voices heard.
Not political? The laws giving the governor emergency powers have been on the books for more than a decade. If Republican lawmakers were seriously concerned about “blanket overreach,” as Tyson put it, they could have easily changed the law years ago under a Republican governor.
They did not. Instead, just as that authority is needed most, senators claimed their judgment is superior to the governor’s.
Checks and balances are essential in government, and a rational discussion of the issue would be welcome once this crisis passes. It has not.
The resolution didn’t change any laws, by the way. It just said Kelly is prevented from using the power now on the books in the current crisis. It sent a horrible message that a worldwide disaster isn’t enough for lawmakers to put partisan politics aside.
At a time when our leaders should be working together to protect all Kansans, the state Senate is playing political games. Republicans will regret it, and Kansans should remember it.