Gov. Kelly did the right thing for Kansas by compromising with GOP on COVID-19 bill

It’s time to get real. In a recent editorial, The Kansas City Star Editorial Board expressed an unrealistic expectation in its denouncement of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s support of the bipartisan bill regarding her emergency powers passed during the Legislature’s recent special session. To be fair, the bill was a compromise — and compromise by its very nature results in at least some dissatisfaction among the parties involved, all for the greater good.

Republicans hold supermajorities in both the Kansas House and Senate, leaving the governor with little choice but to work alongside legislative leadership. Those leaders made clear their intent to restrict Kelly’s emergency powers. Together, they negotiated a deal that is perhaps not entirely palatable, but is certainly an improvement over the initial bill that the governor vetoed.

A governor must make difficult decisions that are sometimes unpopular. Kelly has steered Kansas through the COVID-19 pandemic with a steady hand and a transparent, deliberate, data-driven approach. With the imminent threat to her emergency powers, she had to make another very difficult decision: cooperate with those working against her, or lose entirely her ability to protect Kansans effectively.

The final product allowed her to maintain control over the federal money from Congress’ coronavirus relief legislation, which now requires the signoff of the State Finance Council. The bill Kelly vetoed would have handed that control to the Republican-dominated Legislature and removed her from the process completely. The bill she signed maintains her current executive orders through September, rather than seeing them expire immediately. Perhaps most important, even the proverbial pills hardest to swallow within the legislation will all sunset in January.

The governor can close businesses as she sees fit — the only limit here is that she has to brief the State Finance Council 24 hours in advance. To close schools would require a vote from the Kansas State Board of Education, yes, but as we’ve seen throughout this crisis, Kelly, the school board, the Kansas National Education Association and the school districts have worked hand in hand, supporting each other to ensure the safety of Kansas students. There is no sign that will change as we move forward.

But litigating each section of the bill isn’t what’s important here. Kelly did what she had to do. How quickly the editorial board seems to have abandoned its previous support of the solid leadership and work the governor has continuously delivered. Because she took swift, early action, Kansas has seen approximately half the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths per capita as Iowa and Nebraska, two surrounding states that chose to delay implementing restrictions. In fact, Kansas is among the states with the lowest death rate per capita — fewer than five deaths per 100,000 people.

If the problem, as the editorial board defines it, is that not enough of Kelly’s good judgment and reasoned approach prevailed in the compromise bill, then perhaps it can agree on the only real solution going forward. We must elect more legislators in November who will support the governor — and fewer of those whose main priority is to undermine her for partisan political gains rather than to do what is best for Kansans.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Gov. Kelly did the right thing for Kansas by compromising with GOP on COVID-19 bill."