By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is hopeful a measure seeking to curtail her emergency powers will undergo change during the legislative process.
Kelly, a Democrat, has been a target of criticism from Republican legislative leaders who claim she abused her authority in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly contends the effort by Republicans in Topeka will hurt Kansans, not her.
“There’s an absolutely horrendous bill that just came out of the Senate that really is dangerous for Kansans,” Kelly tells St. Joseph Post. “But, fortunately, the way the system works, the House will also craft their response to emergency management and I’m expecting that when it is all said and done, we’ll come back to something much more workable.”
Kelly says she understands many what to revisit the Emergency Management Act.
“The pandemic is very different than the kind of emergencies that were anticipated when the Emergency Management Act was put in place sometime in the 70s,” according to Kelly. “So, I’m all in favor of reviewing it now that we know what we know about pandemics, but I think the end result has got to be something that really does allow the governor to act in the best interest of Kansas, quickly.”
The Senate version would give the Attorney General and the Legislature oversight powers during emergencies, something the governor insists would prevent the decisive action needed during an emergency.
Kelly does say she’s open to a real discussion about revisions to the act.
“We can deal with all the other stuff later, but you really cannot tie a governor’s hands like that,” Kelly says. “It’s not safe for Kansans.”