Gov. Laura Kelly, Legislators Agree On Extension Of COVID-19 Emergency Declaration

By Tim Carpenter, The Kansas Reflector

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Sept. 12, 2020

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly and all eight legislators on the State Finance Council ended an unusually combative meeting Friday by adopting a 30-day extension of the COVID-19 state disaster declaration that was amended to include a clause sought by Republicans declaring it wasn’t the Democratic governor’s intention to again close businesses.

House and Senate legislative leadership and Kelly debated for three hours the wisdom of inserting the language into the emergency declaration essential to sustaining Kansas’ financial, logistical and public health response to the virus. Since March, COVID-19 has killed at least 511 Kansans — an increase of 16 since Wednesday.

The six GOP members on the council insisted the governor weave into the declaration assurances the executive branch wouldn’t again shutter businesses in response to spread of COVID-19. Initially, Kelly pushed back against inclusion of such a pledge. The council eventually compromised on a short amendment that said it wasn’t the governor’s intention to close businesses.

The state’s existing emergency declaration expires Sept. 15. At that time, new Kansas law approved by the GOP-led Legislature and signed by Kelly would allow the governor to issue 15-day business closures. The law says any extension of those business-closure orders would need to be endorsed by the State Finance Council. Action taken Wednesday by the council doesn’t nullify that statute.

“It is essential to prevent the governor from unilaterally ordering any new lockdowns that would destroy businesses, many of which are already on life support,” said House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican who previously tested positive for COVID-19.

If the council had decided not to renew the state disaster declaration, a series of executive orders also would expire Sept. 15.

“The disaster declaration, along with these executive orders, are critical to ensuring Kansas has the tools and support it needs to continue responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kelly said.

Senate President Susan Wagle and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, both Wichita Republicans, expressed hostility toward the governor regarding her decisions about handling the pandemic. During the conference call, the governor’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, denounced GOP legislative leaders for approaching the issue from a partisan political perspective. These adversaries insisted the other side was infecting politics into management of a virus that has infected more than 48,300 Kansans.

“Let’s not pretend this is about businesses. This is about politics,” said Kelly, who has battled GOP legislators since March regarding COVID-19. “Let’s vote for the people. Let’s not vote for politics.”

Hawkins said the governor had mismanaged the COVID-19 response on multiple fronts. He said he was weary of the Kelly administration’s criticism of Republicans as only concerned about political angles of the pandemic.

“I’m flat tired of that narrative,” Hawkins said.

House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican who previously tested positive for COVID-19, said the governor’s conduct during the public health emergency caused Kansans to disproportionately suffer economically.

“Under the failed leadership of Governor Laura Kelly, our state is currently experiencing the slowest weekly unemployment claims recovery in the nation, trailing all 49 other states and the District of Columbia,” Ryckman said. “Kansas continues to rank in the bottom five states in testing capacity per capita. The governor has chronically mismanaged the state’s response to the pandemic.”

Wagle, the Senate president, was among Republican council members who accused the governor of violating council rules. The council consists of six Republican legislators, two Democratic legislators and the governor. In Wagle’s view, the governor didn’t have authority to veto an earlier party-line vote on dealing with extension of the executive order.

“We went into this meeting with the understanding that six votes rule on this declaration. We’re hung up. We’re at stalemate,” she said.

The Kansas Reflector seeks to increase people's awareness of how decisions made by elected representatives and other public servants affect our day-to-day lives. We hope to empower and inspire greater participation in democracy throughout Kansas.