Bill to Curb Emergency Powers Vetoed

By: John Semmens

Republican-sponsored legislation aiming to limit the authority of the governor's use of an emergency declaration to bypass normal lawmaking was vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D-Kan) who declared that “some issues are too critical to be decided by the normal processes of a democratic style of government. Health is one of those issues. Legislators lack the expertise to determine which health policies and protocols are best for the the people of this state.”

“If it had been up to the legislature we might never have implemented the lockdowns, vaccine mandate, and other measures that were needed to control covid,” Kelly contended. “The governor's ability to declare an emergency and suspend representative government is essential for preserving the people's health and safety. This way, top medical and health experts can benevolently dictate life-saving policies and practices without the delay that typically impedes action when legislative approval is required.”

“I will grant that many of the executive directives issued during the covid pandemic may not have been optimal, but we can't let one unhappy experience blind us to the inherent efficiency of one-person rule during an extraordinary threat to the public,” Kelly added. “Fortunately, we didn't have to resort to extreme measures. No general imprisonment of the population like they had in New Zealand was required. Neither did we have to cull the herd like they did in China. But these options should remain available to all future governors of our state.”