A lengthy bill overhauling Kansas’ emergency management laws in light of the COVID-19 pandemic passed out of Kansas Legislature Tuesday, and it will head to the governor’s desk. The bill, a compromise between the House and Senate, deal with multiple issues and was a product of days of intense negotiations between the two chambers. “This was probably the most extreme example of compromise that I’ve seen in my 7 years…” said Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita. “When we started out on this… I thought there was no way we ever would reconcile the House and Senate versions.” Both versions had the primary aim of placing restrictions on the Democratic governor’s emergency powers by the majority-GOP legislature, but gone about significantly different ways to do it. The Senate version was also the only one to put limits on COVID-19 orders issued by local and school authorities.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe.
