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Kansas mulls disaster laws; counties limited on vaccinations

COVID-19
Posted at 4:04 PM, Mar 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-04 17:04:23-05

TOPEKA, Mo. — Republican legislators bargained Thursday over what power Kansas governors and other officials should have during future public health emergencies, as at least a few counties grumbled about state COVID-19 vaccination rules that carry the threat of having doses withheld for noncompliance.

The House voted 81-40 [kslegislature.org] in support of a bill that would require the governor to confer with the attorney general and get legislative leaders' approval before issuing executive orders during states of emergency. The measure [kslegislature.org] went to the Senate.

Even before the House vote, lawmakers from both chambers began talks over the final version of a measure to rewrite the state's emergency management laws. The Senate approved its own bill [kslegislature.org] Monday that not only would allow a new legislative committee to block the governor's orders during public health emergencies, but would also limit the power of local officials, particularly appointed county health officers.

The Republican-controlled Legislature's leaders have argued that the state's decades-old disaster response laws weren't written with months-long emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic in mind. But Republican lawmakers also have criticized Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over her handling of the pandemic and forced her last year to accept local control over mask mandates and restrictions on businesses and public gatherings to keep the COVID-19 state of emergency in effect.

GOP lawmakers are still criticizing Kelly over her statewide stay-at-home order last spring, her decision to close K-12 school buildings from mid-March 2020 through the end of that semester and her ultimately unsuccessful attempt to restrict indoor religious services last spring to 10 participants.

"Constitutional liberties must not be infringed upon ever again," said Rep. Trevor Jacobs, a Fort Scott Republican.

Many Democrats say the proposals would create too many roadblocks for effectively responding to emergencies.

"When an emergency happens, the executive branch has to be able to act swiftly to help out Kansans in need," said House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat.

Republican lawmakers also have criticized Kelly over what they view as the slow distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Thursday, [covid.cdc.gov] the state ranked 45th among states for vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents. Kelly and state Department of Health and Environment officials have blamed such low rankings on reporting issues.

Within the past week, officials in two counties have been at odds with the state health agency over moving into the next phase of inoculations to give shots to people younger than age 65 with chronic medical conditions that put them at risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

Sedgwick County is asking Kelly for latitude to give COVID-19 vaccinations to people under age 65 with serious medical conditions, The Wichita Eagle reported. [kansas.com]

The state is in the second phase of its vaccine distribution [kansasvaccine.gov], covering people 65 and older, workers critical to the economy and people in group living situations, including prison inmates. People under 65 with serious medical conditions are in the third phase.

Kelly was non-committal during a Statehouse news conference Wednesday, saying there are several similar requests and she will leave it to the state health department "to make those kinds of calls."

Sedgwick County's push two days after the Riley County Health Department said it had receive an email from the state health department saying that the county was not allowed to move into the third phase until other counties were. Riley County also said the state told it that going ahead "would result in vaccine shipments being halted."

"We operated in good faith that each county was given the authority to distribute vaccine doses according to the needs of their county," Riley County Health Officer Julie Gibbs said in a statement. [rileycountyks.gov]

State health department spokesperson Ashley Jones-Wisner said Thursday that counties are allowed to prioritize groups within a phase but must get the state's permission to move to a new phase.

She said vaccine supplies are limited and the state wants to make sure that all people covered by one phase get inoculations before counties move to the next phase. She said withholding vaccine doses is "an enforcement mechanism."

"The goal is to ensure that those at highest risk of COVID-19 are prioritized for vaccination and the vaccine is distributed across counties fairly," Jones-Wisner said in an email to The Associated Press.