Gov. Laura Kelly said in a news conference on Thursday that her office will sue the Legislative Coordinating Council over its action on Wednesday, overturning her order that churches be limited to 10 or less people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said she was taking the action “to ensure that politics does not hinder our ability to save Kansas lives.”
Also, the suit is being filed with the Kansas Supreme Court to expedite the issue and bring it to a conclusion. The governor’s order was issued earlier this week, just before religious holidays. The state’s medical officials have recommended that people stay at home and not gather in groups during the holidays to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Gov. Kelly said this is not a normal disagreement about politics. This time, it could jeopardize the health and safety of Kansans, and they don’t have time to play games, she said.
The LCC, a group of seven Kansas legislative leaders, typically makes decisions when the Legislature is not meeting.
Gov. Kelly said the Kansas Emergency Management Act empowers the Legislature as a whole, not the LCC, to make those decisions.
What the LCC did yesterday with its action was to weaken and confuse the state’s emergency response efforts, putting every Kansan at risk, Gov. Kelly said. She added she would not stand by while lives were in jeopardy.
Also on Wednesday, Kansas Attorney General wrote a letter to law enforcement officials stating his view that the governor’s order on limiting the number of people attending church gatherings was illegal and should not be enforced.
In a House Republican leadership news release found on a Facebook page, House leaders stated that they were concerned and disappointed. They stated they were trying to resolve differences. The attorney general’s advice is that the order is unconstitutional and unenforceable, they stated. They also said they agreed with the governor on key points such as Kansans staying home on Easter and Passover; continuing to have alternative forms of worship and online services; churches following the CDC and KDHE guidelines; and working together to flatten the curve.
However, they also said that “Kansans should not be arrested for practicing their faith.” The release stated the governor opted to create confusion and tie the issue up in the courts.
Kansas reported 1,112 positive COVID-19 cases today, and a total of 42 deaths, according to statistics from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There are 263 hospitalizations. There were 1,046 positive cases on Wednesday.
There were 11 deaths on Wednesday and four more on Thursday. The four deaths today were in Wyandotte County.
In other action, Gov. Kelly said a new phone system has been installed at the Kansas Department of Labor, where 1.6 million calls were received Monday.
She said the new system handled 1,300 calls this morning, about the same number as it handled in a single day previously. Those who are making an unemployment claim are asked to use the website, getkansasbenefits.gov, not the phone number. The phone number is reserved for non-English speakers and members of the military. The website is the quickest way to get benefits.
To view the governor’s news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/155161369154168/.
A memorandum in support of the governor’s petition is at https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgovernor.kansas.gov%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F04%2F002-Memo-in-Support.pdf&data=02%7C01%7C%7C6948d6b48c444651140008d7dcd3d225%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637220674622275614&sdata=7I1jt3CviDpzw4EZJ64CMilD5bZ5E6SGzsJzheSuazQ%3D&reserved=0
The House leadership statement on the governor’s lawsuit is at https://www.facebook.com/RonWRyckman/.
The Kansas COVID-19 resource page is at https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus.
The UG COVID-19 website is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The CDC COVID-19 page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.