by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — COVID-19 is affecting the 2021 Kansas State Legislature session as it is everything else. Legislators opened the session by social distancing in the chambers, with some members sitting in the balcony or other areas that had been reserved for the public.

But what will define this session, may not have anything to do with the virus.

On Friday, a battle began over the issue of abortion and it appears this will be the big issue of the session. The proposal is to put an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot in an upcoming election that would give the state the power to regulate abortion.

In 2019 the state supreme court ruled that there is a fundamental right to abortion in the state.

Those pushing for the measure say they are trying to keep restrictions that had been agreed to and were in place before the supreme court ruling. Abortion rights supporters say it is a means to ban abortion in the state eventually.

The measure being considered, and that could go to voters, says there is no fundamental right to abortion in the state, and that the state has a right to regulate the procedure. Two-thirds of both the senate and the house will have to approve putting it on the ballot for the 2022 primary elections.

On Friday preliminary arguments were heard in both chambers, but the bill itself is not expected to come up real soon. The matter is at the committee level now and could get sent to the whole body by next week.

Kyle Hoffman

State Representative Kyle Hoffman (R-116) said he supports getting this on the ballot for voters to decide.

One bright spot is that the state invested in adding to its technology to make meetings more accessible. The public may now watch committee meetings as well as full meetings of the legislature.

Here is a link to watch all proceedings.

Here is a link to any meetings that have passed.

Hoffman said the Covid-19 virus may take up a lot of time during the session this year.

He said people are getting used to the new rules, and they are voting with their computers instead of the buttons they used to push. They must still be in the chamber to vote however, according to house rules.

One item he believes will come up very soon is the powers the governor has in times of emergency, such as the Covid-19 outbreak. Hoffman said they passed a bill in 2016 that outlined the Governor’s powers, and that is set to expire on Jan. 26. He believes it will be extended as is until March and then will be modified.

“The bill that was passed in 2016, the emergency management act, was designed for small emergencies like tornadoes, floods, fires.  We have rules for disease outbreaks among animals, such as mad cow disease, but there isn’t anything that addresses a situation like the Covid-19 virus,” he said.

He hopes the legislature will put some controls in place, such as not allowing the governor to close businesses, schools, or churches throughout the state. He believes those things should be handled on the local county level.

Another sticking point is that while county health officials make rulings, the county commissions around the state have the option of not following the rulings or recommendations.

Hoffman said the governor would like to remove the ability of counties to opt-out from health department suggestions, but he said he did not think that would pass.

He anticipates this being a heavily debated topic later in the session, but they will be voting on the extension in the next week or so.

———

Here is the contact information for representatives for Sumner County:

Kyle Hoffman, Coldwater

Capitol Office
Room: 481-W
Phone: 785 296-7643
Email: kyle.hoffman@house.ks.gov

Bill Rhiley, Wellington

Capitol Office
Room: 166-W
Phone: 785 296-7671
Email: Bill.Rhiley@house.ks.gov

Cheryl Helmer, Mulvane

Capitol Office
Room: 512-N
Phone: 785 296-7691
Email: Cheryl.Helmer@house.ks.gov

State Senator Larry Alley, Winfield

Capitol Office
Room: 136-E
Seat: 26
Phone: 785-296-7381
Email: Larry.Alley@senate.ks.gov

Follow us on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter.