Mask mandate ban fails as Kansas governor vetoes bill targeting public health measures
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Gov. Laura Kelly has rejected a ban on government mask mandates, vetoing a bill targeting public health measures.
The bill, SB 34, was a product of the political backlash to the government COVID-19 response. The legislation primarily targeted mask mandates, but it also had watered-down anti-quarantine and anti-vaccine provision.
"We need to be prepared for what’s down the road to best protect Kansans," Kelly said in her veto message. "This bill puts the safety of all Kansans and our economy at risk."
The bill struggled to pass both chambers, especially after some Republicans identified unintended consequences and joined Democrats in objecting to the legislation.
The veto is likely to stand as GOP leadership struggled to whip votes among Republican legislators. The 64 yea votes in the House is 20 short of a supermajority, while the 23 yeas in the Senate is short four votes.
Rep. John Eplee, R-Atchison, said the mask mandate ban "is just a step too far for me because of the unintended consequences." He said he wished he lived in "a world where everyone was responsible."
"The fact is, I live in a world as a physician where human nature takes over and people don't always do the responsible thing, and it has untoward consequences that are terrible for the population as a whole," Eplee said. "Many of you know that deep in your heart."
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What was in the public health bill
The bill would have banned governmental entities and public officials, including schools, from mandating face masks as a response to any infectious disease — even during an emergency declaration. Some health care setting would have been exempted, including requirements that physicians wear masks in surgery.
An anti-vaccine provision banned so-called government "COVID-19 vaccination passports." The language could have prevented schools from segregating students based on vaccination status.
Additionally, all childhood wellness vaccines required for school attendance would have to be fully approved by the FDA. Every shot on the inoculation schedule is FDA approved.
Quarantine and isolation orders would be neutered under the bill, which would have removed legal authority for health officers to compel law enforcement to assist. Health officers could still issue quarantine orders, but there would be no enforcement mechanism.
Lawmakers largely abandoned more controversial proposals of expanding exemptions to childhood vaccines requirement and forcing pharmacists to fill off-label prescriptions for the ineffective drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
Some Republicans opposed bill
Kelly's comments didn't explicitly address the anti-mask provisions.
"I have consistently opposed vaccine passports and mandating any COVID-19 vaccination," Kelly said. "However, this bill goes beyond COVID-19 and implements a one-size-fits-all approach for all infectious diseases. It significantly limits any government entity’s response to any infectious disease outbreak."
Some Republicans voiced opposition during the legislative process.
Eplee said masks do work.
"I hate them, but there are times when they're necessary," Eplee said of mask mandates.
Sen. Dan Kerschen, R-Garden Plain, relayed a concern from the animal health commissioner. Amid the ongoing avian flu outbreaks, state employees are required to wear masks and other PPE when investigating the flocks. The bill would put the animal health department in violation of the mask mandate ban.
"We have a responsibility to protect our critically important agricultural industry and the farmers and ranchers who feed the nation," Kelly said.
Other lawmakers pointed to an ongoing tuberculosis outbreak in the Kansas City, Kan., area. More recently, public health officials have identified a chickenpox outbreak in the Manhattan area.
"This legislation creates significant safety concerns for workers, for employers, for the economy, and for all Kansans," Kelly said. "Schools could not adequately respond to an outbreak of measles in a classroom, and manufacturing facilities could not respond to a tuberculosis outbreak."
More: 'Bring back measles.' Kansas legislators debate slew of COVID-inspired attacks on public health laws
GOP leader admits bill wasn't perfect
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, championed the bill as he spoke of the government response to the pandemic.
"We all have to think back to how much we hated what we were going through," Hawkins said. "We despised what we were going through. We still have folks that are wearing masks, and I applaud them for wearing the masks if they believe that they have to have a mask on."
He called masks an "intrusion into our life."
"We didn't wanna wear a mask, we didn't wanna be vaccinated," Hawkins said. "We did not want our businesses closed down — our churches closed down — and we despised it. That's why we're here today with this bill."
Hawkins dismissed the concerns raised by colleagues, but admitted the internal division demonstrated that it was not a "perfect" bill.
"But what bill is perfect?" he said. "Do we write perfect bills? Sometimes we do get it right, we really do, sometimes we get some really good bills. Sometimes, we mess things up. But most times, bills are what they are, they have imperfections, and we deal with those.
"This bill has imperfections, it has things you may not like. But guess what — it makes it to where we don't have to have a mask. Nobody in government can make us wear a mask, if we pass this bill. Nobody can force us to have a vaccine passport, or be forced to take a vaccine. This bill does a lot about what we want."
COVID bill was tied to deals on other legislation
The legislation was pieced together just hours before lawmakers voted on it. The Senate had previously passed four bills targeting government public health actions, but House leadership never brought them up for a vote.
The bill was also part of an apparent quid pro quo to advance other legislation.
Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, told her colleagues during a House GOP caucus meeting that she acquiesced on the bill in order to advance other legislation.
"Although my members are not happy with this bill, we also understand it's what's needed to move some other things," Landwehr said during committee negotiations. She then said she was "very excited to see the movement on 988," with legislation on the suicide prevention hotline approved at the same committee meeting.
Some lawmakers had previously expressed concern that senators would block the suicide hotline bill without movement on COVID-related legislation.
It is unclear exactly what strings were attached behind closed doors to the COVID bill. The controversial sports betting bill, which passed the same night, was thought to have its fate tied to public health legislation.
Earlier in the week, Rep. Trevor Jacobs, R-Fort Scott, appeared to tie a bill on Medicaid contracts to the anti-mask legislation. Jacobs used his time on the Medicaid contracts bill to voice support for anti-mask efforts in SB 541, which were used to craft SB 34 through a gut-and-go.
"I am going to support this on behalf of 541," Jacobs said during the debate on HB 2387.
Kelly also vetoed that bill on managed care organization contracting on Friday. Also in the bill was a religious liberty amendment to emergency management laws. Had it passed, it would have barred the governor from prohibiting religious worship during an emergency.
Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Tidd.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Gov. Kelly vetoes GOP mask mandate ban from divided Kansas Legislature
