Kansas lawmakers advanced a provision Monday that could give the Legislature greater control over rules and regulations issued by the governor and state agencies.
The Kansas House voted 85-39 to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot establishing a Legislative veto.
Republican leadership delayed the vote Thursday while lawmakers dug their cars out and drove to Topeka in the middle of a winter storm to help the majority caucus gain the necessary 84 votes required for passage. The effort proved insufficient, forcing lawmakers to try again Monday morning.
The amendment would not allow lawmakers to directly override executive orders from a governor. The measure would, however, permit the Legislature to overturn rules and regulations without the support of the governor. It was originally proposed by Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is running against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly this year.
"I think it's good policy," Schmidt told a Senate committee Wednesday. "You're accountable for what the agencies do, you should be able to delegate to the agencies."
The measure now heads to the Kansas Senate, where it will need a two-thirds majority to reach the statewide ballot.
Proponents said the policy was necessary to ensure state bureaucrats were not interpreting or enforcing laws in a manner different from the Legislature's intent.
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins said he'd seen instances under the administrations of Govs. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, Sam Brownback, a Republican, and Kelly where he felt agency bureaucrats had issued inappropriate rules and regulations.
"We have seen three different governors and we've seen this problem exist since we've been here," House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said. "This constitutional amendment gives us the ability to make a change ... it allows us to enshrine in our constitution that the Legislature is the body that makes the law, not bureaucrats."
But opponents pointed to the measure as nothing but an election year jab at Kelly, a Democrat.
"We are inserting ourselves into the traditional role of the governor. Not only the governor, independent state agencies," Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat said.
Senate President Ty Masterson said the Senate is likely to take up the issue later in the session.
