(Updated to include comments from House speaker and correct votes and links to SB 493 related to bags)
The Kansas Senate on Tuesday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes of legislation banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports and a parent’s bill of rights for school children.
The chamber also overrode the governor’s vetoes of a bill banning local government regulations of plastic bags and short-term health insurance.
All four bills now go to the House where the prospects for passage appear to be more difficult since some of those bills passed with far less than the supermajorities required for final passage.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. said the veto overrides would not be taken up this week, noting that the chamber has 30 days from Tuesday to run them.
“We have bills that we are passing that the governor still has the possibility to sign or not sign,” he said.
It is anticipated that the legislature will leave days open in May to return to draw new congressional maps if the state Supreme Court throws out the plan that was voided earlier this week by a Wyandotte County judge.
Ryckman said the House was focused on passing a bill that bars the state from seeking new proposals for its Medicaid program until after this fall’s campaign for governor.
“We didn’t know for sure what the Senate is going to be successful with,” Ryckman said.
“Now that we know, we know what’s going to be in front of us and we’ll have plenty of time to work on the votes,” he said
The Senate passed the transgender sports bill – named the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act – on a 28-12 vote.
It originally passed in the Senate with 25 votes, two short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to passed.
It passed with 74 votes in the House, where supporters have acknowledged that they need more help to override the veto.
Meanwhile, the Senate overrode the governor’s veto of the bill of rights legislation, partly because two Republicans – Dan Kerschen of Garden Plain and Jeff Longbine of Emporia – switched their votes to give the legislation it the supermajority it needed to pass.
The bill originally passed with 23 votes, which grew to 27 votes on Tuesday.
Longbine said he voted for the bill because he didn’t think it would have much of an effect on schools in his district in addition to some last-minute negotiations that he was not ready to divulge.
The bill – criticized for opening the door to censorship and bullying of teachers – gives parents the ability to challenge the material or educational benefit of any book or magazine in the school library.
It also allows parents to object to any learning material or activity because it harms the child or hinders the parents’ firmly held beliefs, values or principles.
It requires local school boards to adopt policies to guarantee, among other things, a parent’s right to inspect instructional materials as well as all written and electronic records maintained by a school relating to students.
The bill of rights legislation now goes to the House where it came up 17 votes short of a veto override when it first passed in the House on a 67-46 vote.
In an interview last week, Republican state Rep. Kristey Williams, chair of the K-12 Education Budget Committee, said an override on the parents’ bill of rights would be “tough.”
“It’s a tough climb up,” the Augusta lawmaker said.
The Senate also voted 27-12 to override the governor’s veto of a bill barring local governments from regulating plastic grocery bags and other material.
It now goes to the House where it received 74 votes the first time, 10 votes short getting to an override.
Kelly vetoed the bag bill saying it was an issue that should be left in the hands of local government.
“This issue is a local decision, and it should be left to local governments based on what’s best for their constituents, stakeholders, and businesses in their community,” Kelly said in a statement.
“As this bill advanced through the process, no evidence was provided demonstrating why the Legislature had a compelling public interest to repeal city and county local control and home rule over these matters.”
The Senate also overrode Kelly’s veto of a bill that lengthens the time a short-term health insurance policy may be renewed up to 36 months.
The Senate voted 28-9 to override the bill. It passed the House with just 73 votes.
Kelly said she vetoed the bill because the plans it covered did not cover pre-existing conditions and do not provide consumer protections.
“As a result, one medical emergency could cause a Kansas family to spiral into bankruptcy.”
“We already know that the solution to provide health care access for all Kansans, to bring thousands of jobs to our state, to save small businesses money, to protect our rural hospitals, and inject millions into our economy… is expanding Medicaid.”
The Senate let stand the governor’s veto of legislation allowing Amazon and FedEx to deploy automated vehicles on city sidewalks and streets to deliver packages.
The bill has had lukewarm support through the legislative process, drawing opposition from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Labor unions have opposed the bill out of fear that it would kill jobs.
The governor expressed safety concerns about the bill.
“This bill does not clarify who is responsible for enforcing rules and regulations related to personal delivery devices other than requiring an annual fee and a certification form with minimal information,” the governor said in vetoing the bill.
“The provisions around minimum liability are also ambiguous and unclear in their application,” she said.
The Senate also opted not to override another bill extending civil liability protections for health care providers and businesses stemming from COVID-19.
The bill excluded medical facilities and their providers from immunity if they refused to provide treatment to someone because they’re not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The bill also increased penalties for violence against health care workers, something that’s been on the rise in recent years but became more accentuated during the pandemic.
