By Morgan Chilson, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature overturned the governor’s veto of a bill that opens state and county health officials to civil action for decisions about quarantines and takes away their authority to ban public gatherings in situations of infectious disease.
Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 29, but the veto was overridden Thursday by the Senate and House. There was little discussion in the Senate, but multiple representatives spoke out against the bill in the House.
“I want to speak on behalf of public health departments, and I’ve heard from several,” said Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Democrat from Lawrence. “Whenever there’s a major catastrophe or something else happens, it’s public health departments that respond.”
Others shared their personal experiences with measles when they were young.
“My big concern is with the measles outbreak in southwest Kansas,” said Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita. “I was a kid in kindergarten, and everybody got the measles. That’s what we did before vaccines. It’s a horrible disease. People talk about the deaths, but it’s more than that. There were horrible side effects. I had a lot of ear infections. Fortunately for me, mine went away. I knew other kids that had problems with their ears their whole lives. Other kids, they became developmentally disabled because of the measles. It scares me that a disease we once eradicated is coming back in southwest Kansas.”
In a press release about her veto, Kelly said that SB 29 puts Kansans at unnecessary risk.
“I will not sign legislation that hampers public health professionals’ ability to take reasonable, measured steps to limit the spread of dangerous infections and protect the health of the communities they are entrusted to serve,” she said.
Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, disagreed with assumptions in the governor’s assessment.
“The governor stated in the veto that it would prohibit issuing quarantines, which is not really true. They may issue quarantines or institute isolation,” Gossage said. “It’s just that before taking that action they must have probable cause. It also allows the aggrieved party to file a civil action and that that be acted upon within 72 hours if someone is wrongfully put into isolation or quarantine.”
