TOPEKA — Republican legislators on the State Finance Council pushing Thursday to settle a lawsuit filed by owner of a Wichita fitness gym temporarily closed in early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic were thwarted by Gov. Laura Kelly’s opposition to the deal.
Attorney General Kris Kobach’s staff recommended the State Finance Council, which includes the governor as well as GOP and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, endorse a financial solution to the case brought by Omega Bootcamps and owner Ryan Floyd.
Floyd filed a Sedgwick County District Court lawsuit in December 2020 demanding compensation for directives compelling certain businesses close to avoid spread of the virus. In 2021, the state filed a motion for dismissal of the lawsuit.
The six Republicans on the State Finance Council voted to pay $4,305.46 to Floyd, but the two Democrats and Kelly voted against the arrangement. Despite a majority in favor of the arrangement, the governor relied on her unilateral authority to kill the deal.
The vote occurred after the State Finance Council conducted a closed-door executive session to hear from attorneys who have working on the case.
“Governor, I’ve got a question,” said Sen. Rick Billinger, a Goodland Republican and chairman of the Senate budget committee. “So, we had this meeting here today and you voted no. I don’t understand that.”
“It’s very clear,” Kelly replied. “I voted no.”
Kelly issued an emergency declaration in March 2020 at outset of the pandemic that shut down some Kansas businesses for about five weeks. In the lawsuit, Floyd attorney Ryan Kriegshauser argued the state government took over private property for benefit of the general public and owners of those businesses ought to be compensated.
Before the executive session, House Minority Leader Vic Miller of Topeka attempted to engage peers on the council in a discussion of the Floyd case. Miller said he wasn’t interested in violating attorney-client privilege, but felt it appropriate to share with the public broad strokes of the issue at hand.
“I see no harm in a briefing, if you will, for the public’s benefit,” Miller said. “I think matters of public record could be discussed.”
Instead, the State Finance Council voted to proceed with an executive session and a vote on the settlement offer without publicly discussing the case.
The precise settlement amount proposed by Kobach for consideration by the State Finance Council wasn’t shared with the public at the meeting
In the past, the Kansas Department of Administration released documents revealing monetary terms of settlements approved by State Finance Council members. It’s not clear whether the agency would disclose the same documents due to rejection of the deal.
More than 10,000 Kansans have died of COVID-19 since March 2020, while more than 1.1 million in the United States perished from the virus.
In a joint statement, Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said the governor’s order three years ago to close nonessential businesses at beginning of the pandemic undermined livelihood of Kansans.
