A constitutional amendment on the Kansas ballot Nov. 8 would give the Republican-controlled Legislature veto power over rules and regulations issued by the governor. Such an amendment would fundamentally shift the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches of government.
We oppose the proposal and urge voters to reject Amendment 1. It’s a bad policy no matter who is governor, or which party he or she belongs to.
The idea was originally brought up a year ago by Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is now seeking to deny Gov. Laura Kelly a second term. Republicans are upset because Kelly has used her veto power as governor to block Republican-backed hot-button bills such as a proposed ban against transgender athletes playing on girls sports teams.
The Senate voted 27 to 12 in March to approve placing the constitutional amendment establishing the legislative veto on the November ballot.
Republicans supporting the proposal argue that it would allow the Legislature to undo regulations enacted by unelected government bureaucrats. But lawmakers can use the power they currently have to pass laws that undo regulations set by the executive branch with a veto-proof majority.
Instead, Amendment 1 would create something of a super-legislature that could undo the will of the people who elected the governor by dictating how the executive branch should function.
The proposal is a political power grab by GOP-led legislators who want an easier path to full control of state government.
Most state legislatures in the country — approximately 40, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures — have some ability to oversee administrative rules and regulations. The capacity of that oversight varies from state to state.
It’s not as if Kansas lawmakers have no avenue to undo administrative rules and regulations. They do. They can pass a law against any regulation they don’t like. But that requires a majority of the Kansas House and Senate and the governor’s signature, or a tough-to-get veto-proof majority.
In February the Republican-controlled Kansas Senate voted to override Kelly’s veto of a congressional map that divided Wyandotte County, which diluted the voting strength of its minority residents and gave a Republican more of a chance to unseat Rep. Sharice Davids in the 3rd District.
The proposed amendment Nov. 8 would authorize the Legislature to revoke or suspend an executive agency’s rules and regulations by a simple majority vote.
Lawmakers should not be given the power to bypass the governor’s approval authority so they can easily strip away whatever regulations they don’t like, with fewer checks on their actions. Politicians should not hold that much control, especially because for more than three decades, Republicans have dominated the Legislature even while the governor’s office has switched between the parties.
If that trend were to continue, and voters fail to prevent this amendment, it would give Republicans unrestrained power — and the same would hold true if the Democratic Party took control of the Legislature. Neither scenario is a good thing.
Such a skewed distribution of power was never the intention of the current Legislature’s predecessors, and voters should not allow it now.
This measure is the second constitutional amendment to be on the ballot this year. In August, voters spoke loud and clear when they shot down an amendment that sought to remove the right to an abortion rooted in the Kansas Constitution.
