2020 Legislative Overview

• Jurisdiction: Kansas,United States
• Citation: Vol. 89 No. 6 Pg. 53
• Pages: 53
• Publication year: 2020

2020 Legislative Overview No. 89 J. Kan. Bar Assn 6, 53 (2020) Kansas Bar Journal August, 2020

July, 2020

by Joseph N. Molina III

The 2020 Kansas Legislature was truly historic. It contained 687 individual bills, five vetoes, denial of two executive reorganization plans, a rejected Court of Appeals nominee and three COVID-19 response bills— the first of which was found to be unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court. The legislature held a 60-day regular session producing only nine bills, a 24-hour straight Sine Die session that produced eight bills and a two-day Special Session culminating in a single bill. This Legislative Overview will touch on many of these approved measures and discuss some that failed to hit the mark. It will take the issues in reverse order and summarize the most pressing legislation of 2020: the Kansas response to COVID-19-

Special Session

The Kansas Legislature completed its 24th Special Session—only the third this century—in a mere 48 hours. Gov. Kelly called this Special Session to deal with the Kansas Emergency Management Act (KEMA) after she vetoed Senate Sub for HB 2054.

During the Special Session, the Legislature was able to negotiate with the Governor's office on a variety of COV ID-related items. The compromise resulted in HB 2016, the Omnibus Governmental Response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

HB 2016 allowed the Governor to appropriate CARES Relief Funding with oversight from the State Finance Council. It further amended the Kansas Emergency Management Act by limiting the Governor's authority to close schools and businesses. Those types of closings will be locally controlled through school boards and county commissions. HB 2016 also provides immunity for healthcare providers and businesses. This immunity extends to product liability claims. Adult care facilities can claim an affirmative defense. The bill creates the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Privacy Act which protects the private information of individuals who may have been exposed to the virus. HB 2016 further requires that during a COVID-19 state of disaster, healthcare workers will work with first responders to share information indicating when and where a person resides who tested positive or is under quarantine. The bill also extends the use of video conferencing authority for the courts and validates notarial acts performed during the pandemic. The bill contains other provisions related to healthcare audits, tele-medicine, unemployment benefits and the sale of alcohol. All told, HB 2016 contains 11 distinct provisions dealing with nine areas of law that can appropriate over $1.2 billion dollars. It is a massive piece of legislation.

Sine Die

The Kansas Legislature adjourned Sine Die at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 22nd. The legislative day lasted a full 24 hours, having started at 8am on May 21st. Normally, Sine Die is a quiet and routine affair; this year, COVID-19 made it anything but normal.

As previously stated, the largest bill was the COVID bundle incorporated in Conference Committee Report (CCR) for HB 2054. That bill included provisions dealing with CARES funding, Emergency Management Act oversight, liability protections for healthcare, businesses and products, extension of executive orders till 2021 and nursing home oversight. The KBA was most interested in the extension of the executive orders for remote notaries and use of audio visual, both of which were added to the CCR. The KBA was opposed the immunity protections added to the bill. Gov. Kelly ultimately vetoed HB 2054.

CCR for HB 2054 was not the only issued worked on the last day of the session. The legislature debated and passed three other conference committee reports. They include:

• CCR for HB 2246 bundles changes to the Kansas Insurance Department, KDHE, KU MED Cancer Fund and the bonding authority for Wichita State.

• CCR for HB 2510 which amends the provision of free ACT exams for Kansas high school students, concurrent and dual enrollment for high school students, and the authority of healing arts school clinics to provide healing arts services. The bill would also...