Kansas coronavirus update: Gov. Laura Kelly takes fight over church crowds to Supreme Court [View all]
Source: cjonline.com
Posted at 8:51 AM
Governor says LCC doesn’t have authority to interfere; ACLU files lawsuit for early release of vulnerable prisoners; lawsuit says prison staff are threatening inmates who report symptoms of COVID-19; health secretary lashes out at Republicans, answers kids’ questions; state records 42 deaths, 1,106 infections
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday she has instructed legal counsel to file lawsuit against the Republican-controlled panel that overturned her executive order limiting the size of church crowds.
The governor said she would challenge the authority of the Legislative Coordinating Council, a panel of five Republican and two Democratic legislative leaders, and ask the Kansas Supreme Court to expedite the matter.
Kelly issued an executive order earlier this week to criminalize gatherings of 10 or more individuals at churches and funerals, a decision made after health officials connected three outbreaks of COVID-19 to religious gatherings. The LCC voted along party lines to reject the order, with Republicans saying it was good public policy but a violation of constitutional rights.
“What the LCC did yesterday, in concert with the Kansas attorney general, weakened and confused our emergency response efforts, putting every Kansan at risk,” Kelly said. “I will not stand by with lives in jeopardy.”....................
Read more: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20200409/kansas-coronavirus-update-gov-laura-kelly-takes-fight-over-church-crowds-to-supreme-court
= new reply since forum marked as read