The state of Kansas is located in the north-central part of the country. Kansas voters will be asked to reduce the authority of the governor and other state officials and give the Legislature a bigger say in how the state regulates businesses, protects the environment and preserves residents' health.
The amendment would make it easier for the Legislature to overturn regulations written by state agencies and boards. There are rules that vary from which shots are required for children attending school to how often hotels have to clean their rooms.
The measure is seen as reining in unelected bureaucrats. In the final weeks of the campaign, abortion rights advocates warn that it is another attempt by far-right legislators to gain power.
Three months after voters resoundingly rejected a proposed amendment to eliminate state constitutional protections for abortion, the November vote will take place. The yard signs from the abortion vote have been used by those opposed to the regulation amendment.
"We need you to vote no on that amendment," the governor said after casting an early ballot. It is clear that it is a violation of the separation of powers.
Republican leaders have not always been able to overturn Kelly's vetoes. Republicans pushed for a change in the constitution after they battled her over the coronaviruses.
One of the most potent ways the executive can carry out their policies is through executive orders. This is a push back by the Legislature.
Raising a stink and pushing the agency to back off is the Legislature's most effective tactic when objecting to a regulation. The governor has the power to veto a bill that overturns the rule.
Barbara Wasinger is a Republican from western Kansas and the joint committee's vice chair. They can tell you not to care.
With no option for the governor to veto the move, the Legislature would be able to nullify agency rules with a simple majority vote in both chambers.
Democrats like Kelly have been the most vocal. The measure would strip agencies of their independence, according to Lynn Rogers.
The measure would apply to the Attorney General's office, but he still supports it. The Secretary of State supports it because it makes the most sense for the legislature to have that power over policy. The insurance commissioner hasn't taken a public position.
It is not clear how the measure would affect the State Board of Education, which has 10 elected members. In the past, the Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that the board can set its own policy without the approval of the Legislature. The board has not made a decision.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that the practice of giving the Legislature the power to rewrite agency rules was in violation of the state constitution.
Legislators have the power to block or repeal regulations in most states. The Legislature can invalidate regulations in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, New Jersey and Nevada.
Unless the Legislature votes to extend them, agency rules are temporary in Colorado. Joint legislative committees in Illinois and Wisconsin are able to block rules, but they can't enforce them.
Legislators in Kansas worry that regulators are too eager to expand their reach.
Legislators were concerned about an existing state health rule requiring beauty shops, nail salons and skin care providers to have separate sinks for hand- washing and services for clients. A longstanding Kansas law exempting hair braiders from state regulation resulted from anger over a state board telling two women that they couldn't work at a festival without a license.
Lawmakers probably wouldn't use the new power very much, when agencies clearly do something the Legislature didn't intend, according to supporters of the amendment. Business groups don't have specific regulations in mind.
Republicans and business groups could target rules for controlling air and water pollution or worker safety.
A few Republicans this year sought to strip the state health department of the power to revise its regulations to require new vaccines for children in school. The proposed amendment would make it easier for them to pass a law and get past a governor's veto.
An anti-amendment group called Keep Kansas Free was formed by a former state revenue secretary.
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