TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas will soon make it easy for workers to claim religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine requirements and promise unemployment benefits to people who are fired after refusing the shots, joining other states in resisting federal mandates from President Joe Biden.
But Gov. Laura Kelly angered some fellow Democrats in the Republican-controlled Legislature by promising to sign a measure pushed to passage late Monday night by GOP lawmakers. Meanwhile, Republicans frustrated the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, normally influential within the GOP, by embracing proposals that the business group opposed.
The bill would require employers to grant a religious exemption to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for any worker who seeks one in writing, without second-guessing that employee. Republican leaders initially were divided over whether it was necessary to also promise fired workers unemployment benefits, but House leaders who’d resisted came around during negotiations with the Senate.
Republican lawmakers passed the measure after forcing Kelly to call the Legislature into a special session when it had adjourned in May and wasn’t set to reconvene until January. Conservatives wanted to go further - including by banning private businesses from imposing their own vaccine mandates - but settled for less after GOP leaders promised other issues will be considered starting in January.
“Many of us here tonight wanted a lot more, but this is a victory for liberty and the patriots standing tall across Kansas,” said Sen. Mike Thompson, a conservative Republican from the Kansas City suburb of Shawnee.
The votes Monday night were 24-11 in the Senate and 77-34 in the House. Many GOP lawmakers argued that vaccine-refusing workers couldn’t wait until January or later for the legislature to act.
“We have to stay focused on the priority, which is protecting those people right now that could be losing their jobs,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican.
Lawmakers debated the measure with new COVID-19 cases on the rise. Kansas averaged 1,201 new cases, 26 additional hospitalizations and four additional deaths a day for the seven days ending Monday, according to state health department data. The federal government reported that 54.3% of its population was fully vaccinated, compared with the national figure of 59.2%.
Kansas also had its special legislative session as Republican governors, state attorneys general and lawmakers pursued ways to resist the Biden mandates. Iowa enacted a law last month extending unemployment benefits to workers who refuse to get vaccinated, and provisions in the Kansas legislation were inspired by measures enacted last week in Florida.
One question is whether such state laws can be enforced because federal law is supreme.
Supporters argued that the Kansas measure would stand because it wouldn’t conflict with Biden’s mandates, which allow for religious exemptions. But some business owners and the Kansas Chamber were skeptical. They worried that businesses would be caught between conflicting state and federal mandates.
“You’re going to make a wrong decision, no matter what,” said Alan Rupe, a Wichita attorney who represents companies in employment law cases.
Many Democrats saw the bill as a largely symbolic measure that offers little real protection to workers who want to resist vaccine mandates.
Democratic state Rep. Vic Miller, of Topeka, dismissed it as a “sham,” saying whether workers can avoid Biden’s mandates will be settled by the federal lawsuits challenging them. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican seeking to oust Kelly in next year’s governor’s race, has brought Kansas into three multi-state lawsuits.
Some Democrats also were upset that top Republicans were telling GOP lawmakers that Kelly’s staff had indicated ahead of the legislature’s final votes that she would sign the measure - before Democrats had heard from her or her office.
“In the end, I think we will all regret the compromise,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat. “This may placate some people, but I believe the governor has made a bad bargain.”
Kelly faces a difficult reelection campaign next year, and her presumed Republican opponent, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, has brought Kansas into three multi-state lawsuits. Schmidt called the measure “a welcome companion to our ongoing legal efforts.”
The Kansas Chamber argued that neither the state nor the federal government should impose mandates but leave decisions about vaccines between employers and their workers. It also objected to the measure because it says that if employers don’t grant a religious exemption to workers who ask for them, they could be fined up to $50,000 per violation.
“What business owner wants to raise their hand in the air and say, ‘Fine me’?” said Eric Stafford, a chamber lobbyist.
The measure says religious exemptions would cover beliefs that aren’t tied to a belief in God but simply a strong moral objection. Some critics saw it as a huge loophole that will allow bogus claims of religious objections, but supporters said neither government nor employers should judge a person’s beliefs.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.