Kelly vetoes 15 bills, rejecting GOP efforts on elections, school vouchers and local control
The sweeping vetoes target legislation that would have banned mail-in voting, restricted local governments and undone 2016 juvenile justice reforms.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Escalating her ongoing clash with the Republican supermajority, Gov. Laura Kelly struck down 15 bills Wednesday, citing federal law violations, voter disenfranchisement and executive overreach.
Elections and voting access were central to the vetoes. Kelly vetoed House Bill 2569, which would have eliminated mail-in voting for many Kansans and restricted election-related lawsuits to Shawnee County District Court. She argued the bill deliberately targeted vulnerable voters who rely on mail ballots because of work, age, disability or geography. She also vetoed House Bill 2437, saying it imposed online voter registration restrictions that risked purging eligible voters from the rolls, and House Bill 2587, which would have mandated new driver's license citizenship checks that Kelly said are already strictly enforced.
Kelly also vetoed Senate Bill 361, rejecting it as a backdoor private school voucher program that she said lacked sufficient vetting and could defund public schools.
Several vetoes pushed back against what Kelly characterized as state overreach into local governance. Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 462 and House Bill 2593, both of which would have transferred local government authority to the state attorney general's office. "Access to the courts should not be conditioned on the attorney general's discretion," Kelly said. She also vetoed Senate Bill 391, which would have restricted local officials' ability to set housing and renter policies.
In criminal justice, Kelly vetoed House Bill 2329, which she argued would undo the landmark 2016 juvenile justice reforms championed by the late Rep. Russ Jennings, R-Lakin. She also vetoed House Bill 2651, protecting judges' discretion to issue summonses instead of warrants for low-level, nonviolent felonies.
Statements on all 15 vetoes from GOP House Speaker can be found on his Facebook page at facebook.com/vote4hawkins.
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