Kansas governor nixes abortion, anti-diversity budget items

Apr 21, 2023, 2:43 PM

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly gives her inaugural address at the start of her second term, Monday, Jan. 9...

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly gives her inaugural address at the start of her second term, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, outside the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The Democratic governor has vetoed anti-abortion and anti-diversity provisions included in the next state budget by Republican lawmakers, intensifying a conflict over culture war issues. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/John Hanna)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed anti-diversity and anti-abortion provisions in Kansas’ next state budget Friday, intensifying a conflict with the Republican-controlled Legislature over culture war issues that could see her scotch a dozen or more conservative initiatives.

The governor has the power to excise individual budget items and used it to eliminate $2 million in state tax dollars for anti-abortion centers providing free counseling and pregnancy and parenting services. She’s previously vetoed two bills that would enact anti-abortion policies despite a decisive statewide vote in August 2022 affirming abortion rights.

Kelly vetoed a budget provision that would have prevented state universities from using diversity equity and inclusion principles in their hiring. She nixed another provision barring the state board that licenses mental health professionals from requiring them or giving them incentives to undergo training involving diversity or anti-racism theories.

The governor also has vetoed five bills rolling back transgender rights, including a sweeping bathroom bill and a measure that would have ended gender-affirming care for minors. GOP lawmakers are expected to try to override most if not all of Kelly’s vetoes on hot-button issues when they reconvene next week to wrap up their business for the year.

“Governor Kelly had two choices — to honor her campaign pledge to govern from the middle or to move Kansas sharply towards the left,” Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said after several vetoes earlier this week. “The governor has clearly chosen the latter.”

Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the U.S. have pursued several hundred measures this year rolling back LGBTQ+ rights and attacking liberal ideas or policies in education and business. While voters in GOP-leaning Kansas affirmed abortion rights and narrowly reelected Kelly last year, they also left conservatives firmly in charge of the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Kelly has until Monday to act on a bill that would allow parents environmental, social and governance issues in investing public funds or awarding government contracts.

On the budget legislation, Kelly followed the traditional Kansas practice of signing the measure itself — containing most of a proposed $24 billion annual budget — while vetoing multiple individual items.

The aid to the anti-abortion centers would have helped them aid both pregnant people and new parents, providing supplies, parenting and life-skills classes and job training or placement. It also would have started a state-supported advertising program to make them more visible.

Lawmakers put the money in the budget for State Treasurer Steven Johnson, a Republican who opposes abortion, rather than in a department under the control of Kelly, an abortion rights supporter. In her veto message, Kelly suggested that neither the state’s founders nor any of its treasurers would have seen such a program as part of the office’s duties.

“This is not an evidence-based approach or even an effective method for preventing unplanned pregnancies,” Kelly said.

Republican lawmakers also are hoping to pass a proposal to provide up to $10 million a year in state income tax credits to the centers’ donors.

Kelly this week vetoed a bill that would have subjected doctors to criminal charges or lawsuits if a newborn is delivered alive during certain abortion procedures and they are accused of not providing the care that a physician reasonably would with other live deliveries.

On the anti-diversity provisions, Kelly said the one for the board licensing mental health professionals could have restricted training “in life-saving practices,” without being more specific.

She said the provision for state universities would have hindered hiring, made it harder for them to attract federal and private grants and hurt efforts to “support students from all backgrounds.”

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said Kelly had rejected measures to “support women in need” and prevent “the prevention of radical ideology” using tax dollars.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

United States News

FILE - Chris Licht attends the 16th annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute on Dec. 11, 2022, in New Yor...

Associated Press

CNN ousts CEO Chris Licht after a brief, tumultuous tenure

CNN ousted chief executive Chris Licht after a tumultuous year leading the struggling news network.

19 hours ago

FILE - Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart looks on during his town hall meeting on March 31, 2017, ...

Associated Press

Utah to hold election for retiring congressman’s seat in November

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Wednesday that the election to replace resigning U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart will take place in the fall, expediting the timeline prescribed by state law to ensure the six-term Republican’s seat doesn’t remain vacant for more than a few months. Stewart informed Cox, also a […]

19 hours ago

The Connecticut State Capitol building is seen in Hartford, Conn., Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Connecticu...

Associated Press

Connecticut to adjourn largely bipartisan session in contrast to rancor in other states

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed protections for abortion providers and gave more power to libraries facing book challenges — and they did it with Republican support. All but 13 Republicans voted for the major gun control bill that’s already being challenged in court. Bucking the partisan rancor seen in other legislatures […]

19 hours ago

Associated Press

6 arrested in alleged scheme to fraudulently collect millions in COVID aid meant for renters

SEATTLE (AP) — Six people from Washington, Arizona and Texas have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid from an assistance program meant for renters, federal prosecutors said. U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, Western District of Washington, on Wednesday announced the arrests and charges of wire fraud and money laundering. […]

19 hours ago

Associated Press

2 Connecticut officers fired over treatment of man paralyzed in police van after 2022 arrest

The City of New Haven, Connecticut, fired two police officers Wednesday for what authorities called their reckless actions and lack of compassion toward Richard “Randy” Cox, who was injured and became paralyzed in the back of a police van after his arrest last year. City police commissioners voted to dismiss Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera […]

19 hours ago

President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in...

Associated Press

Biden vetoes bill to cancel student debt relief

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have canceled his plan to forgive student debt. The measure had been pushed by Republicans, but it garnered a handful of Democratic votes in the Senate as well. “It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue […]

19 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

re:vitalize

Why drug-free weight loss still matters

Wanting to lose weight is a common goal for many people as they progress throughout life, but choosing between a holistic approach or to take medicine can be a tough decision.

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

Kansas governor nixes abortion, anti-diversity budget items