FILE – A nurse prepares for a COVID-19 test outside the Salt Lake County Health Department, Dec. 20, 2022, in Salt Lake City. The declaration of a COVID-19 public health emergency three years ago changed the lives of millions of Americans by offering increased health care coverage, beefed up food assistance and universal access to coronavirus vaccines and tests. Much of that is now coming to an end, with President Joe Biden’s administration saying it plans to end the emergencies declared around the pandemic on May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Legislature passed a bill that would limit the power of the state health secretary and local health officers regarding infectious and contagious diseases.
The House voted 63-56 to pass House Bill 2285 on Friday, after the Senate passed the bill 22-18. The proposal now heads to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s desk.
The bill includes provisions that would prohibit the state health secretary from requiring COVID-19 vaccines to attend child care or school. It would also remove the requirement for enforcement of isolation and quarantine orders by law enforcement officers, provide employment protection for employees who isolate or quarantine and address orders for school closure during a disaster.
Gov. Kelly has ten days to consider whether to veto or sign the bill.
For the full conference committee report on the bill, click here.
