Topeka – Today, Senate President Ty Masterson announced his office has received signatures from all 29 Republican Senators petitioning the governor to call a special session to fight the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandates. Under the Kansas Constitution, the governor must call a special session if petitioned by two-thirds of both legislative chambers, meaning the Senate has surpassed the number of signatures required.
“Today, my office received signatures from all 29 Republican Senators, demonstrating solidarity against the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional overreach. We look forward to delivering the petition to the governor’s office in the morning,” said Masterson.
According to the petition, the special session would begin on Monday, November 22nd. On Friday, the Special Joint Committee on Government Overreach and the Impact of COVID-19 Mandates will consider two proposed bills with the intent of passing them in the special session.
One bill will prevent the Biden Administration's unconstitutional mandates from exploiting a technicality in unemployment insurance law to deny rightful benefits to Kansans who were forced out of a job due to personal medical decisions or for sincerely held religious beliefs.
A second bill would further strengthen Kansas law concerning religious and medical exemptions, ensuring Kansans who seek such exemptions are granted them.
"The right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed - that's a part of our Kansas Constitution. It's also why we have laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion, and that includes religious tests where one's beliefs are scrutinized, either by the government or an employer,” said Masterson, who added, “We're not going to let the Biden Administration force businesses to play God or doctor and determine whether a religious or medical exemption is valid or not. We're going to trust individual Kansans."
