Resolution seeks to clarify role of Kansas courts, legislature

on

Kansas House of Representatives member Pete DeGraaf, a Republican from Mulvane, will soon introduce a resolution “concerning the expenditure of public moneys to finance certain litigation against the Legislature or the State of Kansas.” Dick Kelsey will introduce the resolution in the Kansas Senate.

Language in the resolution clarifies the role and purpose of both courts and legislatures, noting that “Courts are concerned only with the legislative power to enact statutes and appropriate money, not with the wisdom behind those enactments or appropriations.”

The resolution also recognizes “The determination of the amounts, sources and objectives of expenditures of public moneys, especially at the state level, presents issues of enormous practical and political complexity, and resolution appropriately is largely left to the interplay of the interests and forces directly involved and indirectly affected in the arenas of legislative and executive activity.”

The resolution specifically states that any ruling by a court regarding a specific level of funding is to be considered advisory only, not binding. It also forbids tax money from being used to “finance or support litigation challenging the constitutionality of the amount of any legislative appropriation.”

The full text of the resolution is available here. Coverage from State of the State Kansas is at Senator Kelsey Introduces Resolution Preventing Public Funds To Sue the State.

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.