Governor Kelly rescinds 7 Executive Orders on Tuesday

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -- Governor Laura Kelly has issued a new executive order which will rescind seven pandemic emergency Executive Orders 21-10, 21-12, 21-16, 21-17, 21-18, 21-19, and 21-20. The recisions take effect at 11:59 on June 15th for all except orders 21-16 and 21-20, which will be effective until June 30th, and 21-10, which will stay in force for another month.

“Ending these pandemic executive orders is one of the final actions we will take to end the state of Kansas’ emergency response,” the Governor says in her statement.

“We will transition to an emergency response focused on getting our kids vaccinated and providing logistical support to local communities for vaccines and continued COVID-19 testing. Without a disaster declaration in place, we undermine our ability to achieve these priorities and objectives. We owe it to Kansans to finish the job and wind down the state of disaster emergency responsibly.”

Governor Kelly will leave Executive Orders 21-15 and 21-21 in place in a move she says will support the state’s role in COVID-19 testing and vaccine administration, critical to increasing the rates of vaccinations for school-aged children.

Executive Order 21-15 is the only one in place to require COVID-19 testing in certain adult care homes licensed by the state. Executive Order 21-21 keeps temporary authority for certain medical personnel to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Gov. Kelly says continuing the efforts to vaccinate as many Kansans as quickly as possible would be impeded if that one expires.

Two of her previous orders, 21-16 dealing with driver’s license renewals and 21-20 regarding deadlines for rural water district yearly meetings, are being retained until June 30th.

The orders that expire Tuesday cover the issues of waiving the “waiting week” for unemployment benefits, income tax withholding for any telework done out-of-state, and tuberculin testing requirements.