Post by Logan on Mar 23, 2016 4:15:44 GMT -6
The Senate narrowly voted Tuesday to expand the list of impeachable offenses for the governor, Supreme Court justices and other officials, opening up high officials to ouster efforts for discourteous behavior and usurping power from other branches of government.
Senate Bill 439 passed in a 21-19 vote. Although the bill includes justices, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general, it was originally targeted squarely at the justices, eliciting accusations from opponents that it amounted to a pushback effort against a court that has frustrated lawmakers in recent months.
Democrats called the changes a smoke screen to obscure the real aim of the bill: muzzling the judiciary.
Under the Kansas Constitution, officials can be impeached for treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors. The bill adds definition to what exactly those high crimes and misdemeanors are — defining, among other things, failure to adequately perform job duties, reckless conduct and breach of the public trust as impeachable offenses.
Read more: cjonline.com/news/2016-03-22/kansas-senate-passes-bill-defining-impeachable-offenses
Senate Bill 439 passed in a 21-19 vote. Although the bill includes justices, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general, it was originally targeted squarely at the justices, eliciting accusations from opponents that it amounted to a pushback effort against a court that has frustrated lawmakers in recent months.
Democrats called the changes a smoke screen to obscure the real aim of the bill: muzzling the judiciary.
Under the Kansas Constitution, officials can be impeached for treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors. The bill adds definition to what exactly those high crimes and misdemeanors are — defining, among other things, failure to adequately perform job duties, reckless conduct and breach of the public trust as impeachable offenses.
Read more: cjonline.com/news/2016-03-22/kansas-senate-passes-bill-defining-impeachable-offenses