By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As the Kansas Senate and House negotiate over language to change the state's emergency response statute, State Senator Dr. Mark Steffen notes the differences in the times from the days of the so-called Spanish Flu and polio to today.
"All our previous pandemic sort of laws were written in an era where people really looked at things through the lens of a servant leader and what was in the best interest of the individual and society," Steffen said. "We saw that thing veer off course and decisions made that blew up our schools, blew up our economy."
Steffen is looking at the statute with the intent of our founders in mind.
"There's a huge layer of our population that is incredibly engaged and concerned from a constitutional standpoint," Steffen said. "That's ultimately going to be the lens that I look at it through. What's constitutional? What doesn't violate individual rights?"
It remains to be seen what the final version of the bill will look like when he has a chance to vote on it again.
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