To the editor:

I dread this time before elections because my mailbox is filled with misleading junk mail. Already I have received two big postcards from “Americans for Prosperity” AKA “the Koch Industries” that helped finance the last election campaigns of some of our local legislators, urging me to vote for the constitutional amendment on the ballot this time. It says that “un-elected bureaucrats make regulations and legislators have no way to stop them,” and claims that the amendment will “make government more efficient and accountable” and empower voters over “special interests.”

The part that irks me the most is that these statements are simply not true. The Legislature already can strike down any regulation by passing a law against it. If a governor vetoes it, the Legislature can override the veto with a super-majority.

This Amendment will remove any power from the governor or any agency by a simple majority (51%) of the legislature, basically a legislative veto over everything. This was tried before, but was found unconstitutional, so now they want us to put it in there. Why is this important and bad? Because it messes with the democratic concept of “separation of powers” which we all learned about in high school government class.

Government is supposed to have separate branches: executive, legislative, and the courts. Each branch has its responsibility and there are checks and balances between them. This amendment removes the balance, giving all power to the legislators and nobody can check them. Currently, if our representatives pass a “special interest” law that we all complain to the Governor about, the Governor can veto it, and then the legislature might need to listen to their constituents whether to override the veto. If this amendment passes, the legislators can and will do whatever they please, because in Kansas there is already a simple majority.

Here’s a question: How will the “special interest” PAC, Americans for Prosperity, benefit from this amendment, because we local voters will not.

The proposed “sheriff” amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot is also misleading, and restricts local voters from reforming local government. Kansas law already requires sheriffs to be elected, but it is not a Constitutional office now. This amendment takes away local power to remove a sheriff for serious misconduct and gives it to the state Attorney General. This is unprecedented and undemocratic.

I am voting “NO” on both of the Amendments. Both are misleading and power grabs from Topeka. The Kansas Constitution is better off without them.

Dee Anne Grummon

Great Bend