The Kansas City Star reports:
A Senate committee advanced a bill Thursday that would expand the reasons for impeaching Kansas Supreme Court justices, including “attempting to usurp the power” of the Legislature or executive branch….
Senate Vice President Jeff King, an Independence Republican and committee chairman, voted against the proposal, saying it could open the door to impeachment proceedings against justices making decisions in good faith.
“Has the Supreme Court issued opinions I disagree with? Absolutely,” said King, noting that Kansas has retention elections for justices.
“I don’t want impeachment proceedings to even be hinted at as based on a decision a justice makes in their official capacity,” he said
Sen. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican, supported the bill, saying that defining high crimes and misdemeanors is simply part of the checks and balances necessary in a system with three branches of government.
“That’s the way it’s designed,” Knox said. “Supreme Court justices have become kings, where there is no check.”