Sen. Mark Steffen said state health officials needed to learn humility. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — A Kansas lawmaker known for pushing discredited treatments for people with COVID-19 urged a bill Thursday pumped from the same vein: An attempt to strip state health officials of their authority to fight infectious diseases.
Officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the proposed bill would pose significant health hazards.
Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson, an anesthesiologist who has been investigated for prescribing a discredited treatment of livestock de-wormer to COVID-19 patients, has been a frequent critic of safety measures taken by the governor and state health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His latest endeavor, Senate Bill 391 , would strip state and local government authority to impose quarantines and other measures meant to slow the spread of contagious diseases. Similar legislation has failed to gain traction in previous years.