Kan. gov. signs compromise bill ending AIDS quarantine ban

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation aimed at protecting medical and emergency workers that also repeals a 25-year-old ban on quarantining people diagnosed with AIDS and HIV.

Brownback signed the measure Wednesday, and the changes take effect in July.

The bill directs the state health department to draft rules making it easier for medical and emergency workers to learn if they've been exposed to infectious diseases.

The provision repealing the 1988 law protecting AIDS and HIV patients had faced strong criticism from gay rights advocates and civil libertarians. The Kansas Equality Coalition (KEC) reached an agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on April 4 on language in the bill.

But the state health department promised legislators its new rules would continue a ban, and critics accepted the changes. The KDHE will create list of diseases not subject to quarantine. Tom Witt, Executive Director of KEC said "This list will become a part of Kansas Administrative Rules and Regulations, which have the force of law and with which all health officials in Kansas are required to comply."

Health department officials also said that even without a ban, it would never be medically necessary to quarantine AIDS or HIV patients.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.