Latest news with #CindyHolscher
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas efficiency panel wades through public input, creates plan to tackle transparency, access
Sen. Cindy Holscher, left, and Sen. Doug Shane considered submissions from the public as part of Tuesday's Senate Committee on Government Efficiency meeting. (Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency dug through hundreds of online submissions Tuesday and set an agenda for the coming months tackling issues from transparency to auditing. The meeting agenda, released Monday, said committee members would discuss suggestions received through the COGE portal, where Kansans were encouraged to share ideas to make the government more efficient. Erickson said 3,254 submissions were made to date, with topics ranging from specific ideas about government efficiency to people who were venting frustrations. There also were a few recipes, she said. She has read all the submissions and with the help of committee staff had winnowed the number for consideration to 349 'COGE-like submissions,' Erickson said. The committee agreed that submissions that might not fit the COGE mission could be passed along to state agencies or others who could address the issues. 'How are we going to carve this bird today? That's the $64,000 question. There are submissions that deal with local and federal,' Erickson said. 'Our focus is not to deal with those one-offs that I would call more constituent services, someone who has a specific issue. But are there patterns?' Setting aside those that didn't fall into the COGE focus left the committee with 349 submissions to consider. Erickson stressed that all committee members have access to the 3,000-plus submissions received and could add topics at any time. 'Identify tangible ideas,' she said. 'We want to look for things that are possibilities to take up during our next legislative session. You can start to see some themes, some natural groupings.' To get an idea of the time involved and how to best work through the emails, the committee took about 30 minutes to look through 40 pages of submissions and then began discussions of what issues might be appropriate for COGE to consider. Eventually, they considered all 349 submissions. The result? The committee will discuss the following broad topics in order of importance: Transparency and ease of access Agency workflow and interagency cooperation Impact of third-party vendors, professional organizations and other non-government entities Auditing process/auditing environment State budgeting and expenditure practices Cost and access of medical care Procurement As the committee reached agreement on overall categories to explore, members also looked at what would put teeth into what they're doing. 'We've got to identify it, and we've got to rectify it,' Erickson said. She also said she'd like to consider how to incentivize state agencies to become more efficient. Sen. Larry Alley, R-Winfield, said the committee needs to consider how to enforce its work. 'If we don't put some type of penalty in there — and usually the agencies or the other groups don't respond unless It's taking care of their money — if you penalize them in some way for not doing their job, then they will correct it,' he said. 'But if you don't, they're not going to correct need some teeth, and that teeth usually goes with what we only have up here and that's the only thing we have, is a budget process of money.' Erickson agreed that accountability will be a factor in the committee's work. 'What would that look like as we identify efficiencies or waste? What was the term someone used, identify and rectify? I like that,' she said. 'What does that rectify part look like to me? That's the accountability, the teeth that we're talking about.' Sen. Doug Shane, a Louisburg Republican, said accountability could look like training. 'We tie in whatever the legislative expectations are, as far as monitoring for waste and bloat or what have you, and come up with some very clear legislative guidelines, statutory guidelines that if they aren't followed, that maybe the quote, unquote punishment is we're going to be trained on efficient and ethical spending of taxpayer funds,' he said. The committee agreed it would start in June by digging into the top two priorities with three agencies: the Kansas Department for Children and Families; the Kansas judicial branch, including include local sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies; and the Kansas Department of Labor. Sen. Mike Thompson, a Johnson County Republican, said he wants the agencies to bring ideas on creating efficiencies. 'I don't want the agency to come and tell us why they can't do something,' he said. 'I want them to come with ideas, and I think that needs to be our big focus.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Democrat sees ‘awakening' in suppressed public comments that criticize DOGE and COGE
Sen. Cindy Holscher appears at the Statehouse in Topeka as part of the 50501 national day of action on May 1, 2025. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — As the ranking Democrat on a Kansas Senate committee modeled after Elon Musk's supposed efforts to make federal government more efficient, Sen. Cindy Holscher was 'a little bit suspicious' of what GOP leaders in the Legislature really had in mind. Instead of looking for waste, she said on the Kansas Reflector podcast, Republicans at both the federal and state level have hurt people by eliminating critical services and jobs. In Kansas, the Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, took its cues from out-of-state lobbyists who promoted extremist legislation, she said. Much of the committee's work resulted in adding red tape to public assistance programs. Meanwhile, everyday Kansans from all corners of the state responded in real time throughout the legislative session with suggestions and comments that showed the ruling party was at odds with the people they serve — but the committee chairwoman, Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, of Wichita, kept those voices hidden until the session was over, in defiance of state open records law. For Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, the comments showed how frustrated Kansans are with Republican leadership. 'I do think there's been an awakening to some degree and respect that what's happened on the federal level is hitting people in the pocketbook, and so I think people are taking more notice,' Holscher said. She added: 'The thing I think that is very important is that, you know, people need to connect the dots in terms of, then, what's happening on the state level that's coming, that's going to affect them.' Among her concerns: a looming budget crisis that could imperil public school funding. She appeared in a red 'I (heart) public schools' T-shirt at a May 1 rally at the Statehouse, where hundreds of Kansans protested Musk's work with DOGE. When Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, announced the formation of COGE before the session launched in January, he said he wanted to explore ways to make government more efficient. The committee launched an online portal where Kansans were invited to submit their ideas. Those who navigated the portal were informed that their comments would be subject to open records law and could be made public. Kansas Reflector submitted a formal request for those comments in early February, and the request bounced around for three weeks before landing in Erickson's inbox. Erickson initially said it would take two months to comply with the request, ostensibly to allow time to redact comments that revealed personal information. She then agreed to release the emails on April 9 — two weeks after the Legislature had concluded almost all of its work. But Kansas Reflector independently obtained copies of more than 1,500 of the public comments in advance of their official release. Nearly all of the comments were antithetical to the committee's work, and some of the comments questioned the committee's existence. 'What are you doing? Have you not, as an elected representative, practiced efficiency in all the bills you have introduced and votes you have taken? Give me a break. COGE is not necessary bureaucracy,' wrote Christopher Berg, of Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas Reflector didn't verify the names provided with submissions. Max Kautsch, a First Amendment attorney, wrote in a column for Kansas Reflector that Erickson had make a mockery of open records law by delaying the release of public comments. 'The real reason for her delay became clear: The portal was a repository for criticism of the supermajority's legislative agenda, and it was in the supermajority's interest to keep that fact from the public for as long as possible,' Kautsch wrote. Erickson told the Committee to Protect Journalists that allegations she mishandled open records requests were 'patently false,' but Holscher said 'there's no doubt' Erickson violated the Kansas Open Records Act by not turning the comments over in a reasonable amount of time. Holscher said she didn't even get access to the records, which could have informed the committee's work, until the end of March, in the final days of the session. 'I think they were just trying to run out the clock of session, honestly,' Holscher said. 'And really, I think it's because the suggestions that were received showed that this Legislature is very much out of step with the will of the people.' The comments included complaints about Republican lawmakers' attacks on transgender Kansans and reproductive rights, as well as their failure to expand Medicaid or legalize marijuana. Holscher declined to identify her favorite public comments, as so many were shockingly profane. 'Well, it's a family podcast,' she said. 'I don't know if I can share some of those. I will say there were some that were very pointed in terms of their feelings about this Legislature and the direction that this committee was going.' A multitude of people who submitted comments through the portal took aim at Masterson, the Senate president who created the committee. They questioned Masterson's lucrative Koch-funded post at Wichita State University, his generous use of hair gel, and blockage of medicinal marijuana bills. 'Get Ty Masterson to quit being a chode and allow legalized marijuana to be grown and sold in Kansas,' wrote an individual who identified themself as Blake F, of Sedgwick. 'It's like printing money, but that d*** tickler keeps c***blocking a slam dunk.' Jason Young, of Lawrence, directed his comment to Masterson and other GOP leaders: 'Quit swinging from Trump's nuts and spending all of our hard earned Kansans money on election denying lawsuits and worrying about who f***ing uses what restroom.' Other comments submitted through the online portal directly addressed the existence of COGE and the work Musk is doing through the federal counterpart, known as DOGE. 'Seriously, government would be more efficient if it didn't waste its time and our money on things as obviously stupid as this portal,' wrote Matt Paul, of Wichita. Noreen Carrocci, also of Wichita, said the Legislature shouldn't do what Musk and DOGE were doing, which she described as 'dismantling the government in a chaotic fashion with NO strategic thinking or planning.' 'If you decide you want to legally audit departments then do so transparently and thoughtfully, and consult the professionals in the respective departments,' she wrote. 'What is happening at the federal level is illegal, immoral, and tragic. Let's not follow that kind of leadership here in Kansas.' Holscher said the Legislature should pay attention to comments that complained about the legislative process. Several people said committees should provide a three-day window to submit testimony on bills, or complained about the 'gut and go' process, in which lawmakers at the end of the session 'amend' a bill by inserting the contents of other bills, sometimes including ones that received no hearing. And she noted that Republicans failed to deliver on their campaign promises to provide property tax relief. Instead, they passed another plan to lower income taxes. 'They have a supermajority,' Holscher said. 'They can pass whatever they want. If they really wanted to get property tax relief, they could have.' An interim COGE meeting is scheduled for May 13.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas Democrat attempts to insert narrow medical marijuana legalization into treatment bill
Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat on Dec. 2, 2024. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A Senate Democrat unsuccessfully attempted to insert 'medicinal cannabis' among treatments allowed under a bill meant to broaden Kansans' access to experimental drugs. Democratic Sen. Cindy Holscher, who introduced Wednesday the amendment that would have legalized medicinal cannabis for terminally ill patients, later emphasized her intention was not to create a public medical marijuana program. 'I think most of you realize I would not bring something of that magnitude to an important bill like SB 250,' said Holscher, of Overland Park, Wednesday evening. 'That amendment, rather, was to mirror what was approved by President Trump in the Right to Try Act, which is a very defined, narrow scope only for terminally ill patients.' Senate Bill 250, introduced and carried on the Senate floor by Eudora Republican Sen. Beverly Gossage, would create the Right to Try for Individualized Investigative Treatments Act. Investigational treatments can also be referred to as experimental drugs, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The bill would permit people who are unable to find relief from rare, life-threatening or debilitating conditions to access individualized, genetics-based medical treatment. The drug trial evaluation system in the U.S. is designed to evaluate medications meant to help larger populations leaving behind drugs that can be individually tailored to a patient's unique genetic makeup, Gossage said. 'Individualized treatments are being pioneered in the U.S. and abroad, but often patients in the U.S. travel thousands of miles,' she said. The bill passed the Senate and is awaiting approval in the House. Holscher supported the bill as a whole but voiced concerns. 'I don't want to give people false hope,' she said, 'yet I certainly would not stand in the way of a parent or individual trying to get medical help for a family member.' Her amendment added medicinal cannabis to the list of treatments allowed under the definition of individualized investigative treatment. Cannabis 'has been found to have proven benefits for those with life-threatening or debilitating diseases,' Holscher said. During floor debate on the amendment, Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican who sat on the two-day 2024 interim committee that evaluated the possibility of medical marijuana in Kansas, said adding legislation opens a door to unintended consequences. 'We've examined medical cannabis for quite some time,' Thompson said, 'and the term medical cannabis is nothing but a marketing ploy.' Medical marijuana is legal in 39 states and Washington, D.C., and recreational use is legal in 24 states and Washington, D.C. Recreational use of marijuana is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Kansas and Idaho are the only states without any form of marijuana legalization. In 2023, of the four proposed bills in Kansas related to medical marijuana, one received a hearing and died in committee. In 2024, two were introduced and both died in committee. Gossage admonished Holscher's amendment after nine Democrats voted in favor and all 31 Republicans voted against it. 'I just think it's tragic that we would turn a discussion on a right to try for individualized treatment for patients with ultra-rare, life-threatening, debilitating diseases that could be life-saving to a debate on so-called medical marijuana,' she said. 'That should be a completely separate bill.'
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Senate's efficiency committee embraces trio of bills aimed at state spending
Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, objected to a series of bills approved by the Senate Government Efficiency Committee that would force an potentially redundant search for food stamp fraud, strip funding for unfilled state government jobs and limit the ability of state agencies to comply with federal mandates. Here, Holscher chats with then-Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha, in 2023 on the Senate floor. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Cautionary warnings from Democratic Sen. Cindy Holscher about pitfalls of three budget-related bills didn't soften resolve of Senate Republicans eager to pursue their vision of state government efficiency. The GOP majority on the Senate Government Efficiency Committee voted last week to present the full Senate with bills deleting money for state jobs vacant more than 180 days, prohibiting state agencies from enhancing public assistance without legislative permission, and creating a new layer of state-coordinated investigation into food stamp fraud. Holscher, of Overland Park, appeared the most skeptical about Senate Bill 85, which directed the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, to redouble reviews of state and federal information to search for Kansas families trying to exploit the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, has been one of the most effective U.S. anti-hunger programs since created in the 1960s. 'I have huge concerns with this bill,' Holscher said. 'We'd be reverifying information that has already been verified. We are supposed to be working in the name of government efficiency, and this makes government bigger and adds more red tape.' DCF's fraud investigation office has more than a dozen investigators assigned to detecting, preventing and prosecuting welfare fraud in all public assistant programs, including those related to food, child care and medical assistance. One estimate indicated addition of this new SNAP oversight program could cost the state $9 million to $10.5 million annually and require the hiring of 110 additional state personnel. The federal government covers 100% of SNAP benefits to households, while the federal and state government share administrative costs. In 2023, SNAP benefitted 200,000 Kansans at a federal cost of more than $500 million. Under the bill, information about DCF investigations and findings of noncompliance would be published quarterly on the state agency's website. Steven Greene, the Kansas-based lobbyist with Opportunity Solutions Project, urged the committee to continue tightening food stamp allocations. Greene said it was essential Kansas require more frequent data cross-checks of food stamp enrollment against death, lottery and incarceration records as well as changes in residency. 'Kansas can strengthen its safety net and remove ineligible individuals, bringing the focus back to those with a true need,' he said. 'When someone wins the lottery, they should no longer collect food stamps. And, when someone moves to another state, they should stop receiving benefits from that state.' The Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project is associated with conservative groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council, Cato Institute and State Policy Network through affiliation with the Foundation for Government Accountability. The GOP-led Senate committee endorsed Senate Bill 161, which would mandate legislative approval prior to a state agency seeking or implementing any public assistance program created by the federal government that expanded eligibility in Kansas or cost to the state. Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, said the bill would address complaints that state officials in the administration of Gov. Laura Kelly sought to press ahead with controversial reforms to programs for people with disabilities. Some disability advocates were distressed about potential changes to programs for intellectual or developmentally disabled Kansans and took their complaints to legislators. 'Changes were being proposed … without adequate input,' Thompson said. The bill could interfere with state agencies trying to adjust services to comply with federal law. For example, Kansas' $3.7 billion Medicaid program could be out of compliance with federal directives if it didn't adjust payment rates in a timely manner, given that any net increase in cost without legislative consent would be blocked. 'This is going to create bottlenecks by adding more red tape, which does not feel very efficient,' Holscher said. Opponent to the bill included the Alliance for Healthy Kansas, Disability Rights Center of Kansas, KanCare Advocates Network, Kansas Action for Children as well as of Harvesters Community Food Network, Kansas Food Bank and Second Harvest Community Food Bank. The Senate committee approved Senate Bill 99 to strip state funding for full-time jobs still vacant after 180 days. On July 1, vacant positions would be kept on the books without a state appropriation attached. The Legislature or a council of state lawmakers that handled business when the House and Senate weren't in session would decide whether to issue funding for each position. Questions were raised about the bill because of difficulties Attorney General Kris Kobach has had in hiring attorneys. The committee debated but set aside an amendment from Sen. Larry Alley, R-Winfield, that attempted to help Kobach. 'I appreciate what you're attempting to do,' said Sen. Michael Murphy, a Sylvia Republican. 'As confused as we are … I'm afraid when the implementation comes it will be equally confusing, if not more so.' Sen. Adam Thomas, the Olathe Republican who introduced the bill, said there was plenty of time to address flaws in the personnel legislation. 'The beauty of what we do is it doesn't go from committee to the governor. We can amend it on the Senate floor,' Thomas said. Holscher, who registered apprehension about this bill as well, said cutting off funding for vacancies didn't help any state agency's ability to fill vacancies. 'This potentially creates an even worse situation,' she said.
