Latest news with #KansasSenate
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Gov. Jeff Colyer joins Republican primary for Kansas governor
Former Gov. Jeff Colyer announced his campaign for Kansas governor on May 15, becoming the fourth candidate to enter the race. Colyer served about a year as governor, assuming the office after the resignation of Gov. Sam Brownback. He served as Brownback's lieutenant governor and prior to that served a term in the Kansas House and half a term in the Kansas Senate — which he vacated to join Brownback's ticket. Colyer announced his candidacy on Mundo in the Morning, a Kansas City-area talk radio show, on May 14. In a newsletter, he listed his priorities as the following: Make the state more affordable for families. Create a Kansas Department of Government Efficiency to address waste, fraud and red tape. Remove diversity, equity and inclusion directives in schools and universities. Simplify the tax code, lower property taxes and attract jobs. Protect parental rights. Securing the border. Colyer highlighted his ties to President Donald Trump. Colyer chaired Trump's 2024 campaign in the state. "President Trump is leading the greatest American comeback in history — and Kansas needs a Governor who will fight side by side with him. I'm your man. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves, take on the special interests, and deliver real results — for you, your family, and every Kansan who dreams big," Colyer's newsletter said. Colyer sought the governorship in 2018 but narrowly lost the primary to then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach by fewer than 400 votes. Kobach was bolstered by an endorsement from Trump a day before the election. Colyer considered running for the role again in 2022 but left the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Outside of politics, Colyer is a plastic surgeon who has volunteered with the International Medical Corps in war-torn regions. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jeff Colyer is seeking his first full term as Kansas governor
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election reform bills hit Gov. Laura Kelly's desk
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Two election reform bills were sent to Governor Laura Kelly's desk on Monday. Senate Bill 6 focuses on ranked-choice voting (RCV) methods. In Kansas, RCV lets voters rank candidates in order of preference. Under RCV, votes are tabulated in multiple rounds until a candidate receives the majority. SB 6 would remove any RCV voting methods in federal, state, county or municipal offices in Kansas. The Kansas Senate passed the bill on March 17 at a vote of 30 to 10. The Kansas House passed the bill on Thursday, March 13 at a vote of 86 to 37. Under Senate Bill 5, election officials and government agencies cannot take or spend money from a person or federal government for election activities unless authorized by the state. Violations of the act would be considered a level 9, nonperson felony. The Kansas Senate passed Senate Bill 5 on March 17 at a vote of 32 to eight. The Kansas House passed the bill on Thursday, March 13 at a vote of 86 to 37. $72m KDHE Lab in Topeka opening this week Another bill on the Governor's desk, Senate Bill 4, would require the return of advance voting ballots by 7 p.m. on the day of the election. It passed the Kansa Senate on March 6 at 30 to 10 and the Kansas House on Feb. 27 at 80 to 39. Both SB 5 and 6 passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers. For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House approves compromise bill to restrain fees for Kansas open record requests
Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, said factions that clashed on a bill designed to restrain costs to the public of Kansas Open Records Act requests reached a reasonable compromise. The agreement was unanimously passed by the Kansas House and sent to the Kansas Senate for consideration. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas House shelved a proposal Thursday setting fee limits on government agencies responding to public requests under the Kansas Open Records Act and unanimously pivoted to a bill compelling a good-faith effort to control costs for searching, redacting or delivering documents. The original bill, introduced on behalf of the conservative think tank Kansas Policy Institute, would have capped copying costs at 25 cents per page for KORA requests and banned assessments for documents sent electronically to those requesting materials. The initial version said the cost for processing KORA requests would be based on the lowest hourly rate of an employee qualified to handle requests. Those provisions were replaced in House Bill 2134 with language instructing government agencies to make good-faith efforts to control costs of making records available to the public. Assessments for staff time would be related to salaries or wages of the people processing requests, but the rate wouldn't factor in employee benefits. If staff time responding to records request exceeded five hours or $200, the agency holding the records 'shall make reasonable efforts to contact the requester and engage in interactive communication about mitigating costs to fill the request.' In addition, a requester of agencies in the state's executive branch would be allowed to appeal reasonableness of a fee to the Kansas Department of Administration. Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said both sides of the issue came together to work on a compromise. It was important both sides, requesters and responders, were willing to search for middle ground, she said. 'What has happened … is sometimes people request open records and they're hit with a huge fee and charges,' she said. 'Other times people make unreasonable requests. Like to the City of Topeka. Someone wanted to know every email that had the word 'elephant' mentioned in it in the last 10 years. Unreasonable.' The House bill was approved 123-0 and forwarded to the Kansas Senate for consideration. Opponents to the first draft of the bill included the cities of Overland Park, Shawnee, Maize and Topeka; the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police and the Kansas Sheriffs' Association; the League of Kansas Municipalities and the Kansas Association of Counties; as well as the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The critics argued the price structure outlined by Kansas Policy Institute wouldn't reasonably cover the cost associated with large requests for government information. Supporters of the original legislation included the Kansas Association of Broadcasters and Kansas Press Association. 'This is the way the legislative process is supposed to work,' said Rep. Dan Osman, D-Overland Park. 'You get a bill. Sometimes it's not ready for prime time. Sometimes it requires getting everybody in a room and actually hashing it out and coming up with a resolution that works for everybody.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas pronoun bill sparks bipartisan concerns of turning ‘classrooms into courtrooms'
Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican, on Jan. 14, 2025, at a committee meeting at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation that would ban school district employees from using names or pronouns other than a minor student's corresponding biological sex or birth certificate without parental permission, received preliminary approval Wednesday from the Kansas Senate. Senate Bill 76 is among a slate of anti-trans bills making their way through the Legislature this year. In a 40-minute debate on the Senate floor, Democrats and Republicans questioned the bill's validity. The bill, called the 'Given Name Act,' would create a new civil cause of action and prohibit any district, college or university employees 'from suffering any adverse employment actions for declining to address an individual by a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual's birth certificate or biological sex,' the bill reads. Kansas schools do not require a student's birth certificate to attend. Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Democrat from Topeka, attempted to introduce an amendment to the bill that would change its contents to instead characterize it as the 'right to bully' act. 'This bill legalizes bullying in schools,' he said. 'That is the intent.' Schmidt's amendment failed with all 31 Senate Republicans voting against, three Democrats voting in favor and six Democrats passing on a vote. Before introducing his amendment, Schmidt asked Wichita Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, who introduced the bill, about the intentions behind the bill. 'The truth,' Erickson said. 'And protecting teachers' and employees' First Amendment right not to be compelled to use speech that violates their beliefs.' 'I find that a little curious, perhaps a little disingenuous,' Schmidt said. Erickson said the bill clarifies the confusion school staff experience when confronted with a child who wants to use pronouns or a name other than those that are consistent with the child's biological sex or birth certificate. 'When this occurred in the school that I was principal at, the staff was very confused,' she said. Erickson was formerly a middle school principal in the Wichita public school district. 'I think it's pretty simple. There's biological fact,' Erickson said. 'And when a student wants to contradict that, teachers are conflicted between their belief that this is fact and what their beliefs are and respecting what the student wants to be called.' The act specifies a teacher can call a student by their chosen pronouns with written permission from a student's parent. However, students also cannot be compelled to use speech that violates their personal beliefs, Erickson said. 'If a student chooses to call another student by a different pronoun, they are welcome to, but they are not compelled to,' Erickson said. 'They cannot be forced to against their personal beliefs, but if they choose to, they are more than welcome to.' Schmidt cited during debate the disproportionately high rates at which minors who identify as transgender attempt suicide or experience suicidal ideation. Erickson, after acknowledging that any and every suicide is a tragedy no matter the reason, responded: 'It's not surprising due to their confusion over the most basic biological fact.' A 2024 study also showed a link between anti-trans legislation and increased suicidality among transgender and nonbinary youths. Erickson mentioned on the floor the use of 'threats' from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas directed toward school districts creating policies related to pronoun use. Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the organization is engaged in emphasizing students' rights to privacy and protection from harassment under civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution. 'If Sen. Erickson finds guidance about what the Constitution says threatening, perhaps that's an indication that she recognizes that the proposed bill in question has serious problems with its legality,' Kubic said in an emailed statement. Melissa Stiehler, the advocacy director for Kansas-based social justice organization Loud Light, pointed out that the Senate's vote to advance Senate Bill 76 came one day following a successful veto override vote in both chambers enacting gender-affirming care bans for minors. She called Wednesday's bill a continuing 'attack' on transgender children. 'This bill is sloppily written, overly broad, unenforceable and will lead to harassment of both school employees and students,' Stiehler said. She added: 'Rather than coddling the irrational feelings of this overly fragile minority, it may be wise to encourage them to unclutch their pearls and mind their own business.' Stiehler scrutinized in a press release the bill's 'broad litigation clause.' Republican Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican, also questioned whether the bill could expose districts and institutions to increased lawsuits. The First Amendment generally protects students' and teachers' right to free speech and some case law strengthens those protections. Schools cannot force students to engage in speech they disagree with. However, the government, including public schools and universities, has broad authority to limit its employees' speech if that speech impacts the workplace. Republican Sen. Joe Claeys, of Maize, said the bill solves one constitutional violation by creating another. 'In my opinion, the Legislature needs to get out of the pronoun business entirely,' Claeys said. He said the bill creates 'a litigation minefield.' It turns 'classrooms into courtrooms' and 'teachers into defendants,' he said. 'I say we let teachers teach,' Claeys said. 'Let the students learn, and keep the courts out of preferred grammatical constructions.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Child support, EV fees and other bills pass Kansas House
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Several bills passed the Kansas House of Representatives on Wednesday. Lawmakers in the House passed multiple bills on Feb. 19. The bills include raising electric and hybrid vehicle registration fees, defining election dates, establishing guidelines on child support, removing deceased voters from the books and a bill establishing a new decorative license plate option. Kansas beef prices hit all-time highs, expected to climb higher in 2025 House Bill 2062 HB2062 is an act concerning providing support to unborn children from the date of conception. The act establishes guidelines for the amount of child support to be ordered in the state. Under the act, the courts must consider: The needs of the child. The standards of living and circumstances of the parents. The relative financial means of the parents. The earning ability of the parents. The need and capacity of the child for education. The age of the child. The financial resources and earning ability of the child. The responsibility of the parents for the support of others. The value of services contributed by both parents. The direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mother. Under the act, the maximum amount of child support of an unborn child should not exceed the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mother. The bill passed 85-34 and now heads to the Kansas Senate. House Bill 2016 HB 2016 is an act concerning voter registration and using private online obituaries as grounds to remove deceased voters from the registration books. The bill would require election officers to remove deceased voters from the books based on obituary notices, funeral home publications or lists from the secretary of health and environment. The bill passed 106-13 and will now head to the Kansas Senate. House Bill 2121 HB 2121 increases the annual license fees for electric and electric hybrid vehicles with funds distributed back to the state highway and special city and county highway funds. All-electric motorcycle fees increased from $30 to $50. Electric hybrid and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles increased from $50 to $100. All-electric vehicles increased from $100 to $165. electric hybrid and plug-in electric hybrid trucks increased from $125 to $150. All-electric trucks increased from $200 to $250. The bill passed 99-20. The act will be effective on Jan. 1, 2026 if it is approved by the Kansas Senate and Governor Laura Kelly. Topeka woman loses medical license after taking $550,000 from local nonprofit House Bill 2201 HB 2201 will let Kansans purchase distinctive license plates for the Kansas Future Farmers Association (FFA). Those interested must pay a fee between $25 and $100 to to the FFA. Applications for the plates must be made 60 days before the vehicle's registration renewal date. The bill passed 110-9 and now heads to the Kansas Senate for approval. House Bill 2022 HB 2022 is an act to clarify when elections may be held. The act defines when the general election, primary Election and special elections. The general election is to be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The primary election is to be held on the first Tuesday in August of both even-numbered and odd-numbered years. Special elections are elections that arent part of the general or primary election. The bill passed unanimously and now heads to the Kansas Senate. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
