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Kansas Legislature won’t stick Kobach with contempt bill after all

By Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

Kansas lawmakers on Tuesday dropped an effort to require Secretary of State Kris Kobach to pay a contempt of court fine with his own money, rather than state dollars.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson held Kobach in contempt for failing to follow her 2016 order to fully register and notify voters he had blocked for not providing proof of citizenship.

Robinson issued the contempt citation at the urging of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Kansans challenging the state’s strict voter registration laws.

Robinson didn’t impose a fine, but ordered Kobach to pay the ACLU’s attorney fees. That figure is still being calculated.

Republican Rep. Russ Jennings pushed for the provision in the House version of the state budget. While he didn’t name Kobach specifically, the amendment was clearly aimed at the Republican secretary of state and candidate for governor. Senators included no such provision in their version of the spending plan.

The provision was taken out of the budget during negotiations between the House and Senate, but Jennings said lawmakers still sent a message.

“I would think an elected official at that level with state office would take it upon themselves to accept responsibility and do the right thing,” Jennings said. “And the right thing to me is they pay the bill, not the taxpayers.”

The provision was removed after Kobach’s staff said it was illegal in a letter to state lawmakers. His staff had also said the office was found in contempt, not Kobach personally.

Still, Kobach was listed as a defendant in the case and was criticized by the judge in her ruling.

“The Court is troubled by Defendant’s failure to take responsibility for violating this Court’s orders,” she wrote, “and for failing to ensure compliance over an issue that he explicitly represented to the Court had been accomplished.”

Kobach’s office has said he’ll appeal the contempt of court finding.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/kansas-legislature-wont-stick-kobach-contempt-bill-after-all.

Severe storms possible after 7 p.m. tonight

Today’s severe outlook, left, and Thursday’s severe outlook, right. (National Weather Service graphic)

Another round of potentially severe thunderstorms will move across eastern Kansas tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

The focus for developing severe weather will be in central Kansas this afternoon, at which point they will start moving east-northeast, likely bringing the threat of severe weather to eastern Kansas and northwest Missouri by 7 p.m., according to the weather service.

The main threats will be damaging winds, hail and flash flooding. Isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out, the weather service said.

Storms will persist into Thursday, with severe chances dependent on tonight’s storms, but there could be a continuing severe thunderstorm chance from Thursday, mostly from hail, wind and floods, according to the weather service.

There will be a slight chance of flash flooding tonight as the storms move from eastern Kansas to Missouri, the weather service said.

The flooding threat may be from a torrential rainfall, which is expected to shift south through the overnight hours, according to the weather service.

For Wyandotte County, the weather service forecast today calls for a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5 p.m. The high will be near 81, with a south southwest wind of 10 to 16 mph, gusting to as high as 25 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected.

Tonight, there is a 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 66 with a south wind of 9 to 11 mph, gusting as high as 22 mph. Between a half and three-quarters of an inch of rain is possible.

Thursday, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, the weather service said. The high will be near 83 with a south wind of 11 to 17 mph, gusting as high as 32 mph. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.

Thursday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, before 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 56 with a south southwest wind of 9 to 15 mph becoming west northwest after midnight. Winds may gust as high as 26 mph.

Friday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 77, the weather service said. A north northwest wind will be around 10 mph.

Friday night, it will be mostly clear with a low of 54, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be sunny with a high near 81, the weather service said.

Saturday night, the low will be around 57 with mostly clear skies, according to the weather service.

Sunday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m., with a high near 79, the weather service said.

For more weather information, visit www.weather.gov.

Severe weather threats after 6 p.m. (National Weather Service)

Excessive rainfall potential today. (National Weather Service graphic)

Amazon Fulfillment Center holds plant tour

Gov Jeff Colyer today said the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Kansas City, Kansas, is an excellent example of providing jobs for Kansas. (Photo by Murrel Bland)

by Murrel Bland

Public officials and Wyandotte County business leaders received a guided tour of the Amazon Fulfillment location Tuesday, May 1, at 6925 Riverview Ave. More than 2,000 employees work there. That number will increase by about 1,000 as the holiday season approaches.

Gov. Jeff Colyer said Amazon is an excellent example of providing jobs; this helps keep the Kansas unemployment rate at 3.4 percent. He also praised Amazon for its Career Choice program which pays up to 95 percent of courses related to in-demand fields regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts said he recently visited towns along the U.S. 36 Highway corridor, which runs through the top tier of counties. He said one of the major issues with businesses was the lack of qualified employees.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder praised Amazon which employs more than 560,000 employees nationally; an estimated 25 percent of Americans are Amazon Prime members.

The property where the Amazon plant is, about 120 acres, was acquired by NorthPoint Development and then sold to an investment company. NorthPoint hopes to develop nearby property into an industrial park. Rep. Yoder and Sen. Roberts are helping the Unified Government obtain federal funds as it seeks better access to I-70.

Mayor Dave Alvey said Amazon is receiving a 0 percent tax abatement for ten years. Mayor Alvey, who served previously for 8.5 years on the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities, thanked Rep. Yoder and Sen. Roberts for their help with federal issues.

The fulfillment center has more than 850,000 square feet of floor space on three floors. Millions of products, including books, electronic devices and toys, are picked and packed and then sent to customers who ordered items on the internet. Amazon uses innovative technology including robotics to assist personnel who fulfill customer orders.

The plant operates from 7 a.m. until 5 a.m. seven days a week.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.