Category: Gov. Laura Kelly

Wyandotte County to receive $1.25 million in public transit grants

Six public transit projects in Wyandotte County totaling over $1.25 million will receive federal funding, according to an announcement from Gov. Laura Kelly.

The Unified Government grants were part of a $13.2 million total with 48 public transit projects across the state of Kansas, according to a news release.

Federal Transit Administration Administrator Nuria Fernandez joined and Kansas Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz joined the governor for the announcement, according to the wnews release.

The Unified Government transit grants included:
• Bus facility modernization, $431,778;
• Fleet modernization, $271,440;
• Paratransit software enhancements, $16,560;
• Accident incident management system, $15,300;
• Micro transit expansion, $394,144; and
• Non-emergency medical transportation pilot program, $124,168.

“A strong, safe public transportation system is critical to our state’s economy and quality of life,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “Projects like wheelchair accessible busses, upgraded bus facilities, and route and parking lot enhancements will ensure Kansans have access to adequate, safe, and well-maintained public transportation.”

That money will go to 26 transit agencies as part of the Access, Innovation, and Collaboration (AIC) Public Transit Program.

The announcement took place Thursday at the OCCK, Inc., Transportation complex in Salina in an expanded bus facility funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation and an FTA grant, with support from the City of Salina and OCCK. The 16,000 square-foot expansion was completed in November 2021.

“This work reflects the tremendous partnership between all levels of government,” FTA Administrator Fernandez said. “In addition to funding new bus facilities and improving transit service, the grants support the purchase of low- or no-emission buses. That work throughout Kansas will accelerate the transition to cleaner, more efficient transportation system, and help keep our skies blue, our water clean and our climate more predictable by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Both urban and rural transit providers receive support from the AIC program, which will improve transit access and services for Kansans. The projects have a total cost of about $17 million, with the AIC program providing about $13 million ($2 million state, $11 million federal) of the funds.

In the first two years of the AIC program, KDOT will have awarded $21 million in funding for a total project cost of $26 million. 

“The AIC Public Transit Program combines state and federal resources that will enhance access to transit, invest in emerging technologies and form collaborations with public and private transportation providers,” Secretary Lorenz said. “I’m proud of the partnerships we’ve established to improve transportation services and options for Kansans.”

Project types include constructing bus maintenance facilities to aid in fleet management, upgraded transit accessibility following the Americans with Disabilities Act, advanced technologies, and expanded low emissions transit operations. 

Rep. Davids announces infrastructure funds for transit

Rep. Sharice Davids’ office announced on Saturday that Kansas will receive $49.3 million under the bipartisan infrastructure law to upgrade and expand local transit in Kansas, and $27.2 million will go to local transit projects in the Kansas City area.

“The bipartisan infrastructure law is delivering safer, more reliable, and more environmentally friendly options for Kansans to get where they need to go,” Rep. Davids, D-3rd Dist., said. “More accessible transit options means more people can get to their jobs, to school, and to greater opportunity. I’m glad to help deliver that to our community through this historic and long-overdue investment.””

Rep. Davids was the host for Secretary Pete Buttigieg on a KCATA electric bus in January.

This historic investment will allow local transit authorities like the Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) to buy new buses and railcars, address repair backlogs, modernize fleets, and transition to new technologies that reduce carbon emissions. With strong Buy America requirements on steel, iron, and other materials necessary for transit projects, this investment will have compounding positive impacts on Kansas’ workforce and economy, according to Rep. Davids.

“We are so grateful to Congresswoman Sharice Davids for her unwavering commitment to passing and now implementing the Infrastructure Bill that will deliver critical investment in Kansas, and throughout our region,” said Robbie Makinen, KCATA-RideKC president and CEO. “Congresswoman Davids understand that public transit is that one thing that connects all the dots. Whether its jobs, education, healthcare or affordable housing, public transportation and related infrastructure is the great connector and equalizer in our communities.”

Davids, who serves as vice chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, previously announced that in fiscal year 2022, bipartisan infrastructure law is bringing $500 million to improve Kansas roads, $225 million to repair Kansas bridges, more than $13 million for airports in the 3rd District and $79 million for water infrastructure across Kansas. The law has been called the most fiscally responsible infrastructure bill in at least a decade by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Kansas Supreme Court works to clarify state law for lawsuit filed by former KHP colonel

U.S. judge asks for help sorting through statute called ‘not a model of clarity’

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Former Kansas Highway Patrol Col. Mark Bruce’s attorney went before the Kansas Supreme Court to argue state law required his client’s return to the rank of major instead of being ousted three years ago amid a domestic-violence scandal involving the agency’s lieutenant colonel.

A lawyer representing Gov. Laura Kelly; Will Lawrence, the governor’s chief of staff; and KHP Col. Herman Jones argued the claims by Bruce in a lawsuit lacked merit because he voluntarily signed resignation and retirement papers after being informed his services were no longer needed in the Kelly administration. In addition, the governor’s attorney said Bruce was misinterpreting state employment law.

A U.S. District Court judge handling the Bruce lawsuit against Kelly, Lawrence and Jones said he was so perplexed by the applicable Kansas law — “not a model of clarity” — that he took the unusual step of requesting the state Supreme Court resolve disputes about interpretation of the state statute. The analysis could include work to understand intent of the Legislature when it tinkered with the Kansas Civil Service Act in 2018.

State Supreme Court Justice Dan Biles said during oral argument Wednesday night in Great Bend that Kansas law on this point was so garbled the state’s highest court would have to enter the “minefield” of legislative intent to figure out what lawmakers attempted to achieve.

He said Topeka attorney Alan Johnson, who represented Bruce, and Topeka attorney David Cooper, who represented the three defendants, were struggling with the poorly articulated statute.

“This is the biggest mess of statutes that I can remember. This just doesn’t make sense,” said Biles, who was appointed to the court in 2009. “Aren’t we just stuck with legislative history?”

In March 2019, Bruce was told by Lawrence that he would need to step down as KHP superintendent. He complied with that directive and retired from the Kansas law enforcement agency after 30 years of service.

The motivation for the move was an allegation Bruce improperly used his authority at KHP to shield the second in command, Lt. Col. Randy Moon, who was investigated for a 2018 assault of a woman at a hotel in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Moon left the highway patrol along with Bruce.

Bruce’s lawsuit in federal court asserted Kansas law required Bruce to be returned to the rank of KHP major if removed as superintendent of the law enforcement agency. Johnson, his attorney, claimed the Kelly administration caused Bruce’s “constructive discharge from employment” by denying him what amounted to a property interest in that job without due process.

In response, Cooper said the Kelly administration considered the job of KHP colonel, lieutenant colonel and major to be unclassified, or at-will, positions in which employees served at the pleasure of the governor. Unclassified personnel in state government can be dismissed at any time.

Bruce’s theory that he was entitled to employment at the rank of major with permanent status in the classified service “cannot withstand scrutiny,” Cooper said.

If KHP majors were found to be part of the classified employee system, Cooper said, Bruce would be obligated by state law to complete a six-month probationary period after transitioning to the rank of major. During that probation, KHP leadership would have the authority to dismiss Bruce. Johnson said his client shouldn’t have to be part of the probationary system.

Bruce was hired by KHP in 1989 and promoted to major in 2008. Gov. Sam Brownback selected Bruce to be superintendent of the agency in 2015. Three years later, Kelly was elected governor. She retained Bruce as the KHP’s commander.

But in March 2019, Bruce was summoned to Lawrence’s office and told he would be replaced as colonel of KHP. He officially resigned in April and retired in May of that year.

Johnson, Bruce’s attorney, told the Supreme Court that all KHP majors became eligible for higher salaries in 2016 if they surrendered their civil service job protections to become unclassified state workers. He said an individual major accepting that offer of a pay raise in exchange for giving up job protections of classified state workers didn’t mean others serving as a major, such as Bruce, would be considered unclassified employees.

In 2018, Bruce lobbied for the Legislature to pass a bill to prevent dismissal of majors unless a civil service hearing affirmed the decision. The resulting state statute was written in a way that was open to disagreement and a puzzle to federal and state courts.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/07/kansas-supreme-court-works-to-clarify-state-law-for-lawsuit-filed-by-former-khp-colonel/

Kansas direct care workers, supervisors to receive $51 million bonus pay

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday an infusion of $51 million for approximately 24,000 Medicaid home and community-based service workers across the state.

Provider agencies will receive a payment based on the number of direct care workers and immediate supervisors employed. All funds would go directly to the workers and supervisors, up to $2,000 per person.

Kelly tacked on an additional $1,500 bonus per staff member recruited to incentivize and bring more direct support workers to the field.

“Our direct care workers have worked tirelessly to provide exceptional care to vulnerable Kansans during the pandemic and beyond,” she said. “We recognize the hard work direct care workers do, and we’ll build on this opportunity as an incentive to recruit and retain qualified staff.”

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disabilities and the Department of Health and Environment will administer the distribution of funding with the intent of improving access to services and increasing capacity for Kansans. There will be a focus on those with disabilities and behavioral health challenges and ensuring they retain access to direct support workers and optimal levels of staffing.

The payments will be funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, signed in March 2021 to provide increased funding for Medicaid services through a one-year 10% increase in the state’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentages. These percentages are used to determine the federally matched funds allocated to the state annually for expenditures on social services.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansas-direct-care-workers-supervisors-to-receive-51-million-bonus-pay/.