Category: Kansas Legislature

Legislature forwards House, Senate and Board of Education maps to governor

State board map pits two Democrats, two Republicans against each other

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The Kansas Legislature sent to Gov. Laura Kelly a bundled bill Wednesday containing redistricting maps for the House, Senate and state Board of Education.

Senate and House maps were heavily vetted by respective chambers before adopted separately by wide margins. Objections were raised to final adjustments to the Board of Education map, which is based on the 40 Senate district boundaries.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 563 on a vote of 29-11, while the House adopted the same piece of legislation 83-40. Kelly could veto the bill, but an override would be the likely result. In addition, litigation could emerge challenging constitutionality of any of these maps. The Legislature’s map of the four congressional districts has attracted several pending lawsuits.

Republicans in the House and Senate didn’t launch an aggressive defense of the three maps before the votes were counted, given that the bill was expected to pass by a comfortable margin.

“There’s not any reason to get into a lengthy discussion,” said Sen. Rick Wilborn, the McPherson Republican who chaired the Senate Redistricting Committee.

House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said the Board of Education map violated redistricting guidelines setting up potential showdowns between two incumbent Democrats in eastern Kansas and two incumbent Republicans in central Kansas.

“It sends an appalling message to those that want to serve with our state,” said Rep. Tom Burroughs, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat who nevertheless voted for the bill.

In eastern Kansas, Democrat Ann Mah of Topeka and Democrat Janet Waugh of Kansas City, Kansas, would be forced to compete for the same seat. Waugh isn’t expected to seek re-election in November. Mah said she didn’t plan to run again in 2024.

Republican Deena Horst of Salina and Republican Ben Jones of Sterling would go head to head in two years for a board seat representing central Kansas. Jones faces re-election in November, but Horst’s four-year term would be up in 2024. Every two years, five state Board of Education members face re-election.

Democrats in the House and Senate also questioned the decision by mapmakers to fracture Wyandotte County among three of the 10 Board of Education districts.

“You’ve take the smallest county in the state of Kansas — Wyandotte County — and spread it out between three state Board of Education positions. I see no positive in that type of splitting,” said Sen. Pat Pettey, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas.

The Legislature and governor in Kansas are responsible for redrawing House, Senate and Board of Education boundaries every decade based on population shifts documented in the U.S. Census. Each of the 125 House districts will have close to 23,500 residents. Each of the 40 Senate districts would have approximately 73,500 people. The 10 Board of Education districts would serve 293,000 people.

Each of the approved maps and alternative maps can be viewed online on the website of the Kansas Legislative Research Department.

The Senate map was named “Liberty 3” and the House map ended up with the name “Free State 3F.” The Board of Education map, which required each member to serve four Senate districts, was designated as “Apple 7” and ties into boundaries established by “Liberty 3.”

Concordia Republican Sen. Elaine Bowers said she supported the Senate and state Board of Education boundaries. She objected to how the House map constructed districts in her home area of Cloud County.

“I believe there were better ways to draw those boundaries that would have been easier to understand for voters to understand,” she said. “However, in spite of those concerns, I respect the process and I vote ‘yes.’”

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said the Senate map separated communities of interest that had developed during the past decade in his district among Tonganoxie, south Lawrence, Eudora and Baldwin City.

“The proposed 19th District boundaries attempt to establish a community of interest between east Topeka and north Lawrence. Such a community does not exist,” said Holland, who voiced similar objections with the House and Board of Education maps.

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/2022/03/31/legislature-forwards-house-senate-and-board-of-education-maps-to-governor/.

Kansas Senate quickly endorses legislation banning ‘sanctuary cities’

Senators fast-tracked bill, which now goes to Gov. Laura Kelly, without reading it or allowing opponents to testify

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas senators Wednesday backed a measure prohibiting municipal governments from creating “sanctuary cities,” rejecting concerns about the speed the measure was moving through the Legislature.

House Bill 2717 is a response to action taken by the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas – Wyandotte County to authorize municipal identification cards for undocumented people. The community’s Safe and Welcoming Act is intended to improve access to public services and allow undocumented immigrants to report crimes without the risk of deportation for them or their families.

But bill-backers, like Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who initiated the effort, and Secretary of State Scott Schwab, said the act has the potential to interfere with elections and other rights exclusive to Kansas citizens.

“We know that people out there’s confidence in the elections has fallen,” said Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha. “We have a job to do and that is to restore that confidence in our rule of law.”

Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-Leavenworth, found the concern for rule of law interesting given the fact the Senate was taking the unusual step of sending a bill approved by a committee straight to final action instead of general orders.

“I just want to make sure we all understand when talk about the rule of law that sometimes we even here seem to bend them a little bit,” Sen. Pittman said.

Senators approved the bill 29 to 10, just over 24 hours after hearing the bill and a week after it cleared the House 84 to 38. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk for consideration.

As of 2021, 12 states have enacted state-level laws prohibiting or restricting “sanctuary” jurisdictions. The Kansas Legislature has considered legislation to prohibit sanctuary cities across the state on several occasions, but none has passed.

Law enforcement officials in Wyandotte County have told legislators they have not joined U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on immigration raids in years.

Sen. John Doll, R-Garden City, compared the Legislature approving bills that break down local control to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.

“I think we just do so many things to curb the power of the municipal,” he said.

After passage of the bill, Schmidt commended the Legislature for backing his proposal.

“Neither our nation’s broken immigration system nor the Biden administration’s ongoing failure to secure our national borders justifies a patchwork of local rules that prevent law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal officials,” Schmidt said. “Nor does it justify local governments issuing identification cards that can be used statewide but lack basic anti-fraud protections. This commonsense legislation should become law.”

On Tuesday, a Kansas Senate committee took immediate action to advance the controversial bill, despite an issue with testimony and some concerns about a lack of deliberation.

During the hearing on the bill, only two members of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee confirmed they had read the Wyandotte ordinance carefully, with others saying they had glanced at it. Sen. Cindy Holscher asked to table the bill until there was time to assess the ordinance and the impact this action would have.

“I appreciate the fact that Wyandotte County has spent five years developing the Safe and Welcoming plan to address some of the issues in their community,” the Overland Park Democrat said. “We’ve spent roughly an hour on this situation, which really doesn’t seem just.”

Holscher’s efforts were quickly glossed over by Sen. Rob Olson, an Olathe Republican and chairman of the panel, who pivoted to a successful motion by Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Baxter Springs, to approve the bill.

The hearing took place with less than a day’s notice, opponents of the bill told senators on the committee. Some, like Loud Light advocacy director Melissa Stiehler, were told the committee forgot to add several pieces of opponent testimony and, due to the error, they would not be allowed to testify.

In a tweet shortly after the committee voted to send the measure to the full Senate, Stiehler bashed the committee for passing the ordinance without reading the ordinance in detail or considering the testimony that was not added to the agenda.

“Ironically, my testimony was about how this bill is fundamentally anti-democratic,” Stiehler said. “I hate to be right.”

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Hilderbrand defended the committee and staff for working as hard as they can to get all relevant materials prepared by the time of the hearing.

“You attack the process when you cannot attack the integrity of what’s in the bill,” Hilderbrand said.

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/2022/03/30/kansas-senate-quickly-endorses-legislation-banning-sanctuary-cities/.

Kansas sports wagering plan hits snag after leadership-backed amendment fails twice

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The future of a plan to legalize sports wagering in Kansas is up in the air after a House committee abruptly adjourned Tuesday when an amendment proposed on behalf of legislative leadership failed twice.

House Bill 2740 has widespread support from gaming interests that have for years debated who gets to control the wagering action and how to divide the revenue. The measure authorizes sports gambling by allowing the Kansas Lottery to contract with gaming facility managers.

Managers could offer wagering through websites, mobile applications and on-site. The state would get 20% of revenue through online gambling and 14% from in-person bets.

The bill looked primed to pass out of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee after a lengthy debate, but when a motion to reconsider a previously rejected amendment proposed by Rep. John Barker on behalf of House leadership came up short, the meeting ended without a resolution.

“I am surprised,” Barker, an Abilene Republican and committee chairman, said. “We are adjourned.”

The amendment would have removed a provision allowing the lottery to sell online tickets. Ultimately, the loss of $11 million in potential revenue in the first year of implementation dissuaded representatives from both sides of the aisle from supporting thr amendment.

Kansas Lottery estimates indicated sports wagering would generate additional revenue for the state of $1.8 million in 2023, $6.0 million in 2024, and $10.0 million in 2025.

“Sit tight, guys, we’ll get this out this year,” said Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat, in a tweet shortly after adjournment. “Communication and teamwork are key, and sometimes communications break down. We can fix this; I’m sure of it.”

The Kansas Lottery has previously attempted to get iLottery into bills with sports wagering, but casinos have considered it a deal breaker.

It is the second week in a row a meeting on the bill has ended without a vote. The committee can reconvene this week and can consider the bill again, but time is running out for the long-sought measure.

The only opponents to testify during the hearing last week were concerned by restrictions placed on greyhound racing. Animal rights and gambling addiction organizations expressed concerns while asking for their testimony to be considered neutral.

Several other minor amendments did receive committee approval. The other failed amendment would have given the state lottery control instead of casinos, which would likely doom the bill.

Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a St. Marys Republican, said the amendment would mean more money to the state general fund instead of to casinos.

“Right now, we are looking at a new revenue stream, new gambling options, and so you have a choice on who gets the money,” Awerkamp said. “If we let the casinos contract out, we get a small percentage of the money. If we let the Kansas Lottery contract out, we get all of it.”

While many legislators either agreed with the amendment or liked the idea, it failed after Barker reminded the committee it would turn the state’s gaming industry against the bill.

“The casinos are not on board. The other parties are not involved. The retailers are not on board,” Barker said. “I can’t think of anybody that’s on board.”

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/2022/03/29/kansas-sports-wagering-plan-hits-snag-after-leadership-backed-amendment-fails-twice/