Category: Kansas Legislature

Representatives move to ban Kansas sanctuary cities in response to Wyandotte County act

Rep. Luis Ruiz, D-31st Dist., said this bill would only instill fear in communities he represents in Wyandotte County and undermine local authority. (Photo by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector)

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The Kansas House is approving a measure that would prohibit “sanctuary cities,” areas where the municipal governments have rules blocking cooperation with federal authorities investigating undocumented immigrants.

The initiative, initiated by Attorney General Derek Schmidt, is a response to action taken by the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas – Wyandotte County to authorize municipal photo identification cards for undocumented people to improve access to public services. Dubbed the Safe and Welcoming City Act, the ID information collected would not be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Opponents of the bill were an overwhelming majority during a hearing in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee last week, and Rep Luis Ruiz, who represents part of Wyandotte County, echoed many of the same critiques. He said the bill was short-sighted and would undermine local authority and instill fear in communities.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers are not arrest warrants and that holding an immigrant for an excessive period could be considered unconstitutional.

“We see the war-torn people in basements or across the world that happens but that happens to the south of us as well. So, what do we do?” Ruiz said. “I see a lot of lapel pins in here that people like to wear to tout their faith, and I applaud you for that, but does our behavior reflect our values?”

House Bill 2717, which representatives approved 84 to 38, would render local units of government unable to adopt any ordinance that would interfere with any law enforcement cooperation in immigration enforcement actions.

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 said they hadn’t joined ICE agents on immigration raids in years. Still, Rep. Patrick Penn repeated claims by the attorney general and the secretary of state that the measure would help protect the rights given to legal Kansas residents and help protect election security.

“There can’t be a ban for local law enforcement officers to be made conscientious objectors, to doing their duties as prescribed by law when they disagree with political figures in their local counties,” Rep. Penn said.

But some representatives opposing the bill said this raised concerns not just for undocumented immigrants but for mixed-status families.

“Our broken immigration system keeps everyone in the family in this gray area where they are afraid to go to the police or to access municipal services lest one of their family members get arrested or deported,” said Rep. Pam Curtis, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat.

Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka, asked representatives to consider what a vote in favor of this legislation says to their constituents.

“I voted to shut down production on meatpacking plants to feed our state,” Rep. Alcala said. “I voted to shut down lodging and restaurants for the lack of employees. I voted to cripple our agriculture community and farmers. I voted to increase the financial burden on municipalities and our taxpayers.”

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/2022/03/23/representatives-move-to-ban-kansas-sanctuary-cities-in-response-to-wyandotte-county-act/

House, Senate push bills easing path for transfer of students among districts

Critics condemn reform as new avenue to educational inequality

Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-Kansas City, Kansas, said she objected to a House bill that would encourage transfer of students to different school districts, asserting the law would create greater inequities in Kansas public schools. (Photo by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector)

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — State Rep. Sean Tarwater contends public school barriers to student transfers amount to academic segregation that must be cured with a state law establishing a mechanism for movement out of failing districts to high achieving districts.

Rep. Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican and member of the House K-12 Budget Committee, said concentrated opposition to the legislation came from the excellent Andover and Johnson County school districts not eager for a rush of students from the struggling districts in Wichita or Kansas City, Kansas. A bill tentatively approved by House members would require districts to accept nonresident students if there was space in classrooms.

“This bill was created because we have some real prominent school districts right next to some failing school districts,” he said. “This type of segregation results in opportunities for some people, but it also stands up some pretty big barriers to some other people.”

Tarwater said it was ironic opponents of student transfer bills in the House and Senate were the same folks who challenged the idea of scholarships or vouchers for students to attend private schools.

“To me,” he said, “it sounds like discrimination and an intentional act to keep certain demographics from achieving success.”

Rep. Valdenia Winn, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, said she was fervently opposed to the bill because it would exacerbate educational inequality among students. It could be a violation of constitutional requirements for equitable funding of public schools, she said.

Rep. Winn said the bill also would disenfranchise students in families without resources to drive a child to the alternative school. No provision of House Bill 2615 would provide state funding for transportation of the transfer students.

“Now, some of you are saying, ‘I am so sick and tired of this woman coming up and talking about poor versus rich, haves and have-nots.’ And, that’s fine. This policy will isolate the lowest income, the most disadvantaged students into the highest poverty districts,” Rep. Winn said.

Under the bill set for a vote Wednesday in the House, each school district would be required to create a policy by January to establish enrollment capacity limits by grade level and school building. Students would be able to apply to districts outside their residential area if the alternative district had open seats. A district wouldn’t have to accept a student if there was evidence of problems with absenteeism, suspensions or expulsions.

A district would be prohibited under the House bill from assessing special tuition or fees for these nonresident students. Applicants accepted by a new district would receive a one-year waiver. The Kansas State Board of Education would audit one school district each year to assess compliance with the law. A portion of educational funding would follow the student to the new district.

Lawrence Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Democrat who served on the Lawrence school board for eight years, said the bill was result in poor public policy. She said the Legislature ought to quit sticking its nose into decisions best left to local school boards or the state Board of Education.

“Do you not trust the judgment of the state Board of Education?” Rep. Ballard said. “They’re elected the same way we are elected. I think we have enough to do as legislators.”

Rep. Jerry Stogsdill, a Democrat from Prairie Village, said the five superintendents of schools in Johnson County were convinced the House bill was “going to be an administrative nightmare. They said it was going to be a mess.”

Earlier in the week, the Kansas Senate approved its own version of legislation greasing the wheels for students who want to transfer outside their home district boundary. The Senate would alter the process of transferring K-12 students to new districts that had space starting in 2023.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said the reform could prompt Missouri parents to enroll their children in better schools in Kansas to avoid paying tuition costs at private schools.

“This bill does not benefit students and communities with schools that are least equipped to address their needs,” Sen. Sykes said.

About 20,000 students in Kansas are enrolled in districts outside their individual residential area. More than nine out of 10 Kansas districts reported accepting nonresidential students into their schools.

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/2022/03/23/house-senate-push-bills-easing-path-for-transfer-of-students-among-districts/.

House GOP’s draft of new state budget spikes Kelly’s $460 million tax rebate

Bipartisan debate on spending plan plows into well-traveled issues

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Debate on a new $20 billion state government budget in the Kansas House invited Tuesday a deep dive into the food sales tax, worker raises, prison safety, pensions, office construction and depositing half a billion dollars in a rainy day fund.

The conversation between members of the Republican majority and Democratic minority in the House threatened to run off the rails, but the GOP secured tentative approval of Senate Bill 267 without inserting a string of hot-button policy amendments.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, the Bunker Hill Republican and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, urged his colleagues to support the plan for dealing with a $3 billion budget surplus. Under the bill, the state would spend $1 billion to strengthen the bottom line of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. It would allow 5% pay raises for qualified state employees and end the practice of swiping highway funding from the state Department of Transportation.

It also would earmark $500 million for a rainy-day fund that Waymaster said could come in handy within a few years.

“We know we are probably going into a recession,” he said. “We need to be fiscally responsible and put money into the budget stabilization fund.”

Of course, state representatives weren’t shy about sharing alternative ideas in the form of budget amendments. The GOP majority swatted away a proposal to expand eligibility for Medicaid to about 150,000 low-income Kansans and rejected an idea floated by Gov. Laura Kelly to provide $250 rebates to individual taxpayers.

House leadership sidestepped demands for reduction in the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries and withdrawal of a no-bid extension of contracts with three for-profit companies delivering services through KanCare, or Medicaid. The objective of Republicans is to delay rebidding of the managed-care contracts until after Kelly’s first term expired.

Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-Kansas City, Kansas, said the state should set aside money to trim the regressive sales tax on food because it was important to “make sure taxpayers get a piece” of the state’s extraordinary cash surplus.

House members also defeated a requested one-year delay in moving ahead with a $120 million plan for downsizing and renovation of the Docking State Office Building next to the Capitol. The project package includes building a new laboratory for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The Senate and House draft their own versions of the state budget before engaging in negotiations on a compromise. The final product considered in April will take into account an update of the state’s tax revenue projections.

The House easily defeated the amendment from Rep. Jim Gartner, D-Topeka, that would bring to life the governor’s $460 million plan to cut $250 checks to all Kansas taxpayers. Gartner said inflation was drifting toward 8% and could soon top double-digits.

“We need to give our constituents some help,” he said. “It will help them with their general expenses in this time of high inflation.”

Rep. Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, said he was disappointed the House budget didn’t include additional funding for officers working for the Kansas Department of Corrections. He said two officers at Lansing Correctional Facility were nearly beaten to death in the past year because there was insufficient staff to guarantee their safety and to monitor inmates.

“We have a responsibility to stand with those who protect us,” Proctor said. “Our prisons right now are in crisis mode.

Rep. Henry Helgerson, a Democrat from Wichita, couldn’t get the House to go along with a proposal to have Kansas join 38 states that broadened eligibility for Medicaid. Under existing federal incentives, the state could spend about $40 million to expand the number of people enrolled in KanCare and secure more than $350 million in federal funding.

“If you believe in good budgeting, I believe this is the right course,” Helgerson said. “If you believe in taking care of the population we are here to serve, it’s the right course.”

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/2022/03/22/house-gops-draft-of-new-state-budget-spikes-kellys-460-million-tax-rebate/.