Category: Opinions

2020 special legislative session update

Guest column
Opinion

State Rep. Pam Curtis

by State Rep. Pam Curtis, 32nd District

House Bill 2016 was debated for nearly 5 hours on the House floor Wednesday, the first day of the Kansas Legislature Special Session.

HB 2016 included three main parts, CARES Act Funding, Emergency Declaration Powers and liability immunity, a 57-page bill. I continue to be concerned about process, the lack of transparency and the lack of measures to help or protect workers during this pandemic.

HB 2016 was introduced Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee meeting at the rail, it was referred directly to the Committee of the Whole. There were no hearings held, and the bill document was not available to read until a short time before we started our debate.

Democrats offered multiple amendments that would have addressed some of the issues, including expanding Medicaid and measures to help Kansas workers and ensure safe work environments. None of our amendments prevailed.

The positive part of the bill does extend the Emergency Declaration to Sept. 15, 2020, and puts in place a process for legislative review of the distribution of the CARES Act federal funding.

When we rush legislation and do not have hearings to allow the public and subject matter experts to weigh in there are almost always unintended consequences. I wish the process for HB 2016 would have been different to allow for greater input. I will continue to fight for Kansas workers who are bearing the brunt of this pandemic and the economic downturn. I will also continue to fight for the rights of essential workers who are keeping this economy going and putting their lives and those of their loved ones at risk.

Resources

My Legislative Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PamCurtisKCK
My Twitter account https://twitter.com/pcurtiskck
Kansas Legislature website http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2020s/

Opinion: Something lacking at the top in the handling of the Minneapolis incident

In the wake of the Minneapolis incident involving the treatment of George Floyd, who died in custody of Minneapolis police, we were saddened, outraged and disappointed. That incident should never have happened.

After the event, our top national leaders could have done more to deal with the country’s dismay over what happened. Instead, what we heard were comments threatening protesters, that threw gas on the fires of outrage.

We keep waiting for a national task force to be announced from the top in an effort to stop other incidents like the one in Minneapolis, but we’re not holding our breath.

Our local leaders in the Kansas City area, however, have done a better job in their leadership roles in addressing the issue of how police should treat those who have been arrested, and they say they have rules in place to prevent that from happening. That is very reassuring, and we commend our local leaders for having better judgment than some of our national leaders.

New secretary makes changes in Commerce Department

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

David C. Toland’s goal is for the Kansas Department of Commerce to move at the speed of business, not the speed of government.

Toland, who is secretary of the Kansas Commerce Department, was the featured speaker at the Congressional Forum Friday, May 15. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the meeting was held as a teleconference. The forum is a committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.

Toland, who was appointed to the job by Gov. Laura Kelly last January, has been busy rebuilding the Commerce Department. He is filling positions that have been vacant for some time. Toland said the agency now has business recruiters in Chicago, Los Angles, Dallas, New York City and Springfield, Missouri. He said that Kansas is a good place to do business because of a lower operating cost and its central location. He also said the agency is recruiting in the international marketplace.

Toland praised Kansas banks for aggressively assisting the Paycheck Protection Program, an effort that the Small Business Administration directed. Kanas businesses received more than $5.1 billion that helped small businesses keep their employees during the downturn that the coronavirus caused.

Toland also praised the cooperative efforts of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council in its effort to help existing business and recruit new firms.

Toland’s appointment was not without controversy. He served as treasurer of Gov. Kelly’s election campaign committee. In March, conservative senators opposed his nomination because of his leadership of Thrive Allen County, a health advocacy and economic development agency in Iola, Kansas. Usually appointments by the governor face little opposition.

Kansans for Life, an anti-abortion organization, opposed Toland’s appointment. Thrive Allen County received a grant from the Dr. George Tiller Fund to help pregnant women stop smoking. Toland supporters stressed that none of the funds paid for abortion services.

Before coming to Iola, Toland worked for Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, D.C., in planning and economic development positions.

Toland received his undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas at Lawrence. He is a seventh generation Kansan. He and his wife Beth, a KU alumna, are the parents of a daughter Caroline and a son William.

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