Topeka – In a news conference at the State Capitol, House and Senate Democrats outlined priorities to improve public safety and increase support for law enforcement.
“Keeping the people of Kansas safe should be job one for any governor and every legislator,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley. “Yet, time and time again, the governor and his allies put his tax experiment ahead of Kansas families. Because many Republican legislators have rubber-stamped the governor’s agenda, we are less safe.”
The Democrats highlighted several proposals to increase security in Kansas and prioritize public safety.
First, they announced support for a proposal – Senate Bill 350 – to create a staffing and training fund for the Kansas Highway Patrol. Recent reports showed that 35 counties – mostly rural – are without a trooper. And the KHP has about 80 fewer troopers than it did a decade ago.
“This impacts more than just highway safety – it impacts the safety of many communities who depend on the Kansas Highway Patrol for assistance,” said Rep. Ed Trimmer. “That means longer response times and difficulties providing proper backup, particularly in rural areas. This is a necessary proposal – asked for by law enforcement – to make our state safer.”
Gov. Brownback did not address the staffing deficit in his budget. Democrats also require the funds be set aside in a lock box to protect them from Gov. Brownback.
While this predominantly affects rural counties, it might help urban counties such as Wyandotte County, in that troopers assigned to this area would not be pulled away as much to other communities for coverage.
Next, Democrats proposed House Bill 2559 that requires state agencies and facilities to establish minimum staffing levels that still maintain the safety and security the of the staff, the facility and the surrounding community. The bill requires certain steps be taken when staffing levels are not maintained for certain periods of time – include a safety inspection by the national institute of occupational safety and health.
“It’s not just the highway patrol that is suffering,” said Rep. Dennis “Boog” Highberger. “Other state law enforcement facilities, prisons, and state hospitals are seriously understaffed – making the staff that remains unsafe and frankly – our communities less safe. In October 2016, a patient at a state hospital raped a 21-year-old mental health technician. It is inexcusable.”
The state lost its certification this past year at the Osawatomie facility because of understaffing.
Finally, Democrats propose House Bill 2452. It prohibits “selling, giving or otherwise transferring any firearm to any person who is identified in the terrorist screening database, or any successor list or database, maintained and operated by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“We will support and defend the second amendment – on behalf of law-abiding citizens,” said Sen, Tom Hawk. “But one thing we can all agree on is – we must keep guns out of the hands of people on the no-fly or terrorist watch list. This is a common sense proposal that has been proven to work and won’t interfere with the rights of ordinary Kansans.”
Current law already stops people we view as dangerous threats – felons and domestic abusers – from buying new guns.
“Gov. Brownback and his hand-picked Republican legislators have mismanaged the state – failing to support law enforcement the way they should. And that makes our families less safe,” said House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs. “These common sense proposals we outlined today take steps to reverse some of the damage the governor and his legislators have done. But it is just a start. Again we ask Kansans to join us. Be vigilant. Contact your legislator. Demand they move in a new direction.”