This 2017 legislative session has had a lot of gun-related legislation proposed and debated. Here is the gist of what is happening.

But first, we encourage you to contact your Kansas state legislators to let them know you oppose further loosening of gun safety measures, and support returning control of firearm ordinances to local communities.

• Contact your legislators here!

This is MainStream's written testimony opposing HB 2410, a bill to finance public schools that does not meet our requirements to fun an excellent education for all Kansas children. We also delivered oral testimony at the hearing today. You can download a copy of our testimony here.

If there's one topic in the Kansas Legislature sure to make the average voter's eyes roll back into their head, it is the ongoing Kansas budget negotiations. But as we all know, the Kansas budget—and related tax policy—is also the single most important topic in the Kansas Legislature today. The revenue disaster of the last five years has caused or made worse the crisis in public education funding, infrastructure improvements, and medical care in Kansas.

This is our testimony in support of HB 2044 in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare. This bill has passed the House, and now is being considered by the Senate, and this is the first step. If it clears this committee, it will be available for a vote in the full Senate. You can download a pdf copy of our testimony here.

This is MainStream's testimony opposing HB 2374, a bill to expand the existing tax credit scholarship program that shunts taxpayer funds to private and parochial schools. You can download our testimony here.

This is MainStream's testimony opposing SCR 1602, a Constitutional amendment designed to restrict the state's economic options. You can download a copy of our testimony here.

A wave of giddy excitement swept the Kansas social media community last week. "Brownback's leaving!" was the cry. Some responses were angry, that he had inflicted his policies on the state and now was leaving Kansas in the lurch. Others were excited for the opportunity to take his obstructionist vetoes out of the mix. Several asked how soon this might happen. Many echoed, "Good riddance!"

How to Testify in Topeka is our guide for Kansans who want to have their voices heard in Topeka. You don't have to be a politician, or part of an advocacy organization. As a Kansan, your voice should be heard in the Statehouse.

The Rose capacities are a set of statements outlining standards for educational achievement. Basically, students should be able to do this, that, the other, to be considered to have achieved an acceptable standard of education. They come from a 1989 Kentucky case, Rose v. Council for Better Education.

The Kansas Legislature's spring break is usually pretty quiet, but on Thursday of last week, the Kansas Supreme Court released their ruling on the final part of Gannon v. Kansas, the school funding lawsuit that was originally filed in 2010. The Court unanimously ruled that Kansas continues to Constitutionally underfund public education, and legislators must fix this by June 30 of this year.