More Strikes Against Kansas Values - Legislative Update
The final deadline to push bills out of the house of origins kept committees busy through this eleventh week in the Kansas 2015 legislative session. The intensity level is rising in Topeka, discourse is bordering on the uncivil, and even though the conservative alliances are getting harder to forge – the extreme push is on. While we may have known the next big wave of extreme policies were coming the moment the November election results were finalized, this foresight doesn’t make the reality of all the wasted opportunity and pending damage any less appalling.
Read moreThe first domino falls
The plan we described at the beginning of the Kansas legislative session is starting to fall into place for Governor Brownback and his allies. There were three legs to this plan: reducing school finance, eliminating resistance from the judicial branch, and continuing to slash taxes.
Read morePolitics at its worst
The bill to eliminate the existing school funding formula and replace it for two years with block grants has passed the KS House (after a long and questionable delay while one more vote was sought), and will shortly surely pass the KS Senate. This bill purports to give school districts more money, more flexibility, and a steady source of income.
Read moreThe Rush to Get Out from Under the Supreme Court - Legislative Update
This ninth week in the Kansas 2015 legislative session is marked by another decisive blow in the contentious battle to re-define Kansas. The very nature of our K12 public education system is awaiting final vote in the House chambers, today at 8 am. If Thursday’s March 12 vote is any indication, 64 state representatives have voted in favor of taking a flying leap off the cliff. The simple majority calls for 63 votes.
Read moreALERT - Email now to oppose block grants!
Block grants are on the KS House floor right now, this very moment, and we need you to contact your representatives in the legislature. Our moderates are under intense pressure to support this scheme, and they must hear from us!
Read moreHere we go
Last week saw a lot of action, and this week, though the Legislature didn't come back until Wednesday, has already seen some movement on the big three: the budget, education finance, and judicial selection.
Read moreWhy the Formula Works
You've heard a lot about the school funding formula in Kansas. Be aware. Some of the leadership in Kansas wants to discredit the formula, in favor of limited government and reduced state funding for public education and other services. Allowing the formula to be discarded is a mistake.
Here’s how the formula works.
Read moreTurnaround week and the DREAM Act under fire - Legislative Update
Kansas is about halfway through the 2015 legislative session, having just finished week seven. This midpoint is known as Turnaround Week, which refers to a deadline requiring most bills to pass out of their chamber of origin. The operative word is MOST bills. Select legislation remained dormant, such as those pertaining to the Battle for Impartial Elections, only to be resurrected later through other means, including amendments, exempt committees and last minute bundling.
Read moreTurnaround
No, it's not what you hope, though we did have a small bit of success this week (see below). We haven't turned this ship around, not yet. "Turnaround" is the term used for this week in the Kansas Legislature, by the end of which the work of the various committees must be done, and bills must be out of the "chamber of origin." House bills need to be ready for the Senate, and Senate bills ready for the House. This is the halfway point of the session.
Read more