Repercussions of last week’s disruption on House floor continue
TOPEKA — Democratic Rep. Ford Carr requested the filing of a formal complaint and appointment of a special investigative committee to examine allegations Republican Rep. Nick Hoheisel engaged in “inappropriate” conduct on the House floor.
In a letter to House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, Carr said conversations with Capitol Police and his personal attorney led to his decision to seek an inquiry by House colleagues into allegedly “uncalled for” and “inappropriate” remarks by Hoheisel that Carr believed violated House rules.
Carr, who has been vocal about policy differences with House GOP leadership, asserted Republicans would have quickly submitted a complaint against Carr if he had admonished Hoheisel for abusive language that included obscenities. The two lawmakers engaged in a verbal exchange last week at Carr’s desk in the House chamber.
“Had this behavior been engaged in or reciprocated by my person, formal charges would have likely been suggested and filed prior to any reconvening of the House immediately following the incident,” Carr said. “In as much as I am keeping my own safety in mind I additionally have safety concerns for my colleagues. Specifically those who have directly expressed these concerns to me.”
A spokeswoman for Woodard said on Monday the House Democratic leader “does not have a comment at this time.” The spokeswoman for House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Kansas Highway Patrol, which includes the Capitol Police, said a case number was assigned to a report of the Feb. 20 incident involving Carr and Hoheisel, both of Wichita.
The rumble
Hostility between Carr and Hoheisel surfaced as the House was debating merits of House Bill 2104, which would mandate Kansas public school districts rely on the National Rifle Association’s “Eddie Eagle” program if a local school district decided to offer gun safety instruction to students.
Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said Hoheisel walked among Democrats on the House floor before arriving at Carr’s desk and repeatedly saying, “That’s bulls***.”
The disturbance prompted House Republican leaders to recess the chamber for about two hours and postpone deliberations on the NRA bill. At that point, House Democrats convened a caucus meeting and instructed reporters, lobbyists and others to leave the room.
On Tuesday, House Republicans ordered a reporter with Kansas Reflector to leave the GOP caucus. No justification was given for the decision.
During Tuesday’s open caucus among House Democrats, Woodard said he was grateful to Democrats who took part in a “team effort to kind of deescalate” conflict. Woodard also addressed fellow Democrats about his decision to call a closed meeting in wake of the Hoheisel-Carr fracas.
Kansas Reflector published a story, based on a recording, that included closed-door remarks by Democrats. Some House Democrats expressed concern for their physical safety in the Capitol because legislator carry firearms.
“You have my commitment that going forward in those (closed) meetings, we’re not going to discuss legislation,” Woodard said. “We are allowed to, but we’re not going to. If we ever have those closed caucus meetings, those are truly to be closed. I don’t know who, and I’m not going to point fingers or ask questions about who leaked audio to the press, but that is the only time we actually get to have a conversation. And people said things and were very vulnerable in those moments, and those were not meant for the general public.”
Woodard also referred to a closed meeting among House Democrats as a “very sacred moment.”
‘Shoot-first’ state
Lenexa Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, the House Democrat’s whip and a proponent for legislation designed to improve firearm safety, introduced a bill in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee that would prohibit people from carrying concealed firearms in the Capitol.
For more than a decade, individuals have been allowed to carry guns in the building despite deployment of metal detectors at the main entrance.
“We’re a shoot-first, ask-questions-later kind of state — the stand your ground and some self-defense laws,” Hoye said. “I think that removing firearms from a place where we do have the freedom of speech and expression gives people more of an opportunity to feel safe and comfortable expressing those views.”
She said the proposed bill was intended to hold the Kansas Legislature to a higher standard in terms of decorum and security. She said the presence of firearms didn’t make legislators safer.
“I would condemn political violence in every form, and we’re seeing it heightened across the country,” Hoye said. “There has been an attempt to assassinate a former president, who’s a current president. Now we’re seeing that, I think, spread.”
The precedent
There is precedent in the Legislature for formation of special bipartisan committees to consider evidence of rules violations by senators or representatives. In the House, a panel of legislators would have the option of doing nothing in response to a complaint or recommending the full House censure, reprimand or dismiss a legislator.
In 2021, six House Democrats filed a complaint that prompted an investigation of Rep. Aaron Coleman’s arrests for allegedly driving under the influence and a domestic violence incident. There had been a bipartisan call for Coleman, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, to resign. Coleman was previously admonished by the House for threatening Gov. Laura Kelly and for a record of abusing girls and women.
The Kansas House appointed a special committee in 2015 to consider a complaint filed by nine Republican representatives against Rep. Valdenia Winn, a Democrat. She had criticized proponents of a bill that would deny in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities in Kansas to children of immigrants without legal documentation to reside in the United States.
Winn said the legislation was a “racist, sexist, fearmongering bill” and that it represented “institutional racism.” She didn’t declare a specific person to be a racist, but highlighted institutional racism that she believed influenced the legislative process in Topeka.
That investigative committee of three Republicans and three Democrats heard testimony from two GOP House members behind closed doors before recommending that case be dropped.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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