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Kansas will carve out religious vaccine exemptions as it eases some child care regulations
Gov. Laura Kelly says she will sign a bill aimed at improving access to child care and other early childhood services. But some health experts are concerned about a provision codifying religious exemptions for vaccines required at day cares.
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Justice Stegall denounces Kansas Supreme Court’s refusal to overrule ‘black mark’ decision
Justice Caleb Stegall argued the court should have gone further to overrule a decision allowing discrimination against fetuses with severe disabilities.

Kansas legislator arrested after wild rant, altercation at Wellsville school
TOPEKA — Rep. Mark Samsel was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor battery for a […]

Lesley Ann Isherwood assures kindness, integrity on Kansas Court of Appeals
Lesley Ann Isherwood, formerly senior assistant district attorney of Sedgwick County, was sworn in Friday to the Kansas Court of Appeals. She fills a vacancy left by Judge Steve Leben’s resignation.

Kansas housing crisis squashing opportunity for lower-income homebuyers
A virtual forum on housing issues in Douglas and Shawnee counties is set for May 19.

Kobach campaign for attorney general triggers rebuke from Kansas Chamber
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach launched a campaign Thursday for the Republican nomination for attorney general and came under fire from the state’s most influential business lobbying organization that declared a Kobach candidacy carried too much risk for Kansans.

Animal facility inspection budget amendment sparks criticism from Republican lawmakers over proper vetting
House and Senate panels rejected an amendment Tuesday to the Governor’s proposed budget for 2022 reinforcing an animal facility inspection program with improved funding and staffing opportunities due to a lack of committee review.

Kansas GOP senators firmly denounce proposed 2.5% pay raise for state employees
Republicans on the Kansas Senate’s budget committee attacked Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to allocate $52 million to raises of 2.5% for state executive, legislative and judicial branch workers and to appropriate $10 million to state universities that could be used to bolster employee compensation.

No mask needed outdoors if you’re vaccinated, except among crowds, CDC says
Those who are at least two weeks past receiving their final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine can safely be unmasked at small outdoor gatherings and while dining outdoors with friends from multiple households, according to the new guidance.

Schmidt joins Republican AGs taking aim at ‘social cost of carbon’ emissions
The attorneys general in Missouri and Kansas have joined their Republican counterparts in 20 states demanding that the federal government not consider the social cost of carbon emissions when determining whether to approve new natural gas pipelines.

Judicial salary upgrade, replacement of fee revenue hang in legislative balance
Updated data shows that depending on job classification, Kansas judicial branch employees needed increases up to 18.9% to bring salaries to market level, Chief Justice Marla Luckert said.

Kelly signs into law sweeping reform of Kansas unemployment system
Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law Monday legislation affirming a commitment to modernize the Kansas Department of Labor’s computer network relied upon to handle jobless claims and to guarantee employers weren’t liable for fraudulent unemployment filings during the pandemic.

Kansas House, Senate prayers point to ‘precarious times for truth, justice, equity’
A review of the 2021 Legislature’s collection of opening prayers revealed how the Rev. Cecil Washington urged the Senate and the Rev. Eunice Brubaker offered the House seasoned spiritual advice for politicians at risk of losing sight of God’s message as they battled ideological foes real or imagined.

Kansas governor recognizes ‘little lady in tennis shoes’ advocating for national Juneteenth holiday
Each year since 2016, when she was 89, Opal Lee has walked from her home in Fort Worth across the country, stopping everywhere from Washington, D.C. to North Carolina to Kansas, in an effort to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Kansas GOP focuses on governor’s race; also aspires to take out U.S. Rep. Davids
Attorney General Derek Schmidt prefaced a direct appeal for support in the GOP governor’s race Saturday by tallying the number of lawsuits his office filed against President Joe Biden and denouncing the stream of vetoes issued by Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kansas GOP lawmakers eager to rally partisan allies to challenge Kelly’s veto surge
A six-pack of Republican lawmakers amplified for faithful party members their resolve to challenge Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes of bills on gun rights, tax reductions and fair elections along with a smattering of legislative diversions into transgender athletics and distinctive license plates.
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