State government
Latest
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/leavenworth.jpg?fit=723%2C438&ssl=1)
Homelessness is rising in Kansas and state lawmakers aren’t doing much to help
A bill in the Kansas Legislature would have provided millions of dollars to build homeless shelters across the state. But lawmakers let the bill stall in committee and left Topeka for the year without taking any meaningful action to address the growing problem.
Want more state government news? You can read Associated Press coverage of Kansas stories and more online for free here.
We post many, but not all, stories from the Kansas Reflector. Read more of their coverage here.
We also frequently post stories from the Kansas News Service. Read more of their coverage here.
MORe STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P2140624-1-2048x1152-1.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
Kansas lawmaker urges more protections for Native American children in state welfare system
Rep. Christina Haswood, a Lawrence Democrat and member of the Navajo Nation, wants to solidify Indigenous rights in the state’s child welfare system, attempting to reduce inequality in a system long beset by racial and cultural disparities.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240131-Plastic-bag-ban-1.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
Lawrence’s plastic bag ban goes into effect Friday; here’s what you should know
The City of Lawrence ordinance banning single-use plastic bags goes into effect Friday. Here are answers to what it means, where you can get reusable bags, who could face fines and more.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P2151429-1024x576-1.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
Kansas Republicans introduce new anti-abortion bills, including prison time for ‘coercion’
House and Senate Republicans — in their latest attempts to weaken the state’s constitutional right to bodily autonomy — have introduced legislation to require prison time for coercing a pregnant person into getting an abortion and to mandate ultrasounds before terminating a pregnancy.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/PC140203-1024x576-1.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
New estimate predicts Medicaid expansion would serve 152K at no cost to state
The Kansas Health Institute on Thursday unveiled its analysis of Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal to expand Medicaid, predicting 152,000 Kansans would enroll in the first year with no additional cost to the state government.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P5062306-1024x683-1.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
DEI audit of state universities shows $9M in state funds spent widely
An audit instigated because of Republican suspicion over state public universities’ equity programs found the programs used $9 million in state dollars during the 2022-2023 school year.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Honor-Moon-ksleg-3.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
Lawrence teens work to alleviate period poverty for Kansans, cement legacy of their nonprofit
Even if Kansas legislators don’t pass bills this session in alignment with a Lawrence nonprofit’s mission, they’ve opened up a conversation on period equity, and that’s a win for a group of local teens.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lawrencekstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ethanol.jpg?resize=670%2C446&ssl=1)
These ethanol plants want to bury CO2 in Kansas to cut their carbon footprints
Kansas has three carbon dioxide pipelines. Next, it could get two carbon sequestration wells, linked to ethanol plants. Here’s what we know.