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Kansas House Speaker touts Republican supermajority’s ‘people-first agenda’
Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins underscored the force of the Republican supermajority and its 2025 policy wins in his response to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s final State of the State address.
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MORe STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
Kobach, Schwab pursue alleged signature forgeries on No Labels party petitions
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach says a second person was arrested for allegedly forging signatures on petitions relied upon by the No Labels Kansas to gain official status as a political party in January.
Kansas lawmakers will soon start a special session on tax cuts. Here’s what you can expect
Kansas lawmakers return to Topeka on June 18 for a special session on tax cuts as the state sits with billions of dollars in the bank.
Douglas County voters: The filing deadline has passed. Here’s who’s running for election
The deadline to file to run for office passed at noon for this big election year. Here, find out which races will have primaries, which will be decided in the general election, which are unopposed, and who’s running in each of them.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Beekeepers’ Association hosts Bee FunDay at Douglas County Fairgrounds
The Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers’ Association hosted its annual Bee FunDay event on Saturday, giving pollinator pals a chance to see demonstrations and learn more about beekeeping.
Kansas Supreme Court upholds limit on collecting ballots, sends two other laws back to lower court
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday endorsed a law limiting how many advance ballots a person can collect for others, but sent lawsuits challenging other controversial election provisions back to lower courts for more work.
Gov. Laura Kelly calls special session of Kansas Legislature to contend with tax-cut bill
Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday she would issue an order calling the Legislature to a high-stakes, election-year special session June 18 to work on reducing tax burdens without propelling the state toward financial problems.
Gov. Laura Kelly not ready to declare date of Kansas’ special legislative session on tax policy
Gov. Laura Kelly didn’t meet a self-imposed deadline for announcing the date of a special session of the Kansas Legislature to seek an elusive compromise on a package of major sales, income and property tax reforms.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Douglas County voters: Here’s a look at candidates who have filed for election so far
Just more than a week remains for people to throw their hats into the ring for a big election year. The Douglas County Commission is adding two seats; every seat in the Legislature is up for grabs; and the top prosecutor job is on the ballot.
Kansas’ smallest school district prepares to close in warning sign for rural communities
Healy’s eighth-grade graduates walked the stage as family members cheered them on. School board members were seated at the side of the stage to congratulate the students — all three of them.
Courtesy photo
Governor signs Lawrence disability advocate’s bill into law
Self-advocate Kathy Lobb’s decades-long quest has come to an end as a law to grant executive branch employment preferences for disabled Kansans is now on the books.
Kansas providers challenge new ‘abortion survey’ law in court
Kansas abortion providers have challenged an abortion survey law less than a month after lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto.
Kansas governor follows through on threat to veto bipartisan tax plan, will call special session
A session-long standoff between Gov. Laura Kelly and state legislators over changes in tax policy reached its inevitable climax Thursday when the governor vetoed a bipartisan tax plan as promised.
Kansas governor signs school funding bill with $75 million boost for special education
Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation that allocates $6.6 billion to K-12 public schools, including $75 million in new money for special education, but vetoed language designed to funnel safety grant cash to a specific software company.
Former foster kids relived trauma, fought for new program and compelled Kansas lawmakers to act
On Tuesday, alumni of Kansas’ foster care system celebrated the passage of legislation that will allow foster kids who are 16 or older to choose to stay with a family member or close friend — as opposed to bouncing from one temporary house to another or sleeping in office space.
Traffic tickets in Kansas can cost low-income drivers their licenses. There’s a new law to help
Traffic tickets for low-income drivers can snowball into thousands of dollars of debt and revoked licenses. A new law aims to reduce fines and fees to help get them reinstated.
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