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Proposed bill bans gender changes on Kansas driver’s licenses, birth certificates
A bill that would ban gender changes on Kansas driver’s licenses and birth certificates drew hundreds of opponent comments despite appearing on a committee agenda just 24 hours before the Tuesday hearing.
Proposed bill bans gender changes on Kansas driver’s licenses, birth certificates
A bill that would ban gender changes on Kansas driver’s licenses and birth certificates drew hundreds of opponent comments despite appearing on a committee agenda just 24 hours before the Tuesday hearing.
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Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
MORe STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
Kansas commission recommends raising annual base salary of state legislators to $43,000
A bipartisan commission led by former state lawmakers Thursday endorsed recommendations raising the base salary of House and Senate members to $43,000 per year.
Why Kansas makes it harder to qualify for food assistance than most other states
Kansas lawmakers have continued to pass on a federal policy that could make more people eligible for food assistance programs. Now, the state is one of the last in the country that has not yet adopted it.
Former Rep. Esau seeks end of Kansas’ 3-day grace period for accepting mailed advance ballots
A former state rep. said it was a mistake for the 2017 Kansas Legislature to create a 3-day grace period for acceptance of mail-in advance ballots postmarked before polls closed on Election Day.
Voting rights advocates pan Kansas Republican’s ‘invite-only stage for election conspiracies’
Republican Sen. Mike Thompson orchestrated a two-day debauchery of fearmongering about advance ballots, drop boxes, and voter registration efforts. No local election official was invited to participate.
Think tank demands release of ‘secret’ Kansas voter registration deal. It was readily available.
Florida think tank lobbyists pressured Kansas legislators to investigate Gov. Laura Kelly for negotiating a “secret” agreement requiring distribution of voter registration information to recipients of government safety-net assistance.
Labor study: Kansas faces shortfall of 34,000 college-educated workers through 2030
A new labor report revealed the current annual rate of degree and certificate completion at Kansas colleges and universities would be insufficient to meet anticipated growth in demand for young, educated workers.
Kansas counties eager for lawmakers to resurrect property tax relief fund
The Legislature’s perennial failure to invest in lowering local property taxes left Miami County with a budget dilemma this year. The Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund has been dormant for 20 years.
Kansas special committee leans harder toward raising legislators’ annual base salary to $45,000
A bipartisan committee built momentum for the idea of raising the annual base salary of legislators to $45,000 and delivering substantial compensation premiums for eight lawmakers in leadership positions.
Top Kansas Republicans push flat tax proposal, pan Medicaid expansion
After declaring themselves a united family, “like brothers and sisters,” the top Republicans in the Legislature announced they will work together to resurrect and pass a massive flat tax plan in the first weeks of the upcoming legislative session.
Here’s why Kansas abortions rose 114% in the first half of 2023
Research estimates Kansas saw one of the most significant increases in abortions in the country, driven by a surge in patients from nearby states.
Transgender Kansans barred from altering birth certificates
The state will no longer recognize transgender Kansans’ identities, reversing birth records back to assigned sex at birth and halting future modifications of birth certificates following a federal judge’s ruling.
This Kansas teacher retired 23 years ago — and her pension payment is frozen in time
Thousands of retired public employees in Kansas have never seen an increase to their pension pay, and inflation is eating away the value of the those payments. Advocates argue the Legislature owes them a boost.
Kansas property tax increases have homeowners objecting and legislators looking at new laws
Taxpayers are lining up at public meetings to voice frustration over increasing property taxes. State lawmakers are taking notice and could consider new restrictions on tax increases.
Kansas awards $2 million unplanned-pregnancy contract to group moored in anti-abortion politics
Kansas awarded a $2 million contract to start a state program aimed at influencing women with unplanned pregnancies to give birth and to accept guidance of a nonprofit directed by some of the state’s most vocal opponents of abortion rights.
Kansas lawmakers press state’s child advocate for foster care solutions
With increased rates of children in the foster care system sleeping in offices and social workers spending their time “shuttling kids” from place to place, advocates say lawmakers and government officials need to step up before the state faces another lawsuit.
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