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Kansas marijuana laws remain unchanged, despite Trump promoting looser regulations
President Donald Trump took the first step Thursday to reclassify marijuana, but the move won’t affect Kansans unless the state changes its laws, a law enforcement professional said.
Kansas marijuana laws remain unchanged, despite Trump promoting looser regulations
President Donald Trump took the first step Thursday to reclassify marijuana, but the move won’t affect Kansans unless the state changes its laws, a law enforcement professional said.
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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
After lying about offer to convert Muslim woman, Kansas senator opines on ‘lost souls’
Sen. Mark Steffen says he never felt so overwhelmed as when he was caught lying about his offer to convert a Muslim woman.
Provision of Kansas K-12 funding bill slices state aid to about 100 public school districts
The school funding bill forwarded by the Kansas Legislature to Gov. Laura Kelly contained an unexpected budget twist that potentially blindsided as many as 100 public school districts with declining enrollment.
U.S. District Court drops gavel on Kansas’ unconstitutional attack of advance mail-in voting
A U.S. District Court judge issued a ruling Thursday declaring another portion of a 2021 Kansas law passed by the Legislature over the veto of Gov. Laura Kelly to be an infringement of First Amendment rights of speech and association in the U.S. Constitution.
Kansans: Act fast if you need to change your gender marker on legal docs, attorney says; here’s how
Time is likely limited for transgender folks to get their gender markers changed on their Kansas birth certificates and IDs, according to an attorney who’s an expert on the topic. Here are the basics of how the process works.
Kansas lawmakers ask for Godly influences during Statehouse prayer ceremony
Bowing his head in prayer, a state rep asked God to sway journalists into Christian reporting during a Thursday prayer ceremony. He was one of several Statehouse Republicans who attended the ceremony to pray for more Godly influence in society at large.
Stephen Koranda / Kansas News Service
Will strict new anti-trans laws in Kansas keep people and companies away?
Kansas passed one of the country’s broadest laws restricting transgender rights in public spaces. Critics say the economic fallout could be vast.
Kansas voting rights campaign to combat election fraud conspiracies, promote voter turnout
Several Kansas voting rights groups have pulled together, starting a campaign in reaction to GOP-backed election fraud theories and voting restrictions.
White Kansas lawmaker denies racism in House: ‘This body is more compassionate and loving’
Debate over a police bill last week turned into a discussion of Statehouse racism, with a white lawmaker asserting the House was too “loving and compassionate” to pass racist policy. A Black lawmaker disagreed.
New Kansas state budget delivers pay raises, generates consternation about rise in spending
An overwhelming majority of the Kansas Legislature approved a budget bill allocating more than $120 million to raise salaries of state employees and delivering $220 million to assist cities and counties eager to qualify for federal infrastructure aid during the next four years.
Kansas Legislature approves K-12 education budget with private school benefits
The Kansas Legislature passed a K-12 education package Friday that fully funds public schools but includes expansion of a tax credit for private school students and allows private school students to participate in public school sports and activities.
Muslim advocacy group asks Kansas senator for equal representation after offer to convert
A Muslim advocacy group on Friday asked Sen. Mark Steffen to commit to fair representation of all constituents following news reports of a conversation in which Steffen offered to convert a Muslim woman.
Kansas lawmakers adopt property tax break for restaurant, child care and fitness club businesses
The Kansas Legislature sent Gov. Laura Kelly a bill bundling elements from more than a dozen bills, including a property tax exemption for fitness, restaurant and child care businesses able to demonstrate they were in direct competition with operations of state or local government.
Kansas Senate’s attempt to override Kelly on tax cuts falls short again — GOP senator sanctioned
Senate President Ty Masterson responded to a second failure to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill collapsing the state’s three-rate individual income tax structure into a single 4.15% rate and speeding elimination of the state’s sales tax on groceries by stripping a dissident Republican of a committee chairmanship.
Trans Kansas women barred from women’s bathrooms, female-only spaces under new law
The Legislature resurrected a transgender bathroom ban that bars transgender and intersex women from restrooms, locker rooms, rape crisis centers and other female-specific spaces, making Kansas the first state to enact such a wide-ranging measure.
Kansas senator’s message to non-Christian constituents: ‘I would be happy to try and convert you’
A Republican senator told a Muslim woman that he would be happy to convert her to Christianity when she asked him how he planned to fairly represent all his constituents, not just those who shared his religion.
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