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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.
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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 House and Senate both pass legislation targeting transgender youth
The Kansas House passed parental rights legislation and a controversial transgender student athlete sports bill following months of debate and pushback from public education officials and advocates.
Kansas Senate votes to block abortion medication prescriptions via telemedicine
The Kansas Senate voted Thursday to prohibit use of telemedicine services to prescribe medications for inducing abortions and to forbid watering down the mandate during any disaster emergency declared by the state’s governor.
Kansas Senate moves to ban ballot drop boxes, limit advance voting and write-in candidacies
The Kansas Senate debated four election bills Wednesday banning use of ballot drop boxes, setting a tighter deadline for mail-in advance voting and more.
Kansas Senate flat tax would cut $1 for low-wage earners, hand windfall to top 1%
A flat tax plan moving through the Senate is structured to provide minimal relief to low-income Kansans while granting a windfall to high wage earners.
Kansas governor renews push to invest in special education services
Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her emphasis on fully funding special education services in Kansas as she toured a Topeka school Tuesday.
Wide-ranging Kansas tax exemption proposal would benefit fitness club magnate
Though he hadn’t actually read the legislation in question, Senate President Ty Masterson spoke in support of wide-ranging tax exemptions for businesses thought to be in competition with government entities.
From school choice to parents’ rights, Kansas lawmakers are pushing education changes
Conservatives want to make it easier for Kansas families to send their children to private schools, and they’re once again pushing for more parental control over what’s taught in public school classrooms.
Kansas Senate president: Roll back food tax relief so state can afford flat tax plan
Senate President Ty Masterson’s “broader picture” for tax policy changes came into focus Monday with a plan that involves rolling back tax relief on food so the state can afford to cut income taxes for the highest wage earners.
House lawmakers strike out legislation meant to end Kansas local anti-discrimination measures
Following backlash to legislation that would have nullified local government anti-discrimination protections, lawmakers voted to strike the offending section from an anti-discrimination bill.
Senate adopts bill urging Kansas public schools to offer NRA gun-safety curriculum in grades K-8
The Kansas Senate has passed a bill requiring the state Board of Education to approve gun-safety curriculum standards tied to a National Rifle Association initiative and hunter education program of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Kansas parental rights legislation folded into unrelated bill
A modified form of parental rights legislation would require school districts to create an online portal for parents and publish district curriculum yearly.
Kansas ethics director unleashes fury over ‘shameless’ attempt to stifle investigation
House Republicans launched a “brazen” plan Thursday to stifle an investigation into alleged illegal campaign activities by rewriting numerous ethics rules and weakening the authority of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.
Kansas organizations denounce Tarwater’s claim people with disabilities ‘can’t do anything’
Two Kansas disability advocacy organizations condemned Thursday an assertion by Rep. Sean Tarwater that people with disabilities would “rot at home” because they “really can’t do anything” in terms of securing employment outside of sheltered workshops allowed to pay workers less than minimum wage.
Inside one of the anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers that might get millions from Kansas
Anti-abortion lawmakers in Kansas want to dramatically expand taxpayer funding for crisis pregnancy centers. Critics say they’re dangerous.
‘I was paralyzed’: Kansas advocate urges lawmakers to add protections against date rape drug
Paula Mitchell, a mother and an advocate for sexual assault victims, said there’s a need for protections against the date rape drug. She said her own daughter recently was in danger.
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