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Kansas governor says ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ could cost state $150 million or more
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is expected to cost Kansas at least $150 million as provisions cutting health care programs go into effect, Gov. Laura Kelly said in an interview with Kansas Reflector.
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Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Kobach campaign for attorney general triggers rebuke from Kansas Chamber
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach launched a campaign Thursday for the Republican nomination for attorney general and came under fire from the state’s most influential business lobbying organization that declared a Kobach candidacy carried too much risk for Kansans.
Kansas GOP senators firmly denounce proposed 2.5% pay raise for state employees
Republicans on the Kansas Senate’s budget committee attacked Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to allocate $52 million to raises of 2.5% for state executive, legislative and judicial branch workers and to appropriate $10 million to state universities that could be used to bolster employee compensation.
Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Judicial salary upgrade, replacement of fee revenue hang in legislative balance
Updated data shows that depending on job classification, Kansas judicial branch employees needed increases up to 18.9% to bring salaries to market level, Chief Justice Marla Luckert said.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kelly signs into law sweeping reform of Kansas unemployment system
Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law Monday legislation affirming a commitment to modernize the Kansas Department of Labor’s computer network relied upon to handle jobless claims and to guarantee employers weren’t liable for fraudulent unemployment filings during the pandemic.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kansas House, Senate prayers point to ‘precarious times for truth, justice, equity’
A review of the 2021 Legislature’s collection of opening prayers revealed how the Rev. Cecil Washington urged the Senate and the Rev. Eunice Brubaker offered the House seasoned spiritual advice for politicians at risk of losing sight of God’s message as they battled ideological foes real or imagined.
Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Kansas GOP lawmakers eager to rally partisan allies to challenge Kelly’s veto surge
A six-pack of Republican lawmakers amplified for faithful party members their resolve to challenge Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes of bills on gun rights, tax reductions and fair elections along with a smattering of legislative diversions into transgender athletics and distinctive license plates.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector; file
Democratic Kansas governor vetoes GOP-inspired voting, firearm and license plate bills
Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed two bundles of election reform measures Friday that would have restricted advance voting, eliminated emergency powers to alter voting procedures, added a new crime for turning in others’ ballots, and strengthened penalties for existing election crimes.
Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Gov. Kelly signs legislation creating workforce development scholarship program
Gov. Laura Kelly signed bipartisan legislation Friday authorizing a scholarship program aimed primarily at encouraging Kansas community college and technical college students to develop skills in high-demand areas of the state’s economy.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kansas governor blocks attack on transgender athletes, civics test for high schoolers, NRA curriculum
Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday vetoed a series of controversial bills that would have banned transgender athletes from school sports, required high schoolers to pass a civics test before graduation, and installed NRA-sponsored curriculum in public schools.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
After George Floyd’s murder, a racial equity panel proposed changes; the Kansas Legislature ignored them
The Commission on Racial Equity and Justice issued more than 30 suggestions in its December report for state legislators to consider, but none has received meaningful consideration.
Michelle Cadue
Lawrence High student activist lobbies for laws to protect Indigenous people
If you’ve ever visited the Kansas Capitol building, you might have assumed the adolescents you encountered were taking a field trip or paging for a state legislator. Georgia Blackwood, a Lawrence High School junior, crushes that presumption.
Jill Hummels for Kansas Reflector
Kansas opts for bonding to help consumers with energy price shocks, transition from coal
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly signed bipartisan legislation stretching over time consumers’ payment of exorbitant […]
New law pushes Kansas school districts to reconsider health protocols
School boards across Kansas are beginning conversations or taking action to modify their COVID-19 restrictions in response to Senate Bill 40.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
End-of-session package installs framework for investigating elder abuse in Kansas
A package of bills aimed at curbing elder abuse and creating more communication with various agencies that work with seniors was met with support by lawmakers on the final day of the regular session.
Kansas GOP legislators target rights of transgender youth; Lawrence delegates and activists warn of harm
Following a trend in Republican-dominated legislatures around the nation, GOP members of the Kansas Legislature […]
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