Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court stepped into an explosive legal and political drama Monday triggered by the Legislature’s decision to split the state’s most diverse county between two congressional districts and relegate Lawrence to the rural conservative 1st District reaching into western Kansas.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt began proceedings Monday asserting to the Kansas Supreme Court that new boundaries for Kansas House and Senate districts violated no law.
Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill allowing autonomous vehicles to operate on Kansas roads and vetoed legislation restricting public health officials’ response to all infectious disease outbreaks, a mandate imposing a no-bid contract for Medicaid services and limitations on the executive branch’s enforcement of election law.
The power of the Kansas cattle industry means grocery shoppers in the state won’t be buying anything called sausage or burger unless it’s made of animal parts.
Kansas is one of just a few states without a good Samaritan law that encourages people to call 911 when they witness a drug overdose, and it doesn’t permit syringe service programs that provide sterile injection equipment.
The Republican-controlled Legislative Coordinating Council’s legal brief to the Kansas Supreme Court rejects a lower court decision that the 2022 congressional map was unconstitutional, arguing that judge’s ruling amounted to partisan overreach and parroted unproven claims by plaintiffs.
The Kansas Legislature shields itself from public scrutiny through secrecy, confusing shell games and silenced opposition.
Gov. Laura Kelly signed bipartisan legislation Thursday creating incentives in the form of state income tax credits for investors in construction of residential housing that contributes to economic development in Kansas.
The Kansas Legislature approved a rewrite of the state’s public health laws, disregarding bipartisan concerns the bill was too restrictive. For example, no governmental body or public official could mandate face masks to prevent the spread of any infectious disease.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen / The Kansas News Service
The Kansas Legislature didn’t approve money for additional public defenders, but it did support pay raises.
