Week 2 Inside the 2020 Kansas Statehouse:
🥩 Fake Meat,
👩⚖️ Judicial Lawsuit,
📜 Abortion Amendment,
🔜 What’s coming up, and more!
Advocacy Opportunities
Thur - Kansans for Smart Justice Day 10am
Upcoming Hearing Highlights
Mon - HB 2467 Removing the spousal exception from sexual battery.
Mon - HB 2466 Kansas Taxpayer Protection Act
Tue - SB 269 Increasing the mandatory retirement age for judges to 80 years of age.
Tue - HB 2445 Juvenile Runaways
Tue - SB 250 Amending the definition of "race" in the Kansas act against discrimination
Wed - HB 2400 Kratom Consumer Protection Act
Wed - SB 283 Sports Wagering
Wed - HB 2443 Native American Tuition Rates
Wed - SB 281 Healthcare Price Disclosure Act
Wed - SB 282 Right-to-Know Act
Thur - HB 2458 Creating the negligent driving violation.
Week 2 Video Script
Hey I’m Davis Hammet with Loud Light. Here’s what happened last week in the Kansas Statehouse.
Abortion Amendment
There was an all day joint committee hearing on the abortion constitutional amendment to give the Legislature full power to regulate abortion. Proponents say it would return the status quo. Technically, Kansas law already says life begins at fertilization and the Attorney General’s office confirmed that the amendment would allow the Legislature to ban abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
The hearing showed concerns that the amendment could allow the Legislature to go further and ban birth control and could even allow them to go the other direction and mandate abortions. All attempts to adjust the amendment failed and it passed out of both committees on what appeared to be party line votes. Neither chamber has brought it to the floor yet, but it could be debated by the entire House or Senate any day.
Meat?
A House committee held a hearing on a bill crafted by the Kansas Livestock Association that would prohibit plant based products from using “identifiable meat terms on labels or in advertising.” The bill would make it illegal to label something as a veggie burger unless it used the exact same font, style, and size to say “Veggie Imitation Burger” or “Veggie Burger this product does not contain meat.” Proponents say it’s necessary because Kansans are confused. Opponents say it’s unconstitutionally compelled speech to benefit a specific industry. On Monday, the committee will discuss and vote on the bill.
Medicaid Expansion
The Senate committee hearing on the bipartisan Medicaid expansion bill will last 5 days. Thursday and Friday they heard from proponents, and this coming Tuesday through Thursday they will hear neutrals and opponents. 5 of the 9 committee members are cosponsors of the bill.
Judiciary Lawsuit
Kansas trial judges are the lowest paid in the nation. They sued the Kansas Legislature for violating the separation of powers through chronic underfunding of the judicial branch. Beyond a violation of the Kansas Constitution and Statutes, they claim underfunding has impaired the court systems ability to carry out justice without delay. The case raised serious questions about the Judiciary being treated as a political budget item rather than a coequal branch of government. The Kansas Supreme Court used its discretion to dismiss the case concluding that the "difficult evidentiary and legal issues" in the case would take significant time to resolve, and "such proceedings necessarily impede crucial inter-branch discussions.” Meaning the Supreme Justices hope to find a solution through discussion with the Legislature instead of a lawsuit.
Coming Up
Monday is Smart Justice Day where Kansans will advocate for the Legislature to fix the broken criminal justice system and overcrowded prisons. Tuesday, there's a hearing for a bill to add “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture” and natural hairstyles such as dreadlocks to the Kansas act against discrimination. Wednesday, there’s hearings on bills to legalize sports betting, add transparency to healthcare prices, and protect users of the herb Kratom. Also on Wednesday, the entire state of Kansas will celebrate 159 years of being better than Missouri. Happy Kansas Day everyone!
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