Advocacy Opportunities
Tue - Kansas Coalition for Citizen Participation Lobby Day (Voting Rights)
Upcoming Hearing Highlights
Mon - HB 2503 Amortizing the state and school KPERS
Tue- SB 312 Imposing a civil fine for operating a child care facility without a license
Tue - HB 2473 Modifying the penalties for sexual contact between certain juveniles
Tue - HB 2512 Sedgwick county voters may vote at any polling place in 2020
Tue- HB 2475 Making offender registration for certain drug crimes five years
Wed - SB 299 Expanding Campaign Finance Act
Wed - SB 252 Expanding medical assistance eligibility
Wed - SB 321 Amortizing the state and school KPERS
Thur - HB 2416 Creating the Kansas targeted employment act
Thur - HB 2508 Nonpartisan Secretary of State races
Week 3 Script
Intro
Hey I’m Davis Hammet with Loud Light. Here’s what happened week 3 in the Kansas Statehouse.
Abortion Amendment SCR 1613
Wednesday night, the Senate held a 4 hour debate on the Abortion Constitutional Amendment to give the Legislature absolute power regarding abortion. An amendment to move the public vote from the low turnout August primary to the November general election failed.
The most significant attempt to change the Amendment would have prohibited the Legislature from completely banning abortion in circumstances of rape, incest, and life-threatening pregnancies. Sen. Wagle argued that Kansans want legislators “to have authority over rape incest and the life of the mother. They feel most comfortable when they leave their elected officials in charge of that.” The amendment to prohibit a total ban failed on a party line vote.
In the end, the Amendment was unchanged except for a tweak calling it an August special election after Senators realized it may be unconstitutional to amend the Constitution in a primary. On final vote, the Abortion Amendment reached the required 2/3 threshold and passed the Senate 28 to 12 with all Democrats and 1 Republican voting no.
The Amendment which flew through the Senate in less than 2 weeks now heads to the House where margins are much tighter and it’s outcome uncertain. The House could debate and vote on the measure any day.
Spousal Battery HB 2467
Kansas law still exempts spouses from the crime of sexual battery. A bill to remove the exemption passed the Judiciary Committee. An identical bill passed committee last year, but Maj. Led. Hawkins never brought it to the House floor for a vote.
Frack Quakes
The Kansas Corporation Commission voted Thursday to make documents publicly available related to investigations of earthquakes in 2 counties including Reno where Hutchinson is. In 2015, the Corporation Commission did the same thing for a SE Kansas investigation that connected the uptick in earthquakes to oil fracking’s wastewater injections. That led to regional regulations on the industry which decreased the seismic activity.
Romeo &… HB 2473
Currently, Kansas law gives harsher punishments to young same-sex couples than it does to opposite sex couples who engage in consensual sex when they are near in age, but one partner is under 16. Tuesday there’s a hearing on a bill to eliminate this discriminatory legal distinction, which is still in the law despite being ruled unconstitutional in 2005. The bill is part of Judicial recommendations to clean up state laws. It would also reduce the overall penalty and prevent youth from being put on the sex offenders registry for consensual sex.
Voting HB 2512
Secretary of State Schwab is delaying the implementation of a law that passed last year allowing counties to voluntarily let voters vote at whichever polling place is most convenient for them on election day. Sedgwick County wanted the measure because they have the technology to do it, but the Secretary is blocking them. Tuesday, there’s a hearing on a bipartisan bill cosponsored by almost every Sedgwick Representative that would mandate Sedgwick County bypass the Secretary of State and begin the program in 2020.
NonPartisan HB 2508
Thursday, there’s a hearing on a bill to make the Kansas chief election official the Secretary of State a nonpartisan elected
position beginning in 2022. Additionally, the bill would require the Secretary to resign if they chose to run for a partisan office.
Civic Advocacy Day
On Tuesday morning, The Kansas Coalition for Citizen Participation which Loud Light is a member of will hold an advocacy day for voting rights and measures to increase civic participation.
Outro
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Stay tuned, stay engaged, and until next time
thank you so much Kansas!