Kansas Week 5 Recap: anonymous texts, censorship, funding private schools, and more!
Video Script
I’m Davis Hammet with Loud Light! Here’s what happened in the 5th week of the 2023 Kansas legislative session!
Text Disclosure (HB 2166)
Last year leading up to the August primary an anonymous disinformation texting campaign sought to trick Kansans that support abortion access into voting the opposite way that they intended. Ultimately, it was revealed that former Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp was responsible, but the state could take no action to punish the deceit. A House Committee has advanced a bill to close the shady loophole by requiring paid for disclaimers of any such future text related to a constitutional amendment.
Censorship (SB 50)
A Senate Committee narrowly approved a bill that would ban social media sites from censoring misinformation. The penalty was changed from civil to criminal under the advice of Attorney General Kris Kobach who believes this change will make the bill more defensible in Court. All Committee members seemed to recognize if enacted the bill would immediately be challenged in Court, likely struck down as unconstitutional under the First Amendment as has happened to a similar bill passed in Florida, and the legal fight could potentially cost millions of Kansas tax dollars.
Medicinal Abortions
Medicinal abortions are the most common and safest abortion used in the earliest stages of a pregnancy. A Brownback era law that aimed to make it more difficult to access a medication abortion was struck down in not one, but two lawsuits and is therefore unenforceable. That didn’t stop Attorney General Kris Kobach from sending a letter to pharmacies threatening them if they distribute the abortion pill by mail and citing the unenforceable law as the basis of his threat. This type of professional misconduct is similar to that of former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline who was indefinitely disbarred from practicing law in Kansas due to his dishonest and misleading history around abortion cases.
Funding Private Schools (HB2236, HB2218, HB2048, SB 128)
There are now several bills seeking to use public tax dollars to fund unregulated home and private schools. It’s part of a national push of a scale not seen since the white backlash to public schools being desegregated following the historic Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case. The proposals now come in a variety of forms from a 100% refundable tax credits for kids not in public schools to a student savings account managed by the state treasurer. Estimates are around $150 million for proposals, but the state doesn’t truly know the cost because it’s unclear how many students aren’t in public schools. This is because the home and private school sector in Kansas is completely unregulated and the only requirement to qualify for such programs is to tell the state that the school exists. These proposals come as the state hasn’t yet held a hearing on bills to address the illegal underfunding of special education in public schools.
Coming Up
Committees will be hearing or taking action on nearly 100 bills next week including several targeting transgender Kansans, reducing income taxes, raising the age to purchase tobacco in Kansas to 21, and the CROWN act to prevent racial discrimination based on hair. Tuesday is Black Legislative Day and an advocacy day for the League of Women Voters. Thanks for your support that makes this possible. Stay tuned, stay engaged, and until next time, thank you so much Kansas!