Week 8 Kansas Statehouse Recap: 🤼♂️ Medicaid Politics 💃🏼 Dancing 🦠 Coronavirus ⚖️ Criminal Sentencing 🔜 and More!
Upcoming Hearing Highlights
Mon - HB2720 Providing a refundable income tax credit for certain purchases of food and discontinuing the nonrefundable food sales tax credit.
Tues - SB404 Creating a process to terminate the parental rights of a person whose sexual assault of another has resulted in the conception of a child.
Tues - SB474 Permitting student athletes to receive compensation for the use of their name, image, likeness rights or athletic reputation when 15 other states adopt similar legislation.
Tues - SCR1601 Constitutional amendment eliminating transfers from the state highway
fund.
Thur - HB2507 Liability protection for businesses that participate in high school work- based learning programs.
WEEK 8 VIDEO SCRIPT
Expansion Politics
It was a super short week with the Legislature only meeting Wednesday and Thursday, but that didn’t stop the escalating political drama. There are 3 key Republican Senators blocking Medicaid expansion: Sen. Pres Wagle, Sen. Health Chair Suellentrop, and leader of the far-right Truth Caucus Sen. Masterson. They all represent Wichita area districts and all scolded Sen. Maj. Ldr. Denning for holding pro-expansion events in Wichita alongside Gov. Kelly. In a Republican Caucus meeting they claimed Denning was carrying water for the Governor and that such bipartisanship was incompatible with being the Senate Republican Majority Leader. They expressed concern that the public push for expansion was hurting the chances for Republicans to hold several vulnerable state senate seats around Wichita in 2020. When Denning was pressed to commit to never travel with the Democratic Governor again, he refused. While these 3 powerful Republican Senators block expansion, the bipartisan compromise plan still is cosponsored by a majority of the Senate including all 11 Democrats, 11 Republicans, and a majority of Senate Republican leadership.
Sentencing Commission
The Kansas Sentencing Commission is made up of Judges, Legislators, and members appointed by the Governor. They study and produce data on the prison population, develop criminal sentencing guidelines, and aim to reduce unnecessary incarceration in Kansas. Gov. Kelly appointed several new members including 33-year-old former Mayor and current Leavenworth City Commissioner Jermaine Wilson. Wilson was put in juvenile detention at 15 then maximum security prison at 21 for drug possession. Commissioner Wilson is the first formerly incarcerated person to ever serve on the Kansas Sentencing Commission.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Kansas Health Secretary Lee Norman says it’s “just a matter of time” until the Coronavirus appears in Kansas. The State has a comprehensive preparedness plan and is coordinating with federal and local officials and hospitals. The Kansas Dept of Health and Environment lab in Topeka is among the first in the nation to be certified by the CDC to test for the novel Coronavirus which lowers the testing time for Kansans from five days to six hours. The Coronavirus has flu-like symptoms such as a fever and cough. If you think you may have the virus do not leave your home. Call a healthcare provider for guidance. Prevention involves being vigilant about basic hygiene like washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before eating or touching your face.
Dance Off HB 2385
After pushback from the powerful square dance lobby which dominates the national state dance scene, the polka bill has been amended to instead designate both the polka and the square dance as the official Kansas dances. This bill is exempt from deadlines and headed to the House floor.
Coming Up
Coming up are the final 2 weeks of most regular committee meetings. The funnel of possibilities for a bill to become a law is narrowing and legislators will soon begin focusing on big items like the budget and political items they want to campaign on like abortion, medical marijuana, and tax cuts.
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