TOPEKA — A Democratic leader wants the Kansas Legislature to have independent attorneys investigate sexual harassment allegations.
Minority Leader Jim Ward also promised Thursday that fellow Democrats in the Kansas House will undergo training on sexual harassment at a December retreat.
And Ward pledged that he’ll be willing to remove committee assignments from any House Democrat found to have committed sexual harassment.
The Legislature’s policies say that allegations against lawmakers by their employees are investigated by its administrative services office. Republican leaders said they trust that process.
Ward commented a day after a former Democratic legislative staffer said she was propositioned by a lawmaker in 2015 and that in 2016 female college-student interns acted as after-hours designated drivers for intoxicated lawmakers. Ward was not minority leader at the time.
