References to ‘Wizard of Oz’ aside, skeptics warn all that glitters isn’t gold By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Republican Sen. Michael Murphy sold the Kansas Legislature on granting investors in gold and silver an exemption from state capital gains tax by noting the insightful allegory about monetary policy woven into “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Murphy, who represents the Sylvia area near Hutchinson, fought the past three years as a member of the House and now the Senate to pass a bill declaring gold and silver coin or bullion to be legal tender in Kansas. Under House Bill 2515, forwarded to…
Author: Kansas Reflector
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have created a sports tourism grant program focused on expanding state investment in sporting events. Kelly on Monday vetoed House Bill 2346, saying the state already has a fund devoted to drawing sports-related activities, referring to the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund, which is being used along with Sales Tax and Revenue bonds to fund the public investment in the new Kansas City Chiefs stadium. “If the Legislature wants to direct a portion of those funds to local communities for sports attraction they should do so,” she said.…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Kansas public school students raising their voices in protest during school hours will need parental permission to leave school grounds to attend a rally or protest event after legislative action Friday. The House and Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s line-item veto in the budget bill to enact a proviso that will punish youth for skipping school to attend a protest. In early March, both chambers passed legislation to clamp down on public school protests by requiring students to receive parental permission before participating and hitting school districts with penalties as high as $100,000 per day if they’re…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Republican legislators overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to create a 25-foot buffer around law enforcement and emergency personnel, a move the Senate leader said ensures Kansas won’t become like Minnesota. Senate President Ty Masterson said in a news release that House Bill 2372, referred to as the Halo Act, keeps “radical protesters” from interfering with law enforcement and keeps officers and bystanders safe. Masterson referred to riots in Minnesota when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers injured and killed bystanders while detaining immigrants. The bill makes it a misdemeanor crime to go within 25 feet of…
Incendiary debate includes dispute on free parking for legislators in state lots By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Members of the Kansas House and Senate engaged in fierce debate Friday about wisdom of legislators’ 4.4% pay raise before voting to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the legislative branch’s budget in a bid to force reconsideration of a 1% salary increase for thousands of rank-and-file state employees. Both chambers also voted to override Kelly’s veto of a budget item granting the 165 state representatives and senators free access to state-operated parking lots or garages from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The…
TOPEKA — House and Senate Republicans overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto Thursday to preserve a bill they say will protect free speech in the name of slain activist Charlie Kirk. Both chambers voted by a two-thirds majority to put House Bill 2333, or the Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge Act, into law. The bill addresses free speech on college campuses and honors Kirk, a political activist killed by a gunman in September while speaking at a college event. The bill defines outdoor areas of campuses as public forums and allows the attorney general or aggrieved individuals to seek damages in court.…
By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — The agreement between the Kansas City Chiefs and the state of Kansas to build a new $3 billion domed football stadium, headquarters, training facility and entertainment district could be the largest stadium deal in American history, and most Kansas lawmakers agreed last week to establish a sports authority board to oversee the project. The unparalleled public subsidies that accompany the deal have drawn criticism from economists, politicians and football fans from the jump. Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, said the deal will live in infamy and become a euphemism for disagreeable legislation of the future. On Friday, lawmakers passed…
By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a partisan, anti-abortion bill that offered protections to crisis pregnancy centers, which can function as alternatives to health clinics with abortion services. Within hours, the House and Senate voted to overturn her decision. Kelly said Kansans have been clear. They don’t want the government involved in private medical decisions, she said in a Friday announcement. “That means we shouldn’t be spending tax dollars trying to interfere with that very personal, very private, medical decision,” she said. “That’s why I’m vetoing this bill.” The House voted 87-35 and the Senate voted…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that would provide income tax deductions for Kansans enrolled in health care sharing ministries plans, saying the organizations can leave everyday people with “huge medical bills.” Health care sharing ministries are nonprofit organizations, often formed by people of the same faith or religious belief, to share health care costs by contributing monthly to a pool. Senate Bill 368 allows for tax modifications based on qualified health care expenses or for shares received from those organizations, according to a legislative report. “There’s a reason that regulators across the country are taking action…
By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — Legislators want the state of Kansas to pay local law students a stipend if they promise to practice in a rural part of the state upon graduation. They also want to repay the student loans of working rural attorneys. It’s all part of an effort to address a persistent rural attorney shortage. House Bill 2595, or the “attorney training for rural Kansas act,” creates two programs meant to attract and retain practicing attorneys in the state’s rural areas. More than 40% of the population lives in a rural part of the state but only 20% of…