By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — In what founding document does the phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” appear? Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War? Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators? These are among the 128 questions on the U.S. citizenship test, and they could become study material for Kansas students. Under a bill that also mandates teaching students about the dangers of communism and socialism, high school freshmen would be required to take a 100-question exam based on the civics test that prospective U.S. citizens take during the American naturalization…
Author: Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Kansas House on Tuesday passed a bill requiring criminals convicted of serious felonies to be held in county jails rather than be released on bond while awaiting sentencing. Senate Bill 358 is a direct response to a Manhattan case in which a judge released a man convicted of 46 counts of sex crimes, and he “left the court through the same doors as the victims,” said Rep. Jesse Borjon, a Topeka Republican. “As you can imagine, this creates a great deal of anxiety and fear for the victims,” he said. “This bill ensures that offenders convicted of serious crimes are…
TOPEKA — A banking official told lawmakers Monday about an elderly customer who was scammed into giving tens of thousands of dollars to what she believed would be a scholarship honoring her dead husband. Tony Weingartner, manager of the financial intelligence unit at Topeka-based Capitol Federal Savings Bank, said the bank engaged with the woman, and law enforcement and social workers met with her, but she “could not believe that that would occur illegitimately and that she was defrauded.” “She couldn’t accept it,” he said. “And now, my understanding is, even with a conservator over her finances, she still believes…
By Morgan Chilson LEAVENWORTH — CoreCivic will reopen its private prison in Leavenworth to house immigration detainees after city commissioners approved the company’s special use permit on Tuesday, the result of a process one commissioner called “agonizing.” Two people were arrested and multiple people were ejected as they shouted profanity during an hour of public comments and 30 minutes of discussion before the city commission voted 4 to 1 to approve the permit. CoreCivic and the city of Leavenworth have been fighting for a year as the company sought to reopen the prison it closed in 2021. With a $60 million U.S.…
TOPEKA — Kansas acquired land nearly a century ago that is home to some of the state’s oldest buildings, but the state now faces an ownership challenge from the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, raising questions about how history is preserved and who is represented. The Shawnee Indian Mission State Historical Site was a Methodist boarding and manual labor school for hundreds of Native American children from across the country from 1839 to 1862. The site today hosts three historic buildings — one of which is a museum accessible to the public — surrounded by kept grounds, wooden benches, herb and…
By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — Melody Ellis started her first business at 4 years old, and while juggling an art business and an artisan lemonade stand, she is working on her third. Ellis, the junior executive director of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, told a committee of Kansas legislators Thursday about Melody Paints, her venture selling drip art paintings, while testifying in favor of a bill dubbed the “lemonade stand law.” House Bill 2599 exempts minor-owned businesses from paying sales taxes on annual earnings up to $10,000, along with local taxes, licenses, permits and other government permissions. Ellis was one of…
Public ownership of stadium shields bonds for the project from federal income tax By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — The Kansas House introduced legislation Friday authorizing creation of a state sports authority to allow construction of a publicly owned stadium spectacular enough to convince the Kansas City Chiefs to move from Missouri to Kansas. Public ownership of the $3 billion stadium was viewed as a necessity because private ownership of the complex would prevent the $1.8 billion in state bonds issued for the project to be subjected to federal income taxes. Attorney Korb Maxwell told state lawmakers in January that failure…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — CoreCivic can’t house immigration detainees before reaching an agreement with the city of Leavenworth on reopening its private prison, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday when it upheld a lower court’s decision. “There is nothing to suggest that CoreCivic is being singled out here,” the Court of Appeals decision said. “The City is merely attempting to enforce its zoning regulations that impose requirements on every entity regardless of its status as a contractor with the federal government.” Nashville-based CoreCivic appealed an injunction by Leavenworth County District Court that banned it from beginning to take detainees to…
House cuts $60M in revenue sharing, makes it easy for dissenters to stop increases By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — The Kansas House voted Wednesday to alter significant provisions of a bipartisan property tax reform bill granting the public a direct voice in decisions by local government to raise property taxes more than 3% annually. The House agreed to an amendment lowering by half the signature threshold on protest petitions used to block a city or county from exceeding the cap. The House also passed an amendment deleting a $60 million state fund to compensate local units of government that held…
By Grace Hills TOPEKA — Kansas drivers could be required to use their turn signals when navigating roundabouts under a proposed Senate bill — because, to the confusion of some legislators, that isn’t already law. Sen. Brad Starnes, a Republican from Riley — or “the roundabout guy” as he introduced himself Wednesday before the Senate Transportation Committee — introduced Senate Bill 318, which calls for drivers to use their turn signals when changing lanes or exiting a roundabout. A few legislators asked the same question: Isn’t this already a law? Adam Siebers from the Office of Revisor of Statutes said drivers…