Contender Vicki Schmidt skips debate to protest mandatory $10,000 payment to state party By Tim Carpenter WICHITA — Six Republican candidates for Kansas governor stepped onto the debate stage Friday intent on finding separation from their rivals despite unanimity on key issues of abortion, marijuana, judicial bias and praise for President Donald Trump. The goal of offering voters a distinct vision of themselves at the event sponsored by the Kansas Republican Party surfaced quickly as Charlotte O’Hara, a former Johnson County commissioner and Kansas House member, launched into an opening statement that sought to undercut a couple of her peers.…
Author: Kansas Reflector
By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — In Vicki Schumacher’s nutrition services office at Wichita Public Schools, staff spend roughly two hours verifying one free lunch application from start to finish. Under proposed legislation, the office could see its work increase twentyfold. Current federal law requires schools to verify free and reduced lunch eligibility for a random sample amounting to 3% or 3,000 of recipients — whichever is less — but a bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Doug Shane requires verifying the gross household income of every student who receives a free lunch. For Schumacher, who supervises the financial and technical aspects…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Real estate investors buying residential buildings in Kansas could be charged a penalty for paying off their mortgages early under proposed changes to the Kansas Contracts and Promises statute. The statute currently bars lenders from charging prepayment penalties on “any home loan” paid off after six months from the day the loan was taken out, the House Financial Institutions and Pensions Committee heard Monday. It doesn’t specify whether those loans are for individual homeowners or for real estate investors buying properties to rent or lease. House Bill 2497 would add language that allows lenders to charge prepayment…
By Sherman Smith TOPEKA — A Senate committee endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap annual increases to appraised property values at 3%, and roll back the clock to 2022 assessments. Republicans on the Senate tax committee said during debate Wednesday that the cap was just part of the solution for easing the property tax burden on homeowners. “We all know that this constitutional amendment will not lower property tax, right? said Sen. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston. “And I want to be clear, we put that out there, will not lower it. May slow the growth, but it will not…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — A Kansas City Chiefs attorney told legislators Wednesday that projections show STAR bonds financing the team’s stadium deal will be paid off 10 to 15 years earlier than the expected 30-year term, upping economic benefits for the state. Korb Maxwell, a Chiefs attorney, told legislators the planned $3 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development in Wyandotte County, and a $300 million Chiefs headquarters and training facility in Johnson County, will add to the state coffers earlier than expected. He addressed a joint meeting of the Senate and House commerce committees, where legislators put him on…
By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stepped forward Wednesday to endorse state Sen. Ethan Corson’s campaign for the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor. The August primary has evolved into a contest between Corson, of Fairway, and state Sen. Cindy Holscher, of Overland Park. Sebelius, who was the state’s Democratic governor from 2003 to 2009, stepped down to accept appointment as secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. She served five years in the Cabinet of President Barack Obama. Sebelius said her endorsement of Corson reflected appreciation for his bipartisan record, leadership, focus on helping…
Democrats eschew loans, but that can change before August primary By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Four candidates for Kansas governor loaned their campaigns at least $1 million to bolster the bottom line on year-end finance reports and support claims of political momentum eight months from the August primary election. Former Gov. Jeff Colyer started his campaign with a $50,000 loan in May and followed with three loans in December to push his personal commitment to $1.05 million at the end of the reporting period Dec. 31. He raised an equivalent amount from donors, his report said, and had $1.8 million…
By Grace Hills TOPEKA — A bipartisan Kansas bill that aims to implement a bell-to-bell cellphone ban beginning next school year would override local rules and establish one of the nation’s most restrictive policies. The bill already has garnered a two-thirds supermajority of support from the Kansas Senate, as well as the support of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Supporters of the bill say students would be mentally and physically safer, while opponents argue it’s an overreach of power that asks too much of students and schools. More than 20 people testified on Senate Bill 302 on Thursday before the Senate Education Committee, including Timothy Graham from the Kansas…
By Morgan Wilson TOPEKA — Kansas’ top health agency is sticking with the longstanding childhood immunization schedule instead of implementing new guidelines released Jan. 5 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, a state spokeswoman said. Although the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is evaluating the new vaccination schedule, KDHE does not currently anticipate changes to Kansas’ clinical guidance for childhood immunization schedules, spokeswoman Jill Bronaugh said in an email to the Kansas Reflector. “KDHE is committed to the well-being of Kansans, and we continue to emphasize the importance of clear communication, transparency and trust in scientific…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — Kansas is suffering from the worst outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country, with nearly 414,000 birds affected, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. HPAI, an umbrella term for avian influenza that includes highly contagious strains such as H5 and H7, is considered a low public health risk, although it can pass to humans through birds and dairy products from infected cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with…