(UPDATED to include a late addition of committee assignments Friday)
House Speaker Dan Hawkins dealt out new committee assignments Friday in the aftermath of a failed attempt to secure enough signatures on a petition to call a special session to draw new election boundaries for members of Congress.
Hawkins removed three committee chairs and four vice chairs, notably including the second-highest ranking Republican in the House.
A copy of the new committee assignments show that Rep. Blake Carpenter of Derby – who was elected as speaker pro tem – was removed as vice chair of the Committee on Interstate Cooperation. He would be replaced by Rep. Kyle Hoffman of Coldwater.
Other chairs removed included Rep. Nathan Butler of Junction City from the Committee on Veterans and Military, Rep. Jesse Borjon of Topeka from the Committee on Legislative Modernization and Rep. Steven Howe from the Committee on Higher Education Budget.
He also removed three vice chairs, Rep. Clarke Sanders of Salina from the House Committee on Higher Education Budget, Rep. Leah Howell of Derby from the House Committee on Transportation and Public Safety Budget and Rep. Bill Rhiley of Wellington from Welfare Reform.
Hawkins reassigned committee leadership after he came up sjx signatures short of the 84 needed to call a special session to draw new congressional maps. The committee members who were reassigned didn’t sign the petition. Ten Republican House members would not sign the special session petition.
Republican Rep. Carl Turner of Leawood will replace Borjon, Rep. Rick James of La Cygne will replace Butler and Rep. Adam Turk of Shawnee will replace Howe, according to a copy of the committee assignments obtained by the Sunflower State Journal.
For vice chairs, Rep. Kyler Sweely of Hutchinson will replace Sanders and Rep. John Resman of Olathe will replace Howell.Rep. Dale Helwig of Columbus will replace Rhiley on the Welfare Reform Committee.
The speaker was not immediately available for comment Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Hawkins said that disappointment would be an “understatement” to describe his emotions after failing to secure the signatures needed for a special session.
Hawkins said the lawmakers who didn’t sign the petition helped Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly by giving her unfettered control overs hundreds of millions of dollars that are expected to come to the state through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress established a program creating a national $50 billion fund to help states reinvent rural health care through innovation, strategic partnerships and workforce investment.
Kansas could get $1.5 billion from the program over the next five years, and state lawmakers want controls in place to oversee how the money is spent.
“Without a special session, Gov. Kelly has full discretion as the rural healthcare dollars start getting paid out,” Hawkins said.
“Those who refused to sign a petition played right into the governor’s hands by giving her free rein without oversight on hundreds of millions of dollars,” he wrote. “Sad.”
Here’s a roundup of all the other changes Friday:
- Rep. Shawn Chauncey of Junction City is the new vice chair of the House Committee on
Veterans and Military. He replaced Rep. Butler who had been elevated to chair before he was removed from the position. - Rep. Lauren Bohi of Olathe to replace Turk on the House Committee on Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development.
- Representative Jill Ward of Wichita to replace Turk as the vice chair of the House Committee on Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development.
- Sanders to replace Rhiley on the House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care.
- Rhiley to replace Sanders on the House Committee on Higher Education Budget.
- Rep. Steve Brunk of Wichita to replace Bohi on the House Committee on Transportation.
- Howe to replace James on the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs.
- Howe to replace Rep. Brian Bergkamp of Wichita on the House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
- Rep. Megan Steele of Wamego will sit on the House Appropriations Committee.
- Turk will replace Howe on the Appropriations Committee and the special committee on the budget.
- Sanders will replace Rhiley on the House welfare reform committee
