Good morning everyone:
Hope everyone is well. It’s going to be a busy weak when the gears of the Kansas Legislature start moving again as it starts working on its agenda for the final day of the 2020 session.
Committees are going to start meeting again this week, some virtually, as they work on a variety of legislation ranging from COVID-19-related lawsuits to property taxes to the governor’s emergency powers.
It will reach a crescendo May 21 when the Legislature convenes for the last time before lawmakers scatter into the political winds of 2020.
Meanwhile, here are the significant stories that we published last week, followed by the stories that you may have missed but need to know…
- Lawmakers are expected to tackle legal liability for medical professionals and other businesses. It could end up being a big battle on the final day of the session.
- Gov. Laura Kelly’s nominee for the Board of Tax Appeals is facing opposition because of his role in the “dark-store” appraisal debate.
- Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning is not seeking reelection.
- A Prairie Village city councilman has been named executive director of the Kansas Board of Healing Arts.
- President Donald Trump nominated Kansas’ solicitor general for a federal judgeship.
- Democratic state Rep. Pam Curtis is facing a primary opponent over in Wyandotte County.
- The Kansas Legislature will return for one day to finish its business for 2020.
- Republican Rep. Bill Pannbacker is not committed to seeking reelection. He faces three GOP challengers.
- Lenexa home consultant Laura Williams is challenging Democratic state Rep. Brandon Woodard in Johnson County.
Abortion lobbying
Supporters of a constitutional amendment on abortion spent more than $30,000 this year lobbying for the measure, which would have reversed a state Supreme Court ruling that found the right to the procedure is protected by the state constitution.
Kansans for Life’s two lobbyists reported spending $23,335 in the first two months of this year’s legislative session, which saw the amendment pass the Senate but fail in the House.
The Kansas Catholic Conference reported spending $3,731, and the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas spent $7,117.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood Great Plains laid out $7,257 opposing the amendment, bringing spending on the abortion issue to at least $41,440.
The spending leaders for the first two months of the session included Americans for Prosperity ($81,998), the Heartland Credit Union Association ($16,294), Kansas Electric Cooperatives ($14,378), the Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association ($13,396) and the Kansas Association of Realtors ($12,121).
Mail ballot requests surging
With the threat of the coronavirus hanging over the approaching election, the Kansas secretary of state’s office is reporting a surge in requests for mail ballots for this summer’s primary.
The state has already received 24,897 requests for mail ballots for the Aug. 4 primary, about half the number of mail ballots that were requested for the 2018 primary election.
The number has almost doubled since April 30, when the office had received 12,809 requests for mail ballots.
For comparative purposes, there were 54,127 mail ballots requested in 2016 for the primary and 51,455 were requested in 2018.
Many of the requests were coming from Trego County, where 23.9% of all registered voters requested a mail ballot.
Ness County was second at 10.9%, followed by Republic and Morris counties with 10.8% and Edwards County at 10%.
Gloomy economic forecast
Wichita State University economists are expecting Kansas to lose 10.2% of its nonfarm jobs this year as the state suffers from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The school’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research released a forecast last week predicting the state would lose about 144,000 nonfarm jobs.
The forecast predicts that job losses will be concentrated in the second quarter, followed by a rebound in the third and fourth quarters assuming the virus peaks in the second quarter at a level that can be managed.
The goods-producing sector is expected to take the biggest hit with a 14.7% decline in jobs, followed by trade, transportation and utilities at 13.3% and the service sector at 10.4%.
Least affected is expected to be government, which is predicted to see a 2.2% loss in jobs.
There were 16,416 initial unemployment claims filed with the state for the week ending May 2, which was down from 27,663 a week earlier but still up 699% from the same time a year ago.
Overall, unemployment claims are down from 50,345 as of the week ending April 4.
State fiscal forecasters predict that Kansas’ unemployment rate will double to 6.4% this year from 3.2% last year. It is expected to drop off slightly to 5.9% in 2021.
The annual unemployment rate for 2020 was expected to be relatively low for the first quarter.
However, large-scale job losses are anticipated for the second quarter the likes of which haven’t been seen in more than 90 years, the state fiscal report said.
Last fall, the state was estimated to have an unemployment rate of 3.4% for 2020 and 3.5% in 2021.
The national unemployment rate, the report said, is expected to remain above the Kansas rate, with the U.S. rate now expected to be 10% in 2020 and 9% in 2021.
Barber busted
McPherson barber Luke Aichele announced on Facebook Friday that he had been served with an arrest warrant for opening his barbershop prematurely under the governor’s plans to reopen the state’s economy.
The posting from the owner of Luke’s Barber Shop grabbed all kinds of attention on Saturday, including support from Republican U.S. Senate candidates, Senate President Susan Wagle and Congressman Roger Marshall
“I have spoken with a barber from McPherson, Luke Aichele, who received an arrest warrant for opening his barbershop. Luke can’t apply for unemployment and he is simply trying to feed his family,” Wagle tweeted.
“The chairs in his shop are six feet apart and barbers and hair stylists comply with strict safety regulations. It’s immoral to prevent those who want to work safely, with social distancing, from doing so. Open up KS now!,” Wagle wrote.
Marshall weighed in as well.
“I was raised by a Chief of Police, and was raised to respect our laws,” Marshall tweeted.
“I was also raised to know right from wrong. Telling someone they cannot work to feed their family, offering them no help, and then threatening their arrest if they safely try to earn a living is wrong.”
The barber controversy in Kansas came after a judge in Texas made national news for sentencing a Texas salon owner to jail for reopening early. The Texas governor called the sentence “absurd.” The Texas Supreme ultimately ordered the salon owner released.
The salon owner in Texas – and the barber in Kansas – have served as a flash point for conservatives who have used the cases as examples of government overreach during the coronavirus pandemic.
But, Wagle’s tweets drew a furious response from the Twitterverse where some called the Senate president’s involvement a “cheap political stunt.” They said the barber was putting public health at risk.
“Please stop politicizing this issue,” tweeted one. “The majority of Kansans are still uncomfortable opening for business. Luke can’t pick and choose which rules he wants to follow. Whether you or your wealthy masters agree, the majority do not want to open yet.”
Marshall, too, drew backlash on Twitter from some who questioned why, as a doctor, he would support anyone defying health protocols.
Under the governor’s phased approach to reopening the state, barber shops and hair salons can’t open until May 18 at the earliest.
For what it’s worth, the controversy seemed to have subsided by Saturday night when Aichele posted on Facebook that the arrest warrant had been rescinded.
Here’s coverage from KWCH in Wichita, which laid out pretty well what happened including the fact that the warrant had been withdrawn.
Schmidt petitions U.S. Supreme Court
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower federal court ruling that Kansas lacks authority to treat abandoned savings bonds as unclaimed property so they can be returned to their owners.
A Kansas state court ordered the transfer of the bond titles to the state. However, a federal appeals court ruled the state court judgment is preempted by federal law.
“Kansans deserve to receive the proceeds from abandoned savings bonds to which they are entitled,” Schmidt said in a statement.
Schmidt’s petition to the Supreme Court is the latest development in a lengthy legal battle waged by the state treasurer’s office to obtain title to savings bonds that were originally registered to Kansans so they could be returned to their owners.
States have been trying to get the U.S. Treasury Department to provide information on residents who purchased the bonds, claiming the bonds should be turned over to the state as unclaimed property so they can be ultimately returned to their rightful owners.
It is now estimated there are $26 billion of matured and unclaimed savings bonds that are no longer paying interest, including more than $200 million belonging to Kansans.
Legislature returns
The Kansas House is going to start gearing up for the last day of the legislative session on May 21 with a series of virtual committee meetings that can be watched online.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. announced Friday that four committees — Tax, Appropriations, Commerce and Judiciary — will be meeting next week.
Their programs will give you a sense of the weighty agenda ahead for the last day of the session. Here’s how they shake out:
- Appropriations will consider oversight of the $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds coming to the state. It meets at 9 am. May 13 and 15.
- Commerce will review the Kansas Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance benefits system and the information technology infrastructure. It meets at 1:30 p.m. May 12 and 14.
- Tax will focus on the property tax transparency bill passed by the Senate earlier this session. and consider waiving interest and penalties for delayed property tax payments. Senate President Susan Wagle on Saturday tweeted that she is having a bill written to delay penalties and interest for at least 60 days. It meets at 3:30 on May 12 and 14.
- Judiciary will review liability protections for businesses and health care professionals, and checks and balances among the three branches of government during a state of emergency. It meets at 3:30 p.m. May 13, 15, and 18.
Senate schedule
A draft obtained of the proposed Senate schedule included these meetings for the upcoming week:
Commerce will meet for an informational hearing on the Kansas unemployment system. It is set to meet on May 14 at 9:30 a.m.
Tax will meet to discuss removing penalties and interest for any late property tax payments for 60 calendar days. It is set to meet on May 13 at 9: 30 a.m.
Judiciary will meet to discuss legal liability for business and health care providers. It is set to meet May 18 and May 20. No time was set in the draft meeting schedule.
Financial institutions will meet to discuss a low-interest loan program to help with the economic recovery. It is set to meet on May 14 at 9:30 a.m.
Out-of-state money
Here’s a look at the out-of-state money flowing into the U.S. Senate race and Kansas congressional races. There’s not a lot new here, but if you want to check out the database from the Center for Responsive Politics, the information is all here. It’s worth at least a peek.
Park attendance
The coronavirus pandemic might not be good for many, but it is leading to more trips into the great wide open and jacking up attendance for the state parks system.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported that park attendance was up by 200,000 in April, putting the state on pace to make up for revenue losses caused by last year’s storm damage.
Kobach and the Winter Olympics
As strange as it may seem, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kris Kobach is taking a page out of Jimmy Carter’s political playbook.
Of course, Carter didn’t make friends with the nation’s athletes when the United States boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics in the Soviet Union to protest the invasion of Afghanistan.
Now, Kobach wants the United States to skip the 2022 Beijing Olympics because he blames China for allowing the spread of the coronavirus.
It’s the latest in a series of ads Kobach has been running that are focused on China.
The Chinese Communist Party “failed the world when they allowed travelers to leave China and travel to other countries,” Kobach said in an email blast Saturday.
“They allowed a deadly virus to spread across the globe thanks to the Communists’ deception and incompetence.
“With a little bit of honesty, 95 percent of the infections around the world could have been avoided.”
“The CCP does not deserve to hold such a prestigious international event and should be treated as the bad actors they are. That’s why I’m calling on people from around the country to support the withdrawal of the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing.”
Senate campaigns ads
A couple new ads this week from the U.S. Senate race, one from Club for Growth against Roger Marshall and a second from businessman Bob Hamilton.
Club for Growth
Bob Hamilton
Third Wyandotte County primary
A third Democratic primary has emerged in Wyandotte County, where Nelson Gabriel is challenging incumbent state Rep. Broderick Henderson.
Gabriel is president and CEO of Made Men, a nonprofit education center in Kansas City, Kan.
Henderson has been in the Kansas House since 1995. He was unopposed in 2018. He had primary opposition in 2016, when he defeated Kimberly Lampkin with about 62% of the vote.
Henderson raised $4,550 in 2019 and had $23,654 on hand at the end of the year.
Two other Wyandotte County Democrats — Reps. Pam Curtis and Stan Frownfelter — have primary opposition, as well.
Moving on
She’s not gone yet, but an early farewell to Christie Appelhanz, who will be stepping down as the executive director of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas on Aug. 1.
“I’m leaving Children’s Alliance, but I’ll never stop being a voice for children and families,” Appelhanz said.
“Child welfare is moving in the right direction in Kansas — from safely reducing the number of kids in foster care to cutting the waiting list in half for psychiatric residential treatment facilities.
“I look forward to continuing the positive momentum for children and families in the next phase of my career.”
We’ve known Christie for some time, dating back to her days working for former Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore.
Before joining the Children’s Alliance, Appelhanz managed government affairs and communications as vice president of public affairs at Kansas Action for Children.
She also served as director of external relations for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas and as the congressman’s communications director.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in business communications and a master’s in global and international studies from the University of Kansas.
Appelhanz was mum about her future plans but promised to reveal them when it’s time.
