Good morning everyone:
Just in case you’re not counting, there are eight days left before the 2020 Legislative session begins.
We will soon be leaving the friendly confines of our lovely home office for the trappings of the Topeka Ramada for a couple months.
Thanks for the indulgence and giving us a pass on last week’s roundup.
Nevertheless, we worked through the weekend anyway, taking enough time to watch our favorite NFL team give the Chiefs a helping hand in the NFL playoff seedings.
Let’s get on with business, starting first with the most significant stories we published last week and other news you may have missed but need to know.
- The state Ethics Commission is in a battle with a dark money group that bankrolled ads for Kris Kobach in the 2018 governor’s race. The Ethics Commission wants the 501(c)4 group to file disclosure reports. The group is resisting.
- House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. is urging lawmakers not to talk to members of the judicial branch while there is a pending lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to order more money for judicial pay.
- Gov. Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning say they are hopeful of reaching an agreement on Medicaid expansion.
- Hein Governmental Consulting is reorganizing.
- Former television meteorologist Mike Thompson is running for the state Senate seat held by Mary Pilcher-Cook, who is retiring.
- The Kansas Highway Patrol is seeking $23 million from the Legislature to upgrade an aging fleet of aircraft.
- There’s a race to replace Senate President Susan Wagle in the Legislature with the son of a former lawmaker announcing he’s running for the Senate. Democrat Devon Rutledge would likely face state Rep. Renee Erickson in the general election.
- Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla took another step toward running for Congress with an introductory letter and flier mailed to voters in the 2nd District.
Democratic primary for Miller?
Topeka pastor Tobias Schlingensiepen last week signaled plans to run for the state Senate against Democratic incumbent Vic Miller.
Schlingensiepen filed paperwork indicating that he was appointing a treasurer to run in Senate District 18.
The district, once represented by Gov. Laura Kelly, covers parts of Shawnee, Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties.
Schlingensiepen, senior pastor at the First Congregational Church in Topeka, ran as a Democrat in the 2nd Congressional District in 2012.
He finished second in that race with about 39% of the vote, losing to Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins but running ahead of Libertarian Dennis Hawver.
In an interview Saturday, Schlingensiepen said he would run as a Democrat if he ultimately decides to seek the Senate seat.
“I’ve gotten quite a bit of encouragement, so I’m testing the waters,” he said.
“I’m going to do some fundraising and (have) some further conversations and networking and see how that looks, and then I’ll make the final decision,” he said.
“As of this point, I’m leaning very heavily toward running.”
Schlingensiepen’s potential candidacy comes at a time when Miller has been facing legal trouble.
Miller is facing a drunk-driving charge after authorities found that he crashed a car in a ditch near Interstate 70 and Southeast Carnahan Avenue last May. The senator was not injured in the crash.
Miller is now serving out Kelly’s Senate term, which ends this year. Miller said he has not decided whether he will run again.
He most recently was elected back to the Kansas House in 2016 after serving in the chamber from 1979 to 1984.
He also was a member of the Topeka City Council from 1985 to 1993 and a member of the Shawnee County Commission from 1993 to 1996 and again as a county commissioner from 2001 to 2011.
Kelly carried the district in 2018, and it went for Democrat Paul Davis in the 2nd District congressional race.
But the district went Republican for candidates for insurance commissioner, treasurer and attorney general, as well.
The district went for President Donald Trump in 2016 and for Davis in the 2014 governor’s race.
Schlingensiepen said he didn’t know what Miller was planning to do.
Schlingensiepen said the governor represented him in the state Senate for many years and he considers her a friend.
“I would really like to follow in the footsteps of her common-sense leadership,” he said.
Capitol food
This is hardly the material that wins journalistic awards, but it does have some relevance for so many of you who never get the chance to leave the Capitol for food during the session.
We were able to pry loose the menu for the new Capitol snack bar that is supposed to open for business in the basement of the historic building when the new legislative session begins.
There are no bowls of bacon on the menu for the handful of you who enjoy this late-night legislative delicacy.
And here is the menu (although we’re not sure how different it is from the third-floor snack bar, which will remain open):
Cinnamon rolls, toast, bagels and cream cheese, cookies, muffins, hard-boiled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad, hummus and veggies, hummus and pita bread, turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, brats, pizza slices, ice cream and espresso beverages.
The $147,000 snack bar is overseen by the Business Enterprise Program, which offers people who are legally blind the opportunity to manage food service and vending operations in government facilities.
The program, which will provide the equipment and the necessary setup, is a division of the state Department for Children and Families.
The new snack bar is now basically out of sight, underneath a colonnade on the ground floor of the Capitol across from the vending area.
Colyer’s mother passes
Lorene Colyer, the mother of former Gov. Jeff Colyer, passed away last Friday. She was 93.
Services include a wake on at 6:30 p.m. Sunday Jan. 5, at Porter Funeral Home, in Lenexa, and a funeral at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at St. Michael Catholic Church, in Leawood.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the International Medical Corps
Kansas population stagnant
New census numbers out last week showed that Kansas’ population has barely grown in the last decade.
The state’s 2.9 million population has grown by 60,191 people, or 2.1%, since 2010, the census data shows.
The state’s population ranking slid to 35th nationally from 33rd at the start of the decade.
Kansas ranked 39th nationally in raw numerical growth and 38th in the percentage increase.
The census data was current as of July 1. 
Kansas is faring worse than its neighbors, the data shows.
Iowa’s population has grown by about 108,000, or 3.6%. Nebraska has seen its population increase by about 108,000 as well. The increase in Nebraska was 5.9%.
Missouri’s population grew about 148,000 in actual numbers, but its 2.5% increase was more comparable to Kansas’.
Oklahoma’s population rose by about 205,000, or 5.5%, during the last decade. Colorado was up by about 729,000, or 14.5%.
The national rankings for Kansas’ neighbors in population growth during the last decade were Colorado at eighth, Oklahoma at 20th, Missouri at 22nd, Iowa at 27th and Nebraska at 28th.
The United States’ population stood at 328.2 million, up 19.4 million, or 6.3%, since 2010.
The region with the most growth was the South, which saw its population jump by 11 million, or 9.6%, during the last decade.
The Midwest population rose about 1.4 million, or 2.1%, since 2010.
Adkins explains tweet
A spokeswoman for Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins said a post on her personal Twitter account that nearly mirrored a tweet by Congressman Ron Estes was a “technical mistake.”
Estes was among the many politicians Friday tweeting out his reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military strike against Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“America and the world are undeniably better off without the terrorist Qassem Soleimani,” the congressman tweeted. “I support President Trump, Secretary Pompeo and our armed forces for taking decisive action in response to Iran’s provocations of our national security.”
Later in the day, Adkins posted this tweet (with her own hashtag), which raised the eyebrows of a few Republicans and was later deleted:
“America and the world are undeniably better off without the terrorist Soleimani. I support President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and our armed forces for taking decisive action in response to Iran’s provocations of our national security.”
A spokeswoman for Adkins said the intent was to retweet the congressman’s post.
“This was a technical mistake. The tweet was deleted and we fixed this by retweeting Congressman Estes’ remarks,” Alana Roethle said.
“Amanda agrees with Congressman Estes’ statement that America and the world are safer, and she supports the President and Secretary Pompeo. The intention was to retweet Congressman Estes.”
The tweet follows one that the Adkins campaign posted on its account on Nov. 30 wishing Abraham Lincoln a happy birthday, two days after Thanksgiving. Lincoln’s birthday is Feb. 12.
A spokeswoman called it an “honest mistake.”
Antler controversy
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins pounced on a decision by Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration to sell off prized antlers in a private auction held in the Senate minority leader’s office.
He criticized the administration’s lack of openness after the Topeka Capital-Journal on Thursday reported the antler auction was held by the state wildlife department without public notice.
The governor’s office, meanwhile, said the process would be reviewed.
For some background, the antlers had been at the center of a longstanding controversy stemming from a poacher shooting a 14-point deer in Osage County in 2011.
The poacher was convicted, but the rack was not handed over to the landowner who claimed the rights to the antlers.
The state wildlife department under former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration refused to give the rack to the landowner because it questioned whether it was poached from land he owned.
New Wildlife Secretary Brad Loveless told the C-J that he wanted to settle the longstanding controversy by holding the auction in which the only invited participants were the landowner and a representative from Bass Pro Shops.
The landowner won the auction at a sale price of $16,001, the newspaper reported.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley told the newspaper he knew there would be a meeting in his office to discuss settling the case.
He said he did not know there would be an auction and told the Capital-Journal the situation “was really mishandled.”
Hawkins went on Facebook Friday and criticized the governor for the sale of the property.
“Gov. Kelly talks a good game when it comes to transparency,” Hawkins posted on Facebook.
“Then a member of her administration has a closed-door auction in the Senate Democrat Minority Leader’s office, forcing a taxpayer to bid for a valuable trophy mount shot on his own property.”
Kelly’s spokeswoman, Lauren Fitzgerald, said the process would be examined for how it can be improved in the future.
“Gov. Kelly appreciates Secretary Loveless’ interest in bringing a resolution to this longstanding conflict over ownership of the antlers,” Fitzgerald said in an email.
“The process of the sale will lead to further review of how to better resolve such matters in the future.”
Concealed weapons by the numbers
The attorney general released his concealed-carry report for 2019 showing that 100 license suspensions were proposed resulting from a variety of criminal charges.
Fifty-five suspensions were proposed for license holders who are facing charges for assault, battery and criminal threat, among others. Thirty-four suspensions were proposed for carriers facing protection orders.
The state issued 4,380 initial concealed-carry permits in fiscal year 2019, down from 4,163 the year before. They are down by more than half since 10,511 were issued in 2015.
The number of permits has been dropping precipitously since the Legislature passed a law allowing adults at least 21 years old to carry concealed firearms without a permit. The law started in 2015.
Kelly on judicial pay raises
Gov. Laura Kelly said if the Legislature considers pay raises for the judicial branch this year, it needs to focus on the court employees.
“Their salaries are pretty low compared to their peers across the country,” the governor said of the judges.
“I think the even more pressing matter is the court employees. Their salaries are way out of whack,” Kelly said in an interview with the Sunflower State Journal.
“It makes it very difficult for them to stay so there’s more turnover than there needs to be, or you’ve got a lot of those folks working second and third jobs to take care of their families,” she said.
“I think that’s an issue that does need to be dealt with.”
The judicial branch is asking for $17 million in salary increases, including about $10 million for nonjudge employees for fiscal year 2021.
The judicial branch submits its request to the governor, who customarily passes it on to the Legislature to consider.
Previewing legislative sessions
The Hill newspaper provides this national look at what Legislatures will be considering when they convene this year.
Among the issues lawmakers will be taking up are taxes, education, child care, workforce development and housing.
Here’s some previews from other states, if you want to get a taste of what else is happening outside of Kansas: West Virginia, Washington state, Idaho, Vermont, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa and Indiana.
Here’s what’s expected in Missouri from St. Louis Public Radio and the Springfield News-Leader.
Schmidt weighs in on judicial salary litigation
Attorney General Derek Schmidt last week spoke out about the lawsuit filed by a group of judges seeking higher pay.
Schmidt called the litigation “unfortunate and probably not well-advised” in an interview with the Capital-Journal.
He described the lawsuit as “peculiar,” noting that one branch of government is asking the courts to order more spending.
Whipple PAC
Outgoing state Rep. Brandon Whipple made a little splash last week when the Wichita Eagle reported that the proceeds from ticket sales to his inaugural gala as Wichita mayor will go to a PAC chaired by his wife, Chelsea.
The political action committee — Wichita’s Future PAC — is intended “to promote public policy that creates opportunities for Kansans,” the newspaper reported last week.
Whipple told the newspaper the money won’t be for his political use and the donors will be disclosed in reports filed with the state.
Hemp farmers battle for business
Kansas hemp farmers are finding out there’s not much of a market for their product, according to this report by KSHB Television in Kansas City.
The TV station reports that farmers are discovering that hemp is not turning out to be the revenue windfall they had hoped for.
Schmidt emphasizing mental health
Attorney General Derek Schmidt is emphasizing the importance of spending more money on drug abuse and mental illness as a way of overhauling the state’s overburdened corrections system.
In various interviews last week, Schmidt said funding for those kinds of services relieves local authorities from the dilemma of deciding whether to jail someone who needs help or leaving them in the community where they might be a public safety risk.
Here’s coverage from The Associated Press, WIBW and the Capital-Journal.
Kansas carbon emissions
Kansas News Service examines why Kansas has been reducing carbon dioxide emissions during the last decade.
KNS attributes the reduction to the emergence of wind energy and the move away from coal.
