Good morning everyone:
It was an intriguing political week and there’s so much ground to cover, so let’s not waste any time (although we lost a little time today because overnight storms knocked our power out).
Let’s start with the significant stories we published last week, followed up with other stories you may have missed but need to know (or maybe even a couple that are still unfolding).
- Governor on Saturday came out in support of universal background checks on gun sales.
- Republican leaders are asking the attorney general to review whether the Revenue Department’s approach to collecting sales taxes from out-of-state retailers on internet sales is constitutional.
- Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration ended a contract with a literacy contractor over questions about how it was spending welfare money for the Reading Roadmap program.
- The state has agreed to pay nearly a half-million dollars to Planned Parenthood to cover its legal fees in the dispute over whether it could cut the group from Medicaid funding.
- A group of Olathe residents is pushing forward in court with their effort to force state Rep. Adam Thomas out of the Legislature.
- The state refused to approve Aetna’s plans to comply with its contract as one of the providers of the state’s KanCare program.
- Former Congressman Tim Huelskamp discussed his future after leaving the Heartland Institute. He also backed Kansas Chamber executive Alan Cobb for U.S. Senate if Mike Pompeo doesn’t run for the seat.
Now onto other news around the state:
Transportation plan
Kansas transportation planners will start work on a new multiyear transportation plan this week.
They’re holding a series of meetings with local officials and community leaders from across the state to develop a vision for what a new plan might look like.
The meetings are intended more for developing a framework for a new transportation program than they are for discussing specific projects that need funding.
The state’s last 10-year, $8 billion plan is largely over. Sixteen projects remain and are on tap to be completed.
The Department of Transportation, meanwhile, is starting work on a new plan knowing there will likely not be a lot of new money available.
The governor is vowing to end all of the transfers from the agency to the general fund, which should help with funding any new plan the Legislature might approve.
There are an estimated $18 billion in transportation needs identified statewide in new projects, separate from ongoing highway maintenance and preservation efforts.
During the development of the 2010 plan, $15 billion in needs were identified, but only $1.7 billion in projects made it into the plan.
This would be the fourth transportation plan for Kansas.
The first one was started in 1990 when half the state’s roads were in bad shape.
The second plan, adopted in 2000, focused mostly on highway expansion projects with money allocated to specific transportation modes such as transit, aviation and rail.
The third one, adopted in 2010, concentrated spending on highway preservation and projects that enhanced economic development.
Now, highway planners are looking to lay the groundwork for a new plan based on a variety of scenarios.
They will ask local officials to consider a range of options based on where the state’s population is concentrated, land-use patterns, new forms of travel options such as ride-sharing services, access to the internet and health care.
After developing a vision, transportation planners will conduct more meetings later this falls to discuss regional priorities for transportation projects.
This is the meeting schedule:
Salina, Monday, Aug. 19, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Kansas Highway Patrol Academy.
Hutchinson, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 9 a.m. to noon, Atrium Hotel & Conference Center.
Independence, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 9 a.m. to noon, Independence Civic Center.
Overland Park, Thursday, Aug. 22, 9 a.m. to noon, Matt Ross Community Center.
Topeka, Monday, Aug. 26, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Capital Plaza Hotel.
Wichita, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to noon, Eugene Metroplex.
Dodge City, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 9 a.m. to noon, Dodge House Convention Center.
Hays, Thursday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to noon, Fort Hays State Union.
School bus safety
A report recently released by the Kansas Department of Education reveals how often drivers ignore school bus safety.
On April 17, Kansas bus drivers reported 1,040 stop arm violations. There were 220 districts and 3,300 buses that participated in this year’s survey.
By comparison, there were 1,030 violations reported last year, when 214 districts and 3,347 buses participated.
In 2017, there were 691 violations reported by 181 districts and 2,527 buses.
When a school bus stops and extends its stop arm with flashing red lights, all traffic must stop from both directions.
A violation of the law could be punishable by a fine and court costs in excess of $420.
The survey is done each year at the request of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services.
Grissom scarred?
So far, all the talk has been about whether Mike Pompeo will run for the U.S. Senate.
But a new wrinkle in the Senate race developed last week when a judge found that the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City, Kan., improperly listened to recorded conversations between inmates and their attorneys.
Judge Julie Robinson held the U.S. attorney’s office in contempt for refusing to comply with her orders to preserve evidence and turn over documents to a court-appointed investigator looking into how prosecutors used video and phone recordings made at the detention center in Leavenworth.
It didn’t take long for Republicans to start pointing out that Democratic Senate candidate Barry Grissom was the U.S. attorney for Kansas from 2010 through April 2016, when he went into private practice. The recorded phone conversations took place from 2010 to 2017, the ruling shows.
It was a point pounded home by Shannon Golden, the executive director of the Kansas Republican Party.
“It should be a serious red flag to Kansas voters that Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate, Barry Grissom led the Kansas U.S. Attorney’s Office right when a growing scandal was taking place eventually leading the office to be held in contempt of court,” Golden said in a statement.
“Thanks to the path paved under Grissom’s leadership, hundreds of federal convictions and sentences may be upended, placing dangerous criminals back on our streets. If this is how Barry Grissom leads, in no way is he qualified to serve Kansas in the U.S. Senate.”
Grissom distanced himself from the prosecutors in the office and condemned the improper action cited in the ruling.
“I’m outraged to learn that a select few purposefully broke the law, and violated their ethical obligations and the standards I expected from professionals in my office,” Grissom said in a statement. “These rogue prosecutors need to face repercussions.”
Grissom’s campaign said the actions that led to the contempt order began in 2017, well after he left the office in 2016.
The court ruling indicated that Robinson appointed a special master to investigate the recordings on Oct. 11, 2016.
The investigation later expanded in 2017, and the special master notified the court in October that the government was refusing to cooperate by declining to produce documents he requested.
“For the past two years, the Trump Justice Department destroyed evidence, refused to work with investigators, and engaged in a cover-up of epic proportions,” Grissom campaign manager Jerid Kurtz said in a statement.
“The Kansas Republican Party is so terrified that Kris Kobach will cost them a Senate seat, they’ve resorted to making blatantly false accusations about Barry Grissom instead of facing the facts that the contempt ruling is aimed squarely at the Trump Justice Department.”
The Kansas City Star took a longer view Sunday morning in a story that includes strong criticism for Grissom from his former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Warner, who said he quit in 2013 for what he described as “inmates-run-the-jail-type office.”
It’s not the first time Warner has gone public with his complaints with how the office was run.
There was this 2017 story from KCUR that examined the U.S. attorney’s office and included some comments from Warner indicating that Grissom might have to answer for prosecutorial misconduct if he ran for office.
Grissom told The Star that he took steps to rein in prosecutors. He said Warner is holding a grudge because he was removed from a management position.
Grissom also told the newspaper that he instructed Warner to address overzealous prosecutors but they couldn’t agree on how.
Kelly: A personal side
The lobbying firm Braden Heidner Lowe & Associates produces a regular podcast featuring movers and shakers in Kansas with Scott Heidner as the host.
Last week, the podcast’s guest was Gov. Laura Kelly. The broadcast reflects more of the governor’s personal side, and she discusses growing up in Japan, her aspiration to replace Mickey Mantle in center field, her favorite movie (“Casablanca”) and what she likes to do in her spare time (play golf).
Not much policy here, but it’s a different take on the governor.
Vaccination lawsuit
The Kansas City Star is reporting that a Johnson County couple has gone to court to challenge the state’s immunization requirements. The Star reports that the adoptive parents are worried about the child’s health, and they are challenging the law on religious grounds. They don’t believe the immunization statute is constitutional. Here’s the lawsuit if you want to dig a little deeper into the case.
Weir getting NRCC attention
GOP congressional hopeful Sara Hart Weir was among the candidates listed last week as being “on the radar” as part of the National Republican Campaign Committee’s Young Guns program for top-tier candidates.
The NRCC unveiled a list of 43 candidates running in competitive congressional districts.
The fact Weir is listed as “on the radar” means she has met a minimum threshold in campaign organization and shows “potential to achieve greater status in the program as the cycle progresses,” the NRCC said.
The Young Guns program requires candidates to work toward specific goals during the election cycle so their campaigns remain competitive and well-funded.
During the last election cycle, 2nd District Congressman Steve Watkins was part of the Young Guns program before emerging from a crowded primary field and defeating Democrat Paul Davis in the general election.
Preview of 3rd District campaign
Voters who live in the Kansas 3rd District may already be getting a preview of the approaching congressional campaign.
Democrats have been quick to go after political newcomer Sara Hart Weir, whether it’s been over her work as a lobbyist for a pharmaceutical company or pressing for her views on gun violence after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
Weir, meanwhile, has fought back on social media with a tweet directed at Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids for criticizing Israel for refusing to allow Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar to visit at the president’s urging.
Israel eventually agreed to Tlaib’s request to visit her grandmother, but the congresswoman later refused to make the trip.
“A strong international relationship requires engagement and communication between governments, and the decision to ban Reps. Tlaib and Omar, two sitting members of Congress, from entering Israel is counterproductive to maintaining a strong US-Israel relationship,” Davids said in a statement last week before Israel agreed to Tlaib’s request on humanitarian grounds.
“This is an ill-advised and dangerous precedent to set — especially in light of the long-standing bond between our two countries — and it must be reversed,” Davids said.
On Friday, Weir tweeted this criticism of the BDS movement, which advocates for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Supporters say the movement is a way to protest the country’s policies and call for equal rights for Palestinians.
Before I announced my #KS03 run, I signed a pledge to combat anti-semitism around the 🌎. The BDS movement has NO place in society. @sharicedavids while you criticize 🇮🇱 for barring your friends, are you willing to condemn these Reps for their anti-Israel/anti-peace BDS actions?
— Sara Hart Weir (@sarahartweir) August 16, 2019
Farmers and Trump
New reports out last week indicate that farmers are not necessarily as resentful about the ongoing trade war as you might think.
This report from NBC News shows that a poll done last spring by Iowa State University researchers found that 57% of the farmers surveyed in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois somewhat or strongly supported the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Fourteen percent were neutral. Just 30% somewhat or strongly opposed the tariffs.
Meanwhile, the latest Ag Economy Barometer produced by Purdue University showed that 78% of farmers surveyed across the county in July believed that the ongoing trade war with China will be resolved in a way that benefits agriculture.
The survey of 400 farmers across the U.S. revealed the most positive outlook farmers had about the trade war since March. It was up 9 percentage points from June.
Meanwhile, KCRG in Cedar Rapids has this report from the Iowa State Fair that looks at farmers continuing to support President Donald Trump regardless of the fallout from the impact of the trade war.
For what it’s worth, Bloomberg reports that Trump’s tariffs hurt the United States a lot more than they will hurt China. Why?
The United States simply exports more farm products to China than it imports. Here’s another look at how Trump’s tariff’s are impacting farmers.
Pompeo watch
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can’t make a move without stirring rumors about whether he plans to run for the U.S. Senate.
Last week, it was a trip to the IHOP on 151st Street in Overland Park to celebrate his mother-in-law’s birthday that had some reporters huffing and puffing with excitement. (He was seen at Q39’s new barbecue restaurant in Overland Park as well.)
Maybe the more significant story, however, was this report from Bloomberg that Republican donors have been told to refrain from contributing to the Senate race with the anticipation that Pompeo will run.
And despite Pompeo’s comments suggesting that he won’t run for the Senate, others believe he’s still going to run, The Associated Press reports.
And we’ll leave you with this last dispatch from the Washington Examiner detailing a meeting that Pompeo had with former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
A source who spoke to Bannon said Pompeo appeared to be leaning toward running.
LaTurner on tour
Let’s not forget the U.S. Senate race in Kansas is not all Mike Pompeo and Kris Kobach.
Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner, who was the first candidate to announce a Senate campaign, is touring 30 counties in western Kansas.
Just last week, LaTurner made campaign stops in Greensburg and Garden City.
Immigration was one of the topics he discussed.
“I don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative, no one can tell you with a straight face that our immigration system is working. It’s not.” LaTurner told his audience in this dispatch from the Garden City Telegram.
“We have, and should have, a robust guest worker program. But when it comes to illegals crossing the border, it just isn’t working,” LaTurner said.
In paraphrased remarks, the paper reported that LaTurner said immigrants should “adopt American culture, not the other way around.”
He added, that “immigrants should not have to ‘check (their) culture at the door’ but should take part in ‘patriotic assimilation’ to better understand the U.S.”
And here’s the Pratt Tribune’s coverage of LaTurner’s visit to Greensburg where he touted his conservative credentials and used Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez as an example of what’s wrong in Washington.
“When we see extreme liberals like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez getting out there with unworkable ideas that are catching the attention of people, we get really concerned,” LaTurner said.
CoreCivic’s problems
Kansas News Service offers up this closer look at all of the problems dogging Corecivic, the private contractor that runs the jail in Arizona where Kansas will send up to 600 prisoners to relieve the overcrowding.
A new Kobach complaint
A second complaint was filed last week against U.S. Senate candidate Kris Kobach related to a fundraising email he sent to supporters of a group privately financing a border wall.
The Kansas City Star reports that the Campaign Legal Center filed its complaint with the Federal Election Commission in connection with a fundraising email Kobach sent to a list maintained by We Build the Wall, the nonprofit group raising money to build a border wall. Kobach is the group’s general counsel and a board member.
Medicaid expansion: Idaho
Another story out of Idaho examining how that state will pay for Medicaid expansion. At issue here is whether the county governments may to have shoulder some of the load.
Out-of-date technology
The Kansas City Star used a recent legislative audit as a jumping off point to look at the state’s aging information technology network.
The audit found 54% of the state’s network infrastructure is in “end of life” status, meaning it no longer receives manufacturer support. The audit further found that 36% of the state’s network infrastructure will enter this status within five years.
Here’s The Star’s story examining the problem.
