Good morning everyone:
We sincerely hope there is more on your mind today than politics. The Chiefs play their biggest game since 1970, so we hope you’re jazzed about that, even if our favorite team will be watching from the sidelines.
It’s truly so much fun to live in a city or region playing for a major sports championship. So take it in and enjoy. These events don’t come very often, unless you live in New England.
Now onto the major stories we published last week and other stories flying under the radar that you may have missed but need to know.
- Republican U.S. Senate candidates squared off in their first debate.
- Republican 3rd Congressional District candidates faced off in a debate.
- The Kansas Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment overturning a state Supreme Court decision finding a right to an abortion. Governor predicts amendment would undermine economic development.
- A look at the effort to ban raw milk sales in Kansas.
- Republicans rolled out a transparency bill on property taxes.
- New sports betting bill appears to allow online lottery sales. Or does it?
- The attorney general’s proposal to limit municipal lawsuits runs into opposition.
- Congressman Roger Marshall — a candidate for U.S. Senate — testified against Medicaid expansion in Kansas.
- Senate committee considers legislation raising the retirement age for judges.
Now onto other news…..
Overburdened Medicaid fraud unit
Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking lawmakers to fund more staff for a Medicaid fraud unit that a federal audit says is understaffed.
Schmidt wants to add seven new positions to a division that federal auditors said was handling double to triple the number of cases that federal investigators would typically handle.
The audit, released last July, found that each investigator was handling 31 to 51 cases, attorneys 25 to 87 cases and auditors 27 to 49 cases.
While auditors from the Department of Health and Human Services said that staffing levels in Kansas were similar to those in states with similar Medicaid budgets, the case loads were still too large.
The unit’s manager told auditors that the timeliness of cases suffers as a result of the large caseloads, the audit reports.
Another staffer said the caseloads interfered with the ability to receive training.
“Another unit manager stated that investigators were overworked and were especially challenged when forced to shift focus between complex cases and a large number of allegations requiring immediate response, such as those involving patient abuse or neglect,” the audit stated.
In his budget request, Schmidt requested $670,749 to add seven new positions to the Medicaid fraud unit. The unit already employs 16 people, including six investigators.
The governor’s budget recommendation included $287,464 for three positions.
The attorney general is not seeking any additional state general fund dollars. The program gets 75% of its funds from the federal government and the remaining 25% from Medicaid. The Legislature must approved the added spending.
“Attorney General Schmidt will continue to advocate for fully funding his request,” a spokesman said in an email.
Second District fundraising
Second District Congressman Steve Watkins led GOP rival Jake LaTurner in fundraising in the fourth quarter, although he saw drop off in contributions from the third quarter as he continued to run into more controversy.
Watkins reported raising $127,537 in the fourth quarter, compared to LaTurner, who brought in $102,287 for the quarter.
It was Watkins’ worst fundraising quarter of the year as he faces an investigation into whether he violated any election laws when he first reported using a UPS Store address in Topeka instead of his home.
Watkins raised $212,650 in the third quarter, $200,988 in the second quarter and $210,893 in the first quarter.
LaTurner, meanwhile, has almost $600,000 in the bank, largely because of money he raised while campaigning for the U.S. Senate.
Watkins goes into the heart of election season with about $400,000 on hand, putting the incumbent at nearly a $200,000 disadvantage to LaTurner.
Big First Fundraising
Republican eye doctor Bill Clifford used a $75,000 loan to his campaign to keep pace with former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann in fundraising in the fourth quarter.
Mann reported raising about $154,000 in the fourth quarter, giving him about $410,000 for the campaign. He had about $377,000 on hand at the end of the quarter on Dec. 31.
Clifford, meanwhile, reported raising about $153,000, giving him nearly $544,000 for the campaign. He’s also loaned his campaign $325,000, including the $75,000 during the last reporting period.
Republican State Rep. Troy Waymaster reported raising about $102,000 during the fourth quarter, including a $11,000 loan. He had nearly $98,000 on hand.
On the Democratic side, Kali Barnett raised about $104,000 during the fourth quarter. She had about $97,000 on hand.
Hensley’s haunting amendment
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley’s amendment during the abortion debate last week is already finding its place in a legislative race.
Hensley proposed rewriting the proposed constitutional amendment on abortion in such a way that the Legislature would have been barred from banning the procedure in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
The Senate voted down Hensley’s proposal 28-12, and the overall constitutional amendment went on to pass the chamber.
Democrat Joy Koesten is using Hensley’s proposal in her campaign against Republican state Sen. John Skubal — the lone GOP lawmaker to vote against the constitutional amendment.
While Skubal drew praise for standing up against the abortion amendment, Koesten sent out an email criticizing him for not voting for Hensley’s proposal.
“While Sen. Skubal ultimately voted no on the final resolution, he did so after spending the entire debate silent on the Senate floor,” Koesten wrote.
“Unlike Senator Skubal, I will stand up and fight for the rights of all Kansans. I will never waiver in my commitment to the women of Kansas or any other group they wish to disenfranchise, marginalize, or control. It’s time to put a Democrat in this Senate seat — and I am that Democrat.”
Koesten, who served in the Kansas House as a Republican, was once a supporter of Skubal’s.
In 2018, she tweeted a selfie with Skubal, calling him “my favorite state senator.”
Skubal shrugged off the email.
“She’s going to do what she wants to do, and I can’t do anything about that,” Skubal said.
Skubal said he wasn’t getting worked up about criticism of his vote on Hensley’s proposed language to the constitutional amendment.
“I have been doing this a long time, and I don’t get too concerned about that,” he said. “Some of the people will like my votes, and some of the people will not like my votes. I can’t control that.
“I am what I am, and I don’t make any ifs, ands or buts about it,” he said. “What you see is what you get.”
He said he is not a “social issues candidate,” adding that he doesn’t believe it’s a politician’s business to get involved in what happens in a home.
“I don’t want to put myself between a family and a doctor. That’s not my place.”
New candidate emerges in Olathe
A new Democratic House candidate has emerged in Johnson County to run against Republican state Rep. Megan Lynn.
About a week ago, Katie Dixon filed paperwork appointing a treasurer to run for House District 49, which is centered in Olathe.
“I am still going to be a financial adviser with my great firm,” Dixon posted on Facebook.”But I’m going to start helping people in another way as well — being an advocate.
“Because guess what? Local politics matter! I hope to take that advocacy to the next level by being in Topeka in 2021.”
She had a kickoff announcement planned for Saturday.
Dixon is a financial adviser for Edward Jones and previously worked as a quality control specialist for Magellan Midstream Partners.
She has bachelor’s degree in science from Park University.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried the district with 52% of the vote in 2018, but Lynn won her race against Darnell Hunt with 54% of the vote.
The district, once represented by current Secretary of State Scott Schwab, went for President Donald Trump in 2016, former Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014 and Mitt Romney in the 2012 president election.
Buzz about Senate 30
Some buzz emanating out of the state Republican Convention this weekend had former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston running for the Senate seat now held by Senate President Susan Wagle.
We’ve not been able to confirm whether Foulston is running, but word has been circulating about the possibility since it was announced that Gov. Laura Kelly would be in Wichita on Monday to introduce a “local leader” to run for the seat.
And it’s not very often that the governor makes an announced trip for a legislative candidate announcement, which only heightens the significance of Monday’s event.
Reached Sunday, Foulston would not comment. “You need to wait until tomorrow,” she said.
Foulston would be viewed as a game-changer in that race given her high profile prosecuting some of Sedgwick County’s most notorious criminals, including Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer.
Republican state Rep. Renee Erickson announced her candidacy for the seat last year. Democrat Devon Rutledge also has announced.
Rutledge said he had heard rumors about Foulston running for the Senate back in November, but not in a “serious tone.”
Foulston is viewed as someone who could attract Republican and Democratic votes in a district carried by Kelly in 2018.
The district went for President Donald Trump in 2016 and just barely for former Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014.
The news conference is set for 10 a.m. Monday at the historic Sedgwick County Courthouse.
Conway attends GOP convention
Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trump’s top adviser, attended the state Republican Convention Saturday night to honor retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts. Conway sat for a question-and-answer session on stage with Shannon Golden, the state Republican Party’s executive director. Here’s some coverage from The Associated Press and KSNT.
ACLU sues Highway Patrol
The American Civil Liberties Union last week took the Highway Patrol to court for allegedly unconstitutionally targeting out-of-state drivers, many traveling between Kansas and Colorado where marijuana is legal.
The lawsuit says the Highway Patrol has designated Interstate 70 as a “drug corridor” and trained its officers to watch for motorists traveling to and from Colorado because the state legalized marijuana.
“KHP troopers have engaged in the practice of unlawfully detaining drivers on I-70 based on factors consistent with innocent travel for canine searches since at least 2011,” the lawsuit said.
The Highway Patrol did not comment in response to the lawsuit although in 2017 officials told the Topeka Capital-Journal that out-of-state plates were not a factor in making traffic stops.
The lawsuit notes that motorists with out-of-state plates made up 93% of the Highway Patrol’s stops in 2017. And 96% of the agency’s civil forfeitures in 2019 came from out-of-state drivers stopped on I-70.
Most were drivers of color, the lawsuit said. 
The class-action lawsuit also said the KHP has used a technique — called the “Kansas two step” — to unlawfully detain drivers after making the initial traffic stop.
The ACLU described the tactic this way:
“After issuing a ticket or warning and telling the driver to have a safe trip, the officer turns his or her body, takes two steps toward the patrol car but returns to the driver’s window to ask if the driver would answer a few more questions.
“This technique is used to break off an initial traffic detention and attempt to reengage the driver in what would then be considered a consensual encounter.”
The lawsuit said that state troopers will unlawfully detain drivers based “on factors consistent with innocent travel after employing ‘the Kansas two step’ or a similar technique.”
The lawsuit says courts across Kansas have already thrown out evidence obtained by troopers on I-70 who employed the “two step” tactic to detain drivers for a canine drug search for otherwise innocent travel.
Fake Chiefs merchandise
Attorney General Derek Schmidt last week filed lawsuits against the sellers of counterfeit Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl LIV merchandise.
The lawsuits were filed as a part of a coordinated enforcement action in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Kansas Department of Revenue and the Topeka Police Department.
Homeland Security agents seized all the counterfeit items and money from the sale of the merchandise. The Department of Revenue also claimed funds in the amount of taxes owed on the sales.
The lawsuits were filed against:
- Philip Colwell, of Trezevant, Tennessee, doing business as Novelties Jr. operating in five locations.
- Jennifer Sugg, of Bessemer, Alabama, and Edward Sugg, of Helena, Alabama, doing business as Sports Connection Plus.
The lawsuits charge the individuals with the sale of counterfeit merchandise in violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and violations of the Kansas door-to-door statutes.
The attorney general is seeking a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation in addition to reimbursement of the cost of the investigation in both cases.
Spousal abuse bill
A House committee last week took another stab at removing the spousal exemption from the state’s sexual battery law. Last year, a bill that removed the exemption idled on the House calendar without action. Here’s coverage from CNN and the Capital Journal. And here’s the bill.
“In God We Trust”
Republican state Rep. Michael Capps last week appeared before a House committee, pitching the idea of requiring state and local government buildings to post the motto, “In God We Trust.”
Capps’ bill, which has 12 other sponsors, would require the motto to be conspicuously placed on a durable poster or in a frame.
The motto would have to be placed in each public elementary and secondary school library and classroom, public postsecondary educational institutions and state or municipal buildings.
The display would contain the national motto of the United States, “In God We Trust,” and representations of the United States and Kansas flags.
Here’s coverage of last week’s hearing from The Associated Press and the Capital-Journal.
Hair discrimination
A legislative committee last week heard testimony on a bill that outlaws discrimination based on hairstyle.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, is modeled after legislation signed into law in California last year.
Two other states — New York and New Jersey — have passed similar bills.
Here’s coverage from last week’s hearing from The Associated Press, WIBW television, and the Capital-Journal.
New STAR bonds rules
The Kansas City reported last week on the Commerce Department’s proposal to expand the reach of so-called STAR bonds, a powerful economic development tool intended to promote tourism.
The legislation would expand STAR bonds to include corporate headquarters and medical facilities.
It also would increase the required minimum capital investment to $75 million from $50 million and the amount of projected gross sales to $75 million from $50 million.
The development incentive also would include rural redevelopment projects defined as an area outside of a metropolitan statistical area with a capital investment not to exceed $4 million “that will enhance the quality of life in the community and region.”
House chaplain headed to the Super Bowl
Since it’s Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll leave you with this friendly story about the Kansas House chaplain, who is battling cancer but is living life to the fullest and traveling to Miami for the Super Bowl. Here’s the coverage from WIBW.
