Good morning:
Quite a week that saw the Kansas House deal Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a defeat on a key part of her budget plan, a staffing emergency declared at El Dorado corrections facility and the introduction of a bill criticized nationally that referred to same-sex marriage as a “parody” marriage.
Now, let’s look at some other news from last week that you may have missed but need to know as we enter the sixth week of the legislative session.
KU placed on censorship list
Anyone remember the controversy over the American flag spattered with ink at the University of Kansas last year?
It became the focal point of the Republican primary for governor when Jeff Colyer and Kris Kobach raced to see who would take the strongest stand against the flag that they said had been desecrated. KU ultimately agreed to move the flag from a pole outside Spooner Hall to a more discreet location at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Well, the flag was back in the news last week when the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education — a nonprofit group that advocates for campus free speech — put the university on its list of worst campus censors.
The group said KU “folded to political pressure to censor an American flag art exhibition. In doing so, the school went against its own assertion that the university ‘values differences, free expression and free debate as it is vital for a community of scholars and the creation of new knowledge.’ ”
A university spokeswoman told the Lawrence Journal-World that the university is a “marketplace of ideas.”
She added that “although we understand that some disagree with particular kinds of speech, we strongly affirm the right to express it.”
This was not the first time the university drew national criticism for its decision. The Andy Warhol Foundation last summer also asked the university to return the flag to its original location.
Joining KU on the list were Alabama A&M University, Dixie State University, Georgetown University Qatar, Liberty University, Plymouth State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, the University of North Alabama and the University of Wisconsin System.
A new 3rd District candidate?
The latest name to bubble up as a possible Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat is Sara Weir, president and chief executive of the National Down Syndrome Society.
Weir was making the rounds at this weekend’s Kansas Republican Party Convention and also was the keynote speaker at last week’s Kansans for Life Valentine Banquet. In a brief interview Friday night, Weir wouldn’t bite on the question about whether she would run for Congress.
“Today I have my dream job as the president and CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society,” she said. “I’m from Kansas. I love this state. I love the families that I’ve had the opportunity to represent. That’s really my current focus right now.”
Weir is an Olathe native who now lives in Mission.
“I am very passionate about being a Kansan and all that it has to offer,” she said. “That’s where I am right now.”
It’s well known that former Kansas Republican Party Chairwoman Amanda Adkins has expressed an interest in running for the 3rd Congressional District seat now held by Democrat Sharice Davids.
But some Republicans worry that Adkins might be tied too closely to former Gov. Sam Brownback to make a bid for Congress.
They say Weir’s dynamic personality coupled with her own activism on Down syndrome could make her a solid Congressional candidate next year.
The Star vs. Denning: Round II
The Kansas City Star lashed out at Republican Sen. Jim Denning in its response to his defamation lawsuit, calling his claim “utter hypocrisy” and asking that it be dismissed.
The lawsuit was filed over a column written by Steve Rose that explored why Denning opposes expanding Medicaid.
The Star wants the lawsuit dismissed under a 2016 law passed by the Legislature that was intended to deter meritless lawsuits that could limit free speech.
The paper argues the senator has not met the high bar of showing it published the story with actual malice, meaning it knew the column wasn’t true or it acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
The newspaper’s response suggests that Denning’s lawyer, Mike Kuckelman, used the suit to further his campaign for chair of the Kansas Republican Party — a position he won Saturday night in an uncontested election and started campaigning for weeks before the Denning lawsuit.
“Sen. Denning and his grandstanding lawyer have abused the judicial system for their political gains in filing a lawsuit bereft of any fact — no less than the clear and convincing facts required under Kansas law,” the newspaper’s response states.
“It is patently obvious these two Republican Party insiders lobbed this meritless hand grenade of a lawsuit against The Star because they wanted to issue a press release announcing the lawsuit to beat the drum of ‘Fake News’ and bolster Mr. Kuckelman’s candidacy for the chair of the Kansas Republican Party.”
Denning on Friday responded to The Star’s legal filing, saying the paper was engaging in its own brand of politics.
And while making a defamation case against a public figure can be difficult, Kuckelman noted that the newspaper’s editorial page editor acknowledged in an email that Rose’s column didn’t meet The Star’s standards.
“This lawsuit isn’t about getting some sort of political revenge,” Denning said in his statement. “And it’s not a coordinated effort to assure that Michael Kuckelman is the new state party chairman. That’s absurd.
“This lawsuit is important, because it points out the sloppy, unethical and reckless article written by Steve Rose and published by The Star. It’s about making them answer for it.”
The Star’s response grabbed some headlines Friday. Here’s coverage from The Associated Press and KCUR.
Southwest Chief funding
The Southwest Chief came out a winner in the new federal budget approved by Congress.
The budget, signed by President Donald Trump, provides $50 million needed to keep cross-country train service running through New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas.
Amtrak needed an estimated $30 million to $50 million for rail upgrades — plus $3 million in annual maintenance — on track owned by BNSF but used exclusively for passenger rail service.
The money will go toward matching a grant that will be used for the track improvements. At one point, Amtrak considered employing bus service on part of the route from Dodge City to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
During fiscal year 2017, about 52,000 people either boarded or disembarked from the Southwest Chief in Kansas, up about 6 percent from the previous year. The busiest stations were in Newton (15,828), Topeka (10,084) and Lawrence (9,834).
U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran worked toward securing the money needed to preserve passenger rail service in Kansas.
“This bipartisan bill,” Moran said in a statement, “proves that good things can happen when Republicans and Democrats come together to focus on everyday issues to improve the lives of all Americans.”
Laura Kelly’s Facebook message
Here’s this week’s installment of Gov. Laura Kelly’s fireside Facebook chat. This week, she talks about the importance of stabilizing the state budget so investments can be made in transportation.
“The only way we can maintain solid highways and finish the highway projects needed across the state is if we make sure our state’s budget is stable and balanced,” she says during the two-minute video.
“I know many of your elected leaders have promised the completion of many highway projects,” she says.
“But time and time again, folks have supported bad policies that made it impossible to finish many of these projects.”
The video was viewed about 1,400 times and shared 22 others as of Sunday morning.
Itemizing
The Lawrence Journal-World has an interesting story that examines how your inability to itemize on your Kansas taxes might affect you.
The story is timed to the current tax bill in the Legislature that, among other things, would allow Kansans to itemize on their taxes if they don’t itemize on their federal return.
Kansans are expected to take the generous federal standard deduction, which Congress raised to $24,000 for families. In Kansas, the standard deduction for families is $7,500.
The LJW notes that taxpayers who itemize more than $7,500 but less than $24,000 are going to absorb a hit.
The LJW’s expert estimates that a couple with $20,000 in deductions and is in the 5.25 percent tax bracket would pay $656 more in taxes.
Congressional delegation reacts to Trump’s national emergency
Jim McLean from Kansas New Service takes a look at how members of the state’s congressional delegation are reacting to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency for the border wall he promised. Here’s another similar story from Tim Carpenter at the Capital-Journal.
State ‘hoodwinked’ into prison contract
Gov. Laura Kelly told The Associated Press’ John Hanna on Friday that the state was “hoodwinked” into enlisting a private company to build a prison on the premise that it would be less costly to run with the savings used to offset the cost of the project.
The governor’s corrections secretary, Roger Werholtz, is skeptical whether the design of the new corrections facility in Lansing will save as much money as promised.
Werholtz has been doing an exhaustive examination of an agency that he has described as being under duress because of prisoner overcrowding, short staffing, substandard training and low pay.
The project was pushed by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback as a way of replacing the Lansing prison without incurring extra cost.
Kelly visits corrections employees
Gov. Laura Kelly visited the El Dorado corrections facility last week, just a couple days after declaring a staffing emergency at the prison. Her plea: “Please don’t quit.” The prison has seen staffing drop by 86 positions from the usual staffing level of 316.
Goodbye, hello
Wishing a happy farewell to Johanna Warshaw, who is departing Gov. Laura Kelly’s communications shop. Her last day is this Tuesday.
Warshaw was on the front lines of handling communications for Kelly during the governor’s race. But she’s only sort of leaving.
It was announced Friday that Warshaw is now taking the job as the press secretary for Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids. So she will still be dealing with Kansas media.
“Johanna has been a huge asset to the Kelly team in the last year — she started working with us just two days after she graduated from college,” said Kelly’s spokeswoman, Ashley All. “We are all very sad to see her go — me in particular.”
