Happy Easter everyone:
Hope everyone is having a restful break before returning to the Capitol in a little more than a week.
Relatively speaking, it wasn’t the busiest week in Kansas politics, but there are a few things to recap before we launch into other news that might have been flowing below your radar last week. For example:
Rep. Adam Thomas: The Republican lawmaker is seeking diversion in his election perjury case. He may be able to remain in the Legislature if he gets diversion.
Farm bureau health benefit becomes law: It’s generally agreed upon that Gov. Laura Kelly made a smart move by letting the controversial health benefit become law without her signature. The question some are asking: How much help will she get from the Farm Bureau to pass Medicaid expansion.
New revenue forecasts: Modest revenue growth, especially in corporate and personal income taxes, is driving calls for a renewed debate on tax policy during the veto session.
Unlicensed day cares: Kansas receives hundreds of complaints about unlicensed day cares each year, and there’s not much the state can do about it. The fine? $50 a day for each violation. And seven children have died at these facilities in the last five years.
Unfilled judicial vacancy: Gov. Laura Kelly is moving to fill a seat on the Kansas Court of Appeals despite an ongoing dispute over whether she still has the authority to make that nomination. Senate President Susan Wagle believes the clock ran out when the governor withdrew her nomination. Next step court?
Republicans wielding muscle: Republicans have introduced legislation that would keep Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly from filling vacancies in statewide offices. The legislation comes at a time when Treasurer Jake LaTurner is running for the U.S. Senate and Attorney General Derek Schmidt has been looking at a run for the same office next year.
Now onto other news that you may have missed but need to know from the last week:
February lobbying numbers
Lobbyist spending for February dipped from January but remains up overall for the current legislative session from last year.
New numbers posted by the state ethics commission show that lobbyist spending for February was $187,346, down from $265,828 a month earlier.
But overall spending for the session through February was $453,175, compared to $367,432 for the first two months of last year. Of course, it won’t be hard to beat last year’s session when lobbyist spending dipped to its lowest level since 2007.
Top spenders this year through February include the Kansas Association of Realtors ($127,825), Kansas Chamber of Commerce ($34,227), Kansas Bankers Association ($19,875), Kansas Electric Cooperatives ($13,890) and the Heartland Credit Union Association ($12,799).
Sports wagering: States bogged down
There has been not even the slightest inkling that the Kansas Legislature might do anything about sports wagering this legislative session. There’s always the upcoming wrap-up session, but if it’s as short as some think it might be, the issue will have to idle until next year. But Kansas is not alone.
An interesting report from Sportshandle.com reveals that very few of the states that were expected to do something about sport wagering have done anything.
A year ago, the publication put together a panel of experts to rank which states were most likely to legalize sports betting this year.
Of the so-called Power 15 — of which Kansas was one — only Rhode Island has moved ahead. The publication’s commentary on Kansas is not flattering.
“Kansas lawmakers aren’t on the same page at all. An ‘integrity fee’ is in play in at least one bill, there is a bill that calls for the lottery to be the regulator and another that would legalize sports betting at horse ractracks only. The legislative session ends in mid-May,” the publication writes.
In other sports wagering news that’s worth checking out, Fortune has this piece explaining why the issue is difficult to sort out, and the Chicago Tribune explains what’s unfolding in Illinois, which is counting on $200 million in licensing revenue from sports wagering to help fill a $3.2 billion budget deficit (yes, that’s billions, not millions).
What you’re missing: Reports out of Pennsylvania indicate that state is about to become the third-largest sports betting market outside of Nevada and New Jersey.
Oregon is expected to launch sports wagering before the NFL kicks off in the fall.
Meanwhile, Kansas’ neighbor to the northeast, Iowa, is advancing sports betting. The state Senate just approved a sports gambling bill and is sending it to the House. Here’s coverage from KMTV News. There’s also this story from the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
If you’re really interested in what Iowa is doing, here’s a link to the fiscal note for the legislation. A link to the bill is in the fiscal note and the Cedar Rapids Gazette story.
Holscher’s big announcement
It’s been no secret that Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher aspires to big things. At one point, she considered running for governor.
And it’s the worst kept secret at the Capitol that she is probably lining up for a run against Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning in Senate District 8. We’ll find out this week.
Holscher is planning a big birthday bash Thursday night at the Overland Park DoubleTree — a site more known for political events than celebrating your birthday with your closest pals.
“It’s a big birthday for Rep. Cindy Holscher and we’ll be celebrating on April 25!” says the Facebook post. “But there’s something even bigger happening that evening. Come join us for the fun!!!”
The second-term Democrat wouldn’t divulge what that “bigger” happening was, but it’s been rumored this will be the announcement for a state Senate bid. Or maybe it’s U.S. Senate or something others haven’t contemplated.
Among those indicating they plan to attend include Democratic state Reps. Brandon Woodard and Rui Xu, former state Rep. Joy Koesten, Johnson County Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Leiker and Lauren Martin, the political and data director for the Kansas Democratic Party.
The Democrats are gunning for the state Senate seat, which went for Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly by 20 percentage points in last fall’s election. The district went for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Democrat Paul Davis in 2014 by a percentage point or less.
Denning is well prepared for a challenge.
He ended 2018 with $56,250 in the bank after raising $20,850 last year, state records show.
Gallagher lands back in state government
Former state Rep. Linda Gallagher is back in state government after losing her re-election bid last fall.
Gallagher has joined the Kansas Department for Children and Families, where’s she’s been hired as strategic initiatives administrator in the Kansas City region. She will earn $68,000 a year, according to the agency.
A spokesman said Gallagher will work with foster contractors, among other things.
“I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to working on child welfare and social service issues that I focused on as a legislator,” Gallagher posted on Facebook.
“Among other duties, I will collaborate with others to help implement the recommendations of the Child Welfare System Task Force, on which I served.”
Gallagher was upset last fall by Democratic challenger Susan Ruiz after serving two terms representing District 23 in the House.
New election law won’t work in JOCO
Gov. Laura Kelly just signed a bill into law that gives local election officials the discretion to allow voters to cast a ballot anywhere within a county regardless of where they live.
It was a bill pursued by Sedgwick County election officials. Here’s their testimony on the bill.
But Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker tells KMBZ radio that allowing voters to cast a ballot anywhere within the county would be a logistical nightmare.
AP analyzes tossed ballots
The Associated Press took time to analyze the 153 advance primary ballots that were thrown out in Johnson County because the signature didn’t match the signatures kept on file at the election office.
“Of those, 125 would-be voters had a family member living at the same address whose mail-in ballot also was not counted because of mismatched signatures,” The AP reported.
Here’s The AP’s complete report by Roxana Hegeman.
It’s worth noting that the election bill Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law now requires county election officers to attempt to contact each voter who casts an advance ballot without a signature or one that doesn’t match what’s on file at the election office.
The bill requires election officials to give voters a chance to correct the problem before the final county canvass.
AT&T’s new vice president
Molly Kocour Boyle, who has had a presence in the statehouse on a variety of telecom issues, has been named as the new regional vice president for AT&T in Kansas.
Since joining AT&T in 2013, Boyle has served as public Affairs director for AT&T Missouri, AT&T Kansas and AT&T Oklahoma.
Boyle began working for AT&T in 2008 as consultant based in Washington, D.C.
“Molly’s expansive public policy expertise and technical understanding of our industry will serve our customers and our company well in Kansas,” Steve Hahn, president of AT&T Mid States, said in a statement.
“I am confident Molly will pursue opportunities and take on challenges that will make a difference for our customers and for communities across the state.”
Boyle, in her new position, will work closely with community, business, and elected leaders across Kansas.
Boyle attended the University of Kansas, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science.
Congressional delegation reacts to Mueller report
The Capital-Journal offers some insight into what the Kansas congressional delegation thinks about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his investigation into Russian election meddling. Not many surprises in this story.
Wagle: The governor’s loyal opposition
And lastly, there was this story from McClatchy about Senate President Susan Wagle’s visit to Washington to explore a possible bid for the U.S. Senate in 2020.
A major thread of the piece looks at how Wagle has assumed the role of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s chief opponent in Kansas while embracing President Donald Trump.
A good story this Sunday in case you missed it.
