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SB 188, the bill that would have required additional reporting by school districts of information already publicly available and would have included a fine of $1,000 per day that a district was not in compliance, failed to pass the House on February 5th. Thank those who voted no (61): Alcala, Alford, Anthimides, Ballard, Becker, Billinger, Boldra, Bollier, Burroughs, Campbell, Carlin, Carmichael, Clark, Clayton, Concannon, Curtis, Dierks, Doll, Edmonds, Ewy, Finney, Francis, Frownfelter, Gallagher, Garber, Gonzalez, Helgerson, Henderson, Henry, Hibbard, Highberger, Hill, Hineman, Houston, Jennings, Kuether, Lewis, Lusk, Lusker, Moxley, Ousley, F. Patton, Rooker, Ruiz, Sawyer, Schroeder, Schwartz, Scott,...

Kris Kobach presented a bill yesterday that would prohibit local government bodies, including school boards, from spending money to inform voters about upcoming ballot issues, such as bond elections. “James Howell, chairman of the Sedgwick County Commission, said contents of Senate Bill 368 would infringe on the right of free speech by those elected to represent people in city, county and school district offices. He said the state shouldn’t impose a law blocking distribution of information to constituents preparing to vote on important issues. “’We work for the people of our respective jurisdictions,’ Howell said. ‘We have a...