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Bill to move local elections passes the House and Senate

On May 22, 2015, the bill to move local elections passed by two votes despite being opposed by school boards and patrons. The count was 64-58. The Senate had already passed it so now it goes to the governor for signature. Here are the votes in the House. Did your Representative represent you and your school district? Yea – (64): Anthimides, Barker, Barton, Bradford, Bruchman, Brunk, B. Carpenter, W. Carpenter, Claeys, Corbet, Couture-Lovelady, Davis, DeGraaf, Dove, Esau, Estes, Garber, Goico, Gonzalez, Grosserode, Hawkins, Hedke, Hemsley, Highland, Hildabrand, Hoffman, Houser, Huebert, Hutchins, Hutton, Johnson, D. Jones, K. Jones, Kahrs,...
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Kansans be wary of challenge to courts

“In Kansas, the Legislature reigns supreme, and any branch of government that fails to recognize the supremacy of lawmakers will learn to bend a knee to those who sit under the Statehouse dome. “And right now, the Kansas Legislature is talking to you, judicial branch. Under a bill that emerged from the Senate this week to fund the state’s legal system, a small provision at the end of the bill – Senate Substitute for House Bill 2005 – dictates that the judicial branch will rule the Legislature’s way or risk undoing its funding. “When two branches of government...
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Legislature pursuing budget blackmail of courts

“Sen. Jeff King, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, doesn’t see this as a problem…Maybe blackmail isn’t the right word for what the Legislature is doing to the judicial branch. Maybe ‘power grab’ would be a better term. Either way, lawmakers are trying to alter the roles, responsibilities and fundamental balance of power among the state’s three branches of government. Their action also feeds the perception that they are trying to punish state courts for school finance decisions that have forced the state to increase spending for K-12 schools — decisions based on the constitutional requirement that the...
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