Turnaround Week for KS Legislature

The other night, February 27th, I attended a legislative listening session in Derby with some friends. Members of the Kansas House and Senate came to listen to their constituents talk about the things of concern. More than a dozen members of the legislature were there and the large meeting room in the Derby City Hall was full. The meeting began promptly at 7:00 and ended at 8:30. Each speaker was given three minutes to present their concern. Twenty-four people spoke.

A number of the speakers voiced concern about the influence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the Kansas legislative chambers and the statehouse. According to one speaker 46 members of the House and Senate have ties to ALEC, a corporate organization that drafts legislation favorable to corporate interests. It is well known that some members of the administration work closely with ALEC. We are all encouraged to ask our representatives if they have ties with ALEC, and what if any legislation they have sponsored that was written with the help of ALEC. Transparency and accountability are good things to have in a democracy.

A number of people voiced concern about proposed changes in community health care and assurances that legislation to maintain these services and improve them was given by a number of the legislators present.

Speakers also voiced concern about proposed changes in funding for education. Those who spoke said plainly that the proposed legislation is taking us “down the wrong path.” No one spoke in favor of the proposed changes.

Support was expressed for passage of Senate Bill 219, which would make wage theft a crime punishable by stiff penalties. The KS Department of Labor documents 1,800 cases of wage theft, resulting in a loss of $10 million in wages.

People spoke in opposition to House Bill 2531, which changes the both the number and the composition of members on the worker’s compensation and unemployment appeals panel. And there was opposition to the proposal to change the voter registration law, which is called the voter suppression law by its opponents.

You can read about all this legislation and find out more details at the Working Kansans Alliance website. This is Turnaround Week in the Kansas Legislature, marking the halfway point in the session. Representatives and Senators at the meeting agreed that email is effect but the best way to get their attention and voice your concern is a phone call.