Not in recent memory has the sine die (that’s the formal name) adjournment of the Kansas Legislature left quite so much unfinished work for state government.
In the good—or at least the old—days, that sine die adjournment was shaking hands, wishing fellow legislators a fun and productive summer, a little vacation planning talk. The high point for many lawmakers was the lifting of the during-the-session ban on taking campaign contributions from political action committees, businesses, unions, lobbyists and such. In the old days, there were actually envelopes handed to legislators as they walked to their cars—containing those campaign contribution checks.
But after this year’s sine die last Friday, there’s a real sense that this year’s work isn’t done.
And, it isn’t.