Credit or blame?
Credit or blame? Who’s the winner here? Gotta wonder how this little scrap between Gov. Laura Kelly and the leadership
It’s all about the asterisk
It’s all about the asterisk Well, a month into the state coronavirus stay-at-home order, we’re only sure that there’s not
Where it this going?
Where it this going? Well, the Kansas Supreme Court has held that Gov. Laura Kelly has authority – or more
On the other side?
On the other side? What’s the delivery of services by your Kansas government going to look like on the other
Executive Orders standing
Executive Orders standing What started as a legislative leash on Gov. Laura Kelly’s efforts to battle the coronavirus epidemic has
A stirring redirection
A stirring redirection Yes, it sounds a little odd to call it a Spring Break/coronavirus first adjournment of the Legislature,
Under the Dome has changed….
Under the Dome has changed…. Everything got different last week under the Dome. After legislators spent weeks reading and listening
Getting down to work
Getting down to work We’re about to see just what the Legislature is going to do for, or to, us
Being germane
Being germane Sometimes it is the little amendments offered up by a House or Senate member that don’t get adopted
Turning to eggs?
Turning to eggs? This is the week that, by Thursday — and in daylight we’re hoping – we find out
A new infrastructure tactic
A new infrastructure tactic With abortion and Medicaid and even unpasteurized milk under the legislative microscope, this week hearings start
And then there are taxes…
And then there are taxes… While the folks who run the Legislature are figuring out what to do about that
Those suburban ‘soccer moms’
Those suburban ‘soccer moms’ Kansas Republicans made it clear last weekend that they are making a real push to get
Making friends
Making friends Kansas Republicans, no, not just you folks who are Republicans because your parents are/were, but folks actually active
Baking the cake
Baking the cake Well, they got through Week 1 of the 2020 legislative session without any injuries (except a House
Boys (and girls) are back in town
Boys (and girls) are back in town OK, they’re back in Topeka now, choosing between which lobbyist’s dinner offer seems
A Chill in the Air?
A Chill in the Air? There will be times, maybe when your aunt at Thanksgiving dinner says she’s decided to
Better Than a Prom Date?
Better Than a Prom Date? Well, we gotta wonder, besides getting that prom date you hoped for, what is better
No Bar Talk but Wait Until January
No Bar Talk but Wait Until January The Kansas Statehouse is going to shake Thursday afternoon, when a group of
No Simple Choices
Well, Kansans, we have a little more than two months before the Legislature goes into session and becomes either dangerous
GOP Primary to be Interesting—to Democrats
In one of the more interesting political machinations in recent memory, Kansas Democrats have virtually eliminated a costly and party-divisive
Continue Reading → GOP Primary to be Interesting—to Democrats
Not this Session
Sometimes you ask for information that, once you get it, you wonder why you even asked for it in the
Who decides who is on the Kansas Supreme Court?
It appears that at least us folks who hang out at the Statehouse—and possibly the rest of voting-age Kansans—may get
Continue Reading → Who decides who is on the Kansas Supreme Court?
Governance by Council
It’s starting to become apparent that Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly has devised a new tool to use to run the
Pretty good potential political muscle…
There may be something subtle going on here, that first meeting in several years in which the Kansas Board of
What’s a reform?
We’re just a week away from the Governor’s Council on Tax Reform meeting in the Statehouse to consider ways to
Will Kansas Demos cast all GOP legislative candidates as Trumpers?
This is starting to become interesting, just how effectively Kansas Republicans create a bright yellow line between federal elections and
Continue Reading → Will Kansas Demos cast all GOP legislative candidates as Trumpers?
Will the money be there?
It’s gotta be nice, to be appointed to a state commission to study Kansas criminal justice reform. Everyone wants lawbreakers
Out of Warranty
Just go ahead and put $8 million into next year’s budget for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and legislators will
Reading program great idea but, of course, complicated
Well, here’s a former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback-era program that, after an audit by his successor administration run by Democrat
Continue Reading → Reading program great idea but, of course, complicated
Watching the Rabbit?
Time to remind Kansans that a key skill in Kansas politics is distraction. Yes, remember that you don’t have to
The scrap over remote sales tax
One of the amazing things about life in the Statehouse is that nearly everything that happens here has a political
Kelly gets to Shape Court
President Donald Trump congratulates himself on his appointment/U.S. Senate confirmation of more than 100 federal judges, including two U.S. Supreme
Special committee looks at Supreme decisions
The Legislature’s Special Committee on Judiciary will spend at least two days this summer and fall taking a close look
Continue Reading → Special committee looks at Supreme decisions
What about worker comp?
Syndicated by Hawver News Co LLC Remember the last time the dinner table conversation was about Worker Compensation? Or maybe
That 7-letter word
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Aug. 28, 2017. We’re still waiting for that stern letter to Secretary of State Kris Kobach
Turning off the lights
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Aug. 21, 2017. Remember when you moved out of your college apartment, and probably because your
4-20-18?
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Aug. 14, 2017 We’re into months of candidates and near-candidates and possible candidates shuffling around ahead
Who solves the problem?
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Aug. 7, 2017 If you buy the pretty strong premise that the reason El Dorado Correctional
A new path?
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 31, 2017 As a dutiful lieutenant governor, Jeff Colyer has been a strong supporter of
Will you marry me…and, pass the fries…
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 24, 2017. Ever wonder why you never hear romantic stories about a guy proposing marriage
Those fall elections
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 17, 2017. We’re getting ready for the first test of a political-season, non-partisan primary election
Their future?
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 10, 2017. There’s a lot of breath-holding going on among legislators over what might happen
Leading the parade?
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 3, 2017. Legislators who are still probably planning how to get from one Independence Day
Mostly politics…
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers June 26, 2017. It’s going to be an interesting year and a half for Kansas, as
It isn’t over…
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers June 19, 2017. It’s done. The income tax rates have been raised. We’re waiting to see
It ain’t over until…
Syndicated to Kansas newspaper June 12, 2017 The Legislature has gone home, the Statehouse is quiet, but the 113-day session
That heavy lifting
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers June 5, 2017 This is the week—presumably (hopefully?) the last week of the regular legislative session
The bracket roadblock
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers May 29, 2017 If there’s a major roadblock to enactment of a new tax package for
The “new Kansas”
Syndicated to Kansas newspapers May 22, 2017 Remember last November, when 56.6 percent of Kansans who had a little spare