Kansas Government

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Some of the Kansas Republican legislators should take a deep breath. The histrionics prompted by the resignation of Commerce Secretary David Kerr are completely unwarranted.

Bill OttoBy Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

From the Topeka Capital-Journal comes word that Kansas Rep. Bill Otto plans to post a new video on YouTube next week, this one a bit friendlier to President Obama.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

The Kansas GOP Congressional delegation is mounting a united front to discredit the Washington Post story and, presumably, the GAO report, that raises questions about the safety of a proposed biolab in Manhattan to study threats to the nation's food and livestock supply.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Government auditors say the selection of Manhattan, Kan., as the location for a $700 million federal biolab was rushed and possibly political.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson's latest budget cuts seem sensible, if painful.

Anemic tax collections forced the governor to make reductions beyond those that the Legislature authorized during its session.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Proving conclusively that he's not the anti-Sebelius, Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson has vetoed the Legislature's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, which uses state grants to provide contraceptive services to low-income women at two Kansas clinics.

Good for him.

From Parkinson's veto message:

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Like a legendary 1960s Western, the 2009 Kansas legislative session involved a search for gold and a mingling of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The script was like none the state had seen in recent times. Tanking revenues made for a grim fiscal backdrop, and a months-long flux in the governor’s office kept everyone guessing.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

It looks as though the Kansas Legislature has opted for amputation at the wrist instead of the elbow.

The old Democrat-moderate Republican coalition teamed up again to vote for a budget that essentially opts for a 2.75 percent cut rather than the 4.8 percent cut favored by more conservative members of the House.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

It looks as thought the great Sunflower standoff has ended in Kansas.

Mark ParkinsonBy Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Kathleen Sebelius had her strengths as governor, but her speeches were snooze-inducing.

Her replacement, Mark Parkinson, looks like he's going to be different.

The newly sworn-in governor just gave a warm, rousing talk to the Kansas Legislature in which he spoke of the challenges at hand and his vision for Kansas in 2030.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

The waiting, singer Tom Petty once opined, is the hardest part. But that premise is about to be tested, now that Kathleen Sebelius has finally moved from the governor’s mansion in Kansas to become the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary in Washington.

As a small state with a declining population and a worsening financial picture, Kansas needs to be smart about promoting economic development.

The federal government and private industries want to invest in states with progressive energy policies. Kansas, with its ample supplies of natural gas, biofuels and wind, is in many ways an attractive destination.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

After taking weeks to set up hearings on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius's nomination as health and human services secretary, the Senate is putting her on ice for two more weeks while members take Easter recess.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

The Kansas House has given first-round approval to an idea so loopy you wonder if somebody has slipped something into the water cooler.

The proposed legislation: Random drug testing for welfare recipients.

As

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

In a shameful move, a Kansas House panel on Wednesday essentially killed a statewide smoke-free law, proving the members don't care about protecting human health.

The death penalty law Kansas enacted in 1994 has not yet resulted in an execution. But it has been a money drain.

One study by legislative researchers calculated that the state spent 70 percent more to investigate and litigate cases that resulted in death sentences than it spent to try murder cases in which the death sentence wasn’t pursued.

The Kansas legislative session has passed its halfway mark in anything but the usual fashion.

A rocky and ever-changing financial landscape has overshadowed all else and exposed a widening rift between Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and the GOP-dominated legislature.

Arizona passed the country’s first clean indoor air law way back in 1973. Since then 34 more states have decided to protect their residents from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke in public places.

However, Missouri and Kansas are among the 15 other states that stubbornly remain on the sidelines.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Not content to simply clash with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius over the state's budget, Kansas legislators now want to curb her power to fill vacancies in statewide offices.

Kansas lawmakers have sent Gov. Kathleen Sebelius a spending bill that makes a good-faith effort to keep the state financially solvent without decimating essential services.

The bill addresses the state’s disastrous financial slump by reducing its general budget by $326 million for the remainder of this fiscal year.

It isn’t a perfect plan, but it’s workable.

Already worn out from trying to balance the budget, some Kansas legislators are ready for a beer break.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Already worn out from trying to balance the budget, it looks as though Kansas legislators are taking a beer break.

By that I mean, at least some of them are going to devote themselves to the task of getting rid of the "3.2 beer" requirement in supermarkets and convenient stores.

I'll hoist a glass to their efforts.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Some Kansas lawmakers are complaining about Gov. Kathleen Sebelius's plan to raid state agencies, like the Board of Barbering, that have self-sustaining budgets generated by fees.

Coming up with a reason to be optimistic about this year’s legislative session hasn’t been easy, but Kansas lawmakers are trying.

The state’s fiscal situation is so dire, some say, that they’ll be forced to dig into the workings of state government to look for efficiencies and eliminate waste.
The result should be a leaner but better-performing bureaucracy.

The Kansas Supreme Court slapped down Phill Kline on Friday for his unprofessional behavior in an abortion records case involving Planned Parenthood.

The rebuke of the Johnson County district attorney was well-deserved. But it was an embarrassment for the county, which normally prides itself on good government.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Gambling's future is being crushed in Kansas. Hurrah.

On Friday developers of the proposed Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at Kansas Speedway pulled the plug on that deal.

A federal agency’s recommendation to build a $563 million bio-research lab in Manhattan, Kan., is a powerful shot in the arm for the state’s economy and the region’s research aspirations.

In January a flock of part-time elected lawmakers will head to Jefferson City and Topeka to take on the wrenching decisions posed by the economic turndown. Tax revenues have fallen sharply, and that will mean cuts in both states in ways that affect people’s lives.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Conservative Republicans in Kansas consistently resist campaign spending limits and disclosure requirements on the grounds that getting involved in campaigns and causes is a form of free speech.