Legislative Update: Week Eight
As with most weeks in the Statehouse, Kansas Appleseed saw good progress on some bills and disappointment on others. However, the biggest success from the week was your advocacy! From providing testimony to calling or emailing your senators, you showed up big time for your fellow Kansans. Our government works better when citizens participate – let’s keep that energy going into the final weeks of the legislative session!
Here’s what we’ve been working on this week:
Protecting the Courts
On Thursday, the Senate passed SCR 1611 by a vote of 27-13, just barely getting the required two-thirds majority needed to advance the resolution. This legislation proposes a constitutional amendment to provide for direct election of supreme court justices and abolish the supreme court nominating commission. The resolution will now move to the House to be voted on.
The current supreme court nomination process was created due to partisan political scandal, was approved by Kansas voters, and continues to be an effective tool to help ensure an independent court that is focused only on faithfully interpreting the law and constitution. Direct elections politicize the process and jeopardize judicial independence while creating an opportunity for dark money both inside and outside of Kansas to have an outsized influence on who we entrust to interpret laws and protect the rights of Kansans.
Our work isn’t done! The thin vote margin on this show us that your advocacy made a difference, and your continued efforts will be needed. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and will let you know when your advocacy is needed again. If your senator voted no on the resolution, we encourage you to reach out to them and thank them for their vote.
Supporting Justice-Involved Youth
The following bills had a hearing in House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice on Monday where the two bills were consolidated into one:
- HB 2325, authorizing judges to commit youth offenders to detention for technical violations of probation, increasing the cumulative detention limit for youth offenders and increasing criminal penalties for youth offenders who use a firearm in the commission of an offense or who are repeat offenders.
- HB 2329, providing for increased placement of youth offenders in non-foster home beds in youth residential facilities, requiring the secretary of corrections to pay for the costs associated with such placements and authorizing the secretary to make expenditures from the evidence-based programs account.
Amendments were added to slightly lower the increased sentencing parameters, further distinguish moderate and chronic offenders within the language, and slightly lower and reestablish a cap on non-foster beds that will need to be contracted by the Department of Corrections. While the changes better align the bill with the goals of the youth justice system, they still over rely on interventions that are not based in research and evidence-based best practice, therefore, we oppose this bill. This consolidated and amended bill will move forward as HB 2325; when the necessary updates to the bill have been completed you will be able to find the current version here.
Improving the State’s Foster Care System
The House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care spent a lot of time this week on HB 2132, modifying the definition of neglect to prohibit the removal of a child due solely to an issue of poverty and requiring more than one demonstrated fact of imminent harm due to a lack of financial resources for removal. There was in-depth discussion on various amendments presenting changes to address legal concerns, create distinctions regarding substance use that is a felony drug crime versus a non-felony drug crime, and to specify the language regarding harm that should be used for removals. The bill was passed out as amended as a substitute bill, due to the extensive changes, and will now move on to the House floor. You can find the substitute bill here when it becomes available. We support this bill.
Other bills already passed by the House are making their way to the Senate with HB 2075, requiring that a permanency hearing for a child in custody of the secretary be held within nine months from such child’s removal from the home and every six months thereafter, having a hearing in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday. HB 2075 was passed out of Committee without further amendments and will make its way to the Senate floor. We support this bill.
Protecting and Expanding Food Assistance Programs
On Thursday, the House Committee on Welfare Reform had two hearings. One on SB 79, directing the secretary for children and families to request a waiver from supplemental nutrition assistance program rules that would allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks with food assistance. The other hearing was on SB 85, directing the secretary for children and families to review and compare data for public assistance program eligibility. We oppose both of these bills, and provided verbal testimony on SB 85.
After the bill hearings, the committee began to work on SB 79. Representative Jarrod Ousley brought forward an amendment that would direct the secretary for children and families to request a waiver to allow hot and prepared foods for SNAP, which is something we have long advocated for. There was lively, bipartisan discussion around this amendment, but it ultimately failed 6-7. The committee has not yet voted on the full bill.
As bills continue to get worked and sent to the floors of each chamber, you may see an uptick in emails and text messages requesting your advocacy. Stay tuned for a busy few weeks!
