Loud Light Kansas Politics Recap: Trans Kansan licenses, untrained ICE officers, and state budget
The Pitch has partnered with a local political awareness organization called Loud Light. Their goal is to engage and empower individuals from underrepresented populations to build community power. And impact decision-makers. Each week of the year that the Kansas statehouse is in session, they release a short video recapping what the legislature is up to.
Knowing the nitty-gritty of what’s happening with your representatives is the only way to stay involved with the way local government affects your life. You can donate to support Loud Light’s work by clicking here.
Here is this week’s video and transcription:
Intro
Hey, this is Paris with Loud Light. Here’s what happened this week in the Kansas Legislature.
Kansas Tells Trans Kansans to Surrender Licenses (SB244)
Last week, the Kansas legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill that forces transgender Kansans to change their licenses and also creates a bathroom bounty where transgender Kansans can be sued for $1000 dollars if others suspect they are using a restroom they perceive as the incorrect one. It would also allow Attorney General Kris Kobach to investigate anyone who is reported. This week Kansans who have changed their gender marker received a letter from the state telling them to surrender their licenses and have them re-issued. However, the bill’s broad language still leaves many enforcement questions up in the air
House v. Senate (SB254)
A bill that bans undocumented Kansans from receiving benefits they are already ineligible for would have also banned in-state tuition for immigrant students after an executive order defined in-state rates as a public benefit. Legislators were able to amend the bill on the House floor and remove the in-state tuition ban with a unanimous vote after the same amendment narrowly failed in the Senate when introduced by Vice President of the Senate Tim Shallenburger. Although the amendment to keep in-state tuition rates was broadly popular in both chambers, House members were forced to take the amendment out, putting the ban back into the bill. The bill will now head back to both the House and Senate for a yes or no vote in both chambers.
ICE protections bill (SB452)
A bill that gives ICE agents the authority to arrest those who “interfere” with ICE activities, gives them the same protections as trained police officers, and requires citizens to treat them as “first responders” passed out of committee and heads to the Senate floor. This week a former ICE lawyer, trainer, and now whistleblower resigned from his position in ICE and has publicly warned that ICE officers are no longer receiving proper training and are encouraged to enter homes without judicial warrants. During his congressional testimony he stated “What was taken out was 16 hours of firearms training, classes that teach them how to use their weapons correctly and safely,” he said. “What was taken out were classes on how the Constitution works. In fact, the class where we talk to the officers and teach them about the rights of protesters was cut from a two-hour program into about 10 minutes that got shoehorned into a lecture about what the concept of seizure is.”
The Budget (HB2434)
7 years ago Kansas was on the brink of financial ruin. A disastrous tax cut experiment started in 2013 was costing the state $1 billion a year, caused an artificial recession, defunded education, and was sustained by stealing money from highway funds. In 2017, most Republican legislators broke from Gov. Brownback to override his veto and end the tax experiment, but one Senator named Ty Masterson never gave up on the tax experiment. Now as Senate President, Ty Masterson has spent the last few years attempting to recreate the nationally known “Brownback tax experiment.” Last session, Sen. Pres. Ty Masterson was successful in passing a “flat tax” that expanded on Brownback-style income tax cuts by turning any future budget surplus into an automatic income or corporate tax cut. The bill did not have automatic tax increases during deficits meaning it’s a one-way ticket to future revenue shortfalls and budget crisis, which is exactly where Kansas is right now. After the passing of Masterson’s experiment to benefit the wealthiest Kansans and the first budget completely written by lawmakers, budget committee chairman Rep. Troy Waymaster closed the session, stating that Kansas has a “tough road ahead”. This week, the House passed their first version of the budget with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressing concerns about the legislature’s spending problem. The budget passed the House with many Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the budget. The budget process is far from over however as legislators will work until the final moments of session negotiating and passing the budget, the only job they are constitutionally required to do.
