For Week of January 16 to 20, 2023
Jim Karleskint
jimkarleskint@yahoo.com
Want to start out by making sure all SQE members are aware of the SQE at The Capital Day on Wednesday, February 8, 2023. I would encourage all members that can work it into your schedule to come to Topeka this day to meet with your legislator, visit committee meetings, and attend floor sessions of both the House and the Senate. We will have coffee, tea, and donuts/rolls available to legislators as the enter the building. We will meet in the basement hallway of the Capital to greet legislators as they enter that morning. Please make plans if possible if you have questions or need help with anything don’t hesitate to contact me.
Read MoreWeek of January 9 to 13, 2023
Jim Karleskint
The 2023 Kansas Legislative session has started. Governor Kelly and members of the Kansas
House of Representatives were sworn in on Monday, January 9th . There were a couple of new
members to the Senate that were also sworn in on Monday.
Week of March 7 to March 11, 2022 
Week of March 7 to March 11, 2022
Jim Karleskint
Another week and yet another snowstorm that caused legislation to slow down due to the weather. Due to the snow on Thursday many committee meeting hearings were conducted on zoom, delayed, or postponed till next week.
Read MoreWeek of February 28 to March 4, 2022
Week of February 28 to March 4, 2022
Jim Karleskint
We have started the 2nd half of the 2022 Legislative Session. There weren’t many bills passed in the House this week. Most of the work that took place with House members was in committees. Some bills were given hearings and information shared with House Committee members. The work in the Senate was somewhat similar to that of the House till late on Thursday. Late Thursday afternoon saw the Senate get into a tax cut frenzy. Some of the cuts include:
Read MoreWeek of February 21 to February 25, 2022
Week of February 21 to February 25, 2022
Jim Karleskint
The first half of the legislative session has been completed. Turn around took place this week. Turn around is considered a critical time for legislation. The intent of turnaround is to have taken action on the bills that have been heard in the respective chamber. If a bill hasn’t received action in chamber the bill is to die. However, that isn’t really the case. For example, there were 18 bills in the House that died due to no action. There were 36 bills that were referred back to a committee, this is called being “blessed”. There were 8 bills “blessed” in the Senate. A blessed bill can be sent back for consideration. Most of the education bills that we have been following were not brought above the line for consideration, most were “blessed” and sent back to a committee. I will continue to follow bills and keep you posted on their status.
Read MoreWeek of February 14 to February 18, 2022
Week of February 14 to February 18, 2022
Jim Karleskint
Week number 6 of the Kansas Legislature is in the books. It has been a busy week in Topeka, many education related bills have been heard in committees and some bills have been passed out of committees for consideration in either the House or Senate. Many more could be coming. Many of the bills under consideration could have significant impact on how schools in Kansas do business. There were numerous bills introduced and given hearings some are discussed below. The bills I mention have received hearings. Please keep in mind many bills are introduced that go nowhere. The ones I list have a potential to being given consideration by the full House or Senate in the near future.
Read MoreFor Week of February 7 to February 11, 2022
For Week of February 7 to February 11, 2022
Jim Karleskint
The week started out with the House Commerce Committee continuing their work on the mega bill that would provide incentives to an unnamed company. The package that was finally agreed upon could cost taxpayers $1.3 billion and would spend down the state’s reserves by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 4 years. This amount is larger than the amount the Senate agreed upon last week. The bill was sent to the floor of the House on Tuesday afternoon. There it was debated and attempts at amendments were made. The bill passed the House by a vote of 80-41. There was a very different group of legislators from both parties voting in opposition. The bill was then sent back to the Senate for approval as the bill was different than what was sent to the House last week.
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