ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
This year’s session of the Kansas Legislature is in its second half, and lawmakers in both chambers have adjourned until Thursday.
Local legislators were in Liberal in mid-March to bring constituents up to speed on what is happening in Topeka.
Kansas 38th District Senator Ron Ryckman began by talking about the changes in this year’s Senate after the 2024 election.
“We have 31 Republicans, and there’s a total of 40,” he said. “There were four Republicans in Johnson County the governor and the Democrats said, ‘We’re going to knock them off.’ They put millions into that fight. They got all shook up. All four Republicans of Johnson County are back in.”
In 2024, the Senate had 27 Republicans, and with three of them voting in line with Gov. Laura Kelly, this made it difficult to override vetoes. However, Ryckman said those Republicans are not back.
Including the House, Ryckman said there are 13 new Republicans in the legislature this year, all of whom he considered good for Kansas.
“It’s just a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Not only did we keep those four in Johnson County, but we picked up two more. That’s a very strong number for overriding the governor’s veto.”
Ryckman then talked about the process of a bill becoming a law, including proposed amendments.
“In the House and Senate, the idea is someone brings a bill, and you hear both sides,” he said. “It’s debated there before it goes to the floor of the House and Senate. It’s very difficult to become a law. A lot of things can mess it up. A lot of times, people bring amendments on the floor. I’m usually pretty leary about amendments. People don’t get a chance to talk about them. I’m not saying I won’t vote for amendments, but I usually don’t.”
Shortly after Ryckman and Kansas 125th House District Representative Shannon Francis made their stop at Liberal’s Rock Island Depot, lawmakers began working on a state budget for this years. Always a tough process, Ryckman said the House had passed their budget prior to mid-March.
“Everybody wants things, and we have to find ways to cut,” Ryckman said. “We’re spending more.”
Something Ryckman said needs to happen in Topeka is finding out the function of government.
“As politicians, it’s a lot easier to say ‘yes’ to people than ‘no,’” he said. “We have a couple choices, and there’s some things we battle. Being in Western Kansas, we think a little differently than the people in Eastern Kansas. Leadership is Eastern Kansas. The vote’s Eastern Kansas, so we’ve got to work with them to get some things.”
Ryckman said this year’s legislative session is scheduled to be done early, but he said this is not necessarily a good thing.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “I didn’t like it when we started. The Senate president wanted to do it. He said we’ve got 90 days. We’re going to do 90 days as quick as we can.”
Ryckman said when he considers a bill, he first checks to see if it is good for Southwest Kansas and for the state as a whole, and this is for both the short and long term.
“When you pressured to go through it, it’s difficult, and the hardest part is coming when a bill passes the House and Senate and it goes to the committee process,” he said. “You have the leaders in the House and the Senate, three of each, and they come up with a bill and vote it up or down. They throw a lot of bills in there. That is the time that’s always the hardest for me. We’ll hopefully be done by May 27.”
Turning U.S. Highway 54 into a four-lane highway is a big priority for in Southwest Kansas, and Ryckman said some support from Eastern Kansas may now be possible after a recent meeting with highway contractors.
“The majority leader in the House stood up and gave a speech and said, ‘That needs to be a priority,’” he said. “Can you believe that? A guy from Johnson County talking about a four-lane. He must’ve been hearing something from somebody.”
Francis too said highways are a critical part of the infrastructure in Southwest Kansas.
“I drive Highway 54 to Wichita twice a week, and the traffic continues to grow,” he said. “I hope after this, we can come up with a long-term strategy to improve the structure of the roads in our area. It’s important we show up. It’s important those of us who have ideas like the four-lane highway. One of the things they’re looking at is innovations our part needs.”
During the current adjournment, Francis said Gov. Kelly will likely consider which bills to veto, and when the legislature reconvenes Thursday, lawmakers will begin considering veto overrides and cleaning up loose ends.
“Sometimes when legislation’s going through, there’s some fine tuning that needs to happen after everybody’s had a chance to digest it a little bit,” Francis said. “Also, we have to fund some of the bills passed in the last 10 days. The Senate Ways and Means Committee has finished their work on the budget, and the Senate’s going to pass it next week. Then our committee, which is three members of the House Appropriations Committee and three members of the Senate Ways and Means, will try to work out the differences. There’s a lot of differences this year. We have a number of changes we’ve made to the base budget.”
Francis said this year’s session has included initiatives for property tax reform.
“There is nothing I feel is more important for the legislature to try to address than property tax,” he said. “That being said, it’s very difficult for us to address property tax without affecting the ability of our local government to fund services. The majority of their funding comes from property tax.”
Francis said the majority of a landowner’s property tax bill is the result of who is elected to local governments and the decisions they make.
“They make good decisions,” he said. “I don’t want to limit that, but that’s what makes it so hard for us to do anything. If we make the wrong decisions as the state legislature, we hamstring their ability to deliver the services you want.”
A bill currently being looked at is House Bill 2396, which Francis said would allow for the elimination of property tax increases with a protest petition.
“What it says is if 10 percent of the voters go into the county treasurer’s office and sign a petition, they can stop property tax increase if that property tax increase is more than last year’s property tax plus the Consumer Price Index,” he said. “As long as they keep it at or above what the Consumer Price Index increase of the prior year, they can do that.”
Historically, Francis said Kansans’ tax liabilities have been based on three factors: number of employees or amount of payroll, capital investment made into the state, and sales within the state. He said the Sunflower State is one of few in America that still uses this process.
“Most of them have gone to a single factor tax, where it’s based upon the amount of sales you have in your state,” he said. “It puts the companies that invest in our state at a disadvantage. They’re being taxed higher because of the investments they’ve made in their facilities and the number of employees they’ve had.”
The recent legislative update was sponsored by EPIC Touch, and the Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to host this year’s final update at noon April 17 at the Depot.
