RYCKMAN RECAP, Ron Ryckman, 38th District Senator
Even though most of the focus on the Senate side during Week 8 of the Legislature was on putting together a budget, the biggest news actually came out of the House’s action on tax cuts. That’s because they’ve been sitting on the constitutional amendment limiting valuation increases passed by the Senate a month ago while working on what they consider more viable alternatives. Two options were approved, one a different constitutional change that would limit appraisals to Fair Market Value (HCR 5011) and the other (HB 2396) a protest petition on local increases if signed by 10 percent of voters, so we’ll see what happens when everything gets put together in a conference committee.
At least the prospect of reductions is made a little more feasible by the news that overall collections exceeded estimates by $121.9 million or 28.6 percent in February. Meanwhile, the final agreement on SB 4, the measure eliminating a three-day grace period on ballot-counting, was approved 30-10 by the Senate, readying it for an expected veto by the Governor.
For the Senate’s part, the most attention-getting measure was another concurrent resolution changing the way we select Supreme Court Justices. Currently, a panel of lawyers from across the state conduct interviews and send to the Governor three recommendations from which one is selected. The new proposal in SCR 1611 would essentially turn the process over to the people to vote for a candidate like they do senators or representatives. As Senate President Ty Masterson put it, “Kansas currently stands alone as the only state in the union that enshrines the power to decide who sits on our highest court to a commission controlled by five lawyers selected by other lawyers. This outlier system has failed, producing an often-overturned court that has no real accountability to the people. Rather than a system that consolidates authority in the hands of an elite society of super voters, it’s time to restore that power to all Kansans.”
One of the most unusual events of the week from a District standpoint was the presentation of dual investigative reports in the Joint Legislative Post Audit (LPA) Committee on Ford County’s Ballot Reconciliation and Machine Testing Process from the 2024 General Election. LPA is the state counterpart of our national Government Accountability Office, tasked with looking into perceived problems or deficiencies in all areas of government. This particular study raised questions about whether state law had been followed in the testing of voting machines after their movement to actual poll sites. Our County Clerk, Debbie Cox, who appeared remotely before the Committee on WEBEX, handled herself quite adeptly in pointing out the physical impossibility of recalibrating all five units in one day. What an interesting “twist” there would be if this experience were to lead to a change in the statute regarding that requirement.
Changes — in the form of future plans — were certainly enhanced for two important buildings in our area by the announcement this week of Heritage Trust Fund grants for structures in both Ashland and Liberal. The Ashland Grade School was awarded $100,000 and the Old Rock Island Depot $77,300 by the State Historic Preservation Office. Always nice to see good things like this happen. Nothing “historic” except the proportion with a similar KDOT press release advising of a year-long $15.5 million Haskell County passing lane project north of the Highway 56/83 Sublette intersection. Anyone happy to see that?
I was happy to see some super sharp students from our area in my office advocating to RESIST smoking and vaping. Maybe one will want to come back next week (March 12) for a still-open senate page opportunity.
Thanks to them and all of you for the honor and privilege of being your “voice” in Topeka. Happy “springing forward” to Daylight Saving Time.
