ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

More than 150 individuals recently took part in an event in Topeka to bring Latino leaders, students, partners and business owners to the state capitol to help them learn about legislative advocacy and the process of how bills are made.

The event was the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission’s (KHLAAC) Latino Legislative Day, and Commission Chair Geovannie Gone said the day presented an opportunity for individuals to meet with local representatives, as well as be informed and engaged in the process of how bills get introduced in both the Kansas House and Senate and how they become laws.

Gone said KHLAAC is focused on many bills introduced in this year’s legislative session.

“One of the bills has to do with ensuring the current driver’s license and immigration status listed in that license,” she said. “Some of the other bills that have been introduced have to do with ICE and their involvement with local law enforcement. There are many different bills. Another one is for in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant kids who have been living in the United States who want to pursue secondary education.”

Gone said this year’s session has been hard to navigate due to its complexity and how much is going on in relation to Hispanics and individuals living in Kansas.

As for the remainder of 2026, Gone said after the legislative session closes, KHLAAC will take a rest before resuming its monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of each month.

“Those are public, so anybody can join us via Zoom and be able to hear and participate on a pressing issues that are happening,” she said.

KHLAAC will likewise has a monthly newsletter keeping people up to date on what the commission has been doing and the next steps to ensure the commission is in alignment with the state’s goals, and Gone said the group also makes sure it represents all Latinos in Kansas.

Gone said in June and July, KHLAAC will start working on its next big event to take place in September and October during Hispanic Heritage Month.

“We are hoping to have our big annual conference,” she said. “We usually change locations every year to ensure everybody can attend and so it’s a little bit more fun and engaging.”

Gone said commissioners are hoping to have the conference in Kansas City or Topeka to allow individuals in that area to attend.

“That annual conference has been a really good time for individuals who want to get engaged in the work and to come and be part of it,” she said.

Gone said events such as Latino Legislative Day are key to keeping individuals engaged with lawmakers.

“Every year, local representatives and senators come to Topeka specifically to address bills and work on bills, and these individuals live in the communities,” she said. “It’s important for constituents to go ahead and engage with these individuals even outside of the legislative session as they do coffee with the representative in local events or as individuals see them at the grocery store or at the school where their kids go. It is important they hear from them. It is important they see how they are voting in Topeka.”

Holding lawmakers accountable, Gone said, is likewise important.

“There have been several instances where representatives go and tell citizens of their communities something about whether or not they support a bill, but when they come to Topeka, they vote completely different,” she said. “I do know of an instance where one of the representatives publicly mentioned he did not care about his constituents. It is important, especially with these upcoming elections, as you do your research on representatives who are running within the community, you know what they stand for and they are loyal to the people they represent and not loyal to their party.”

Gone said this has been one of the biggest things seen at the state capitol every year.

“People in the community vote,” she said. “They have a voice. They elect who’s going to represent them, and they also need to hold them responsible for that.”

Gone herself spoke at Latino Legislative Day, and she said focused her presentation on empowering people to unify in one voice.

“When work together to take care of each other, to hold our representatives, our senators accountable, there is strength in that unity, that voice,” she said.

Of the more than 150 people attending the event, Gone said around half of them were students, and she said each year, more students are seen unifying their voices and talking about what they feel is important to their community.

It is important we uplift that and we allow them a space where they can also learn from the process and they learn how to advocate for themselves, for their friends, for their schools, for their communities, for the families,” she said. “Students are the future of our communities and our state, and I really enjoyed seeing so many students engaged in this work.”

Gone said she feels passionate about the topics discussed at Latino Legislative Day, and as an immigrant, she also believes it is important to have space to advocate and share some insights and lessons she has learned through the years.

“It is important to me to train and mentor those new leaders who are coming into this field so they know how to better serve their state and how to better advocate for their Hispanic community,” she said. “I felt really good. It is always very rewarding and inspiring to be able to lead an organization that truly cares about our Latino community.”

As for what else KHLAAC is doing, Gone said there  are many things currently being done, and 2026 will be a big year for the commission.

“We have three commissioners who will be exiting because their terms will be expiring,” she said. “Making sure we can find commissioners who can represent the community well is going to be a great undertaking.”

Gone said the new commissioners will create a shift in the dynamics of the commission, and these members will have to be mentored and prepared as they come on board.

“It’s also a very important year, a year when our government will be transitioning, and KHLAAC is a non-partisan commission funded by the government’s office,” she said. “We anticipate several administrative changes. We anticipate having to realign some of our priorities so we can not only align to the needs of our community, but also to hear from our new government administration that will be coming this year.”

Gone said this year’s Latino Legislative Day went much better than she expected.

“It was very uplifting,” she said. There were several groups and individuals who traveled from Western Kansas.”

Among those were Hispanic American Leadership Organization youth from Liberal and Dodge City, and Gone said individuals from Ulysses, Coffeyville and Wichita were on hand as well, making for representation from across Kansas.

“I feel our commission has truly been working on building those solid relationships and networking across the state,” she said. “That has put us in a very good place to be able to be more influential in some of the important matters that are happening within our state. This year, we’ve seen a lot of growth.”