The first legislative dialogue of the year drew quite the crowd to the Sauder Alumni Center Saturday morning.
In attendance were Kansas Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine, 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber and 51st District Representative Ron Highland. All three lawmakers agree the legislative dialogues are vital to ensure local voters are as up to date as possible on happenings at the state level.
This includes the recent vote in the House of Representatives regarding a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion. The vote was to help push the amendment onto the upcoming primary election ballot as part of the 2020 election cycle and ultimately failed by four votes.
Both Highland and Schreiber expressed their frustration with this outcome with Schreiber stating this is a topic which Kansas residents deserve to have a say on.
Highland agrees with this sentiment and calls the decision a “very sad day in the state of Kansas.”
Last week the Kansas Senate voted in favor of the amendment which would overturn a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court from last year declaring access to abortion as a fundamental right. The final vote in the House Friday was 80-43, however, supporters needed 84 votes for the measure to pass meaning the effort will now have to wait until the 2021 legislative session. Despite this, both Highland and Schreiber agree discussions during the current session are likely to continue sporadically.
Within the Senate, a major topic of discussion, aside from the abortion amendment, has been that of higher education funding. Senator Longbine says he is “disappointed” in Governor Laura Kelley’s recommendation for higher education funding.
Longbine says there is a large amount of concern within the legislature centered around Governor Kelley’s “lack of funding.” However, Longbine says he is hopeful the Legislature will be able to find a solution to the funding shortfall.
He is also confident if they are unable to do so rises in college and secondary education tuition rates will be the next likely step. Longbine says this is concerning as it could have a significant negative impact on the state population, specifically those individuals who are already finding it difficult to pay current tuition rates.
The Legislative Dialogues are organized by the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters Committee and the League of Women Voters.
The next dialogue will take place Saturday, Mar. 14 at Presbyterian Manor.
