After a few days off, lawmakers are back at work in Topeka.
Lawmakers enjoyed a few days away from the Statehouse after the annual Turnaround deadline, reflecting the deadline for submitting bills.
17th District Senator Jeff Longbine of Emporia says work remains ahead on a lot of topics, including food sales tax. Both Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, and her main Republican challenger, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, want the tax to be eliminated — but there hasn’t been a lot of movement on that topic yet. A lot of that has to do with the definition of food for tax purposes.
60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia says he’s concerned about a number of bills affecting education. Since the session began in January, he has said the Legislature needs to make education easier for teachers, and he believes some bills awaiting decisions don’t do that.
51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego says recent discussions on rules and regulations, which would give lawmakers more oversight than the current model, are overdue.
76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington is looking forward to life after COVID.
Redistricting took up a lot of early-session time, especially with the Congressional map that is now in federal court awaiting a final decision. State redistricting maps will get a lot of attention this month.
Talks will also rev up on the overall budget over the next few weeks, including Governor Kelly’s plan to fully fund the state’s water plan.
Initial adjournment for the Legislature is April 1. The veto session is set to begin April 25.
