Lawmakers head to Topeka in a week to start the 2020 legislative session.
Kansas Senate Vice President and 17th District Senator Jeff Longbine of Emporia kicked off KVOE’s now-annual legislative session previews with an appearance on Monday’s Morning Show. One of the big battlegrounds of years past — Medicaid expansion — may be resolved this session. Longbine says there will be a news conference at 10 am this Thursday to detail a new expansion plan that has found favor with Governor Laura Kelly and with many lawmakers. He says the new plan will be similar to a plan that almost passed the last two years, and he’s optimistic everything could be finalized in about six weeks.
Longbine says transportation needs to be one of the state’s two or three key budget priorities this session.
Longbine says so-called “red flag” laws, where guns may be taken away from people may be considered a risk to themselves or others, will likely be discussed — but he says it would be a good idea to see how the federal government handles the topic before moving forward at the state level.
Longbine is up for re-election and says he plans to run. This would be his third full term in office if elected in November. Longbine also served an unexpired term in 2011 and 2012 after Jim Barnett ran unsuccessfully for governor.
KVOE’s legislative previews continue with 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia joining the Newsmaker 2 segment Tuesday. 76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington joins the Morning Show on Wednesday, with 51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego joining the program Thursday. All interviews will be at 8:20 am on KVOE and KVOE.com. Audio will be placed in the KVOE.com Audio Vault as well.
