51st District Representative Ron Highland was the latest local lawmaker to join KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment and share his thoughts on the recent legislative session.
Overall Highland believes many matters were handled fairly including the new budget for the state. With that said, Highland states he does have a few concerns.
Highland also stated he is not in favor of Medicaid expansion, which did not see approval this session, in its current form. He explains a major reason for this is the economic impact it could have on the state of Kansas.
Highland does say he could be in favor of Medicaid expansion at a later time if the format is right. Highland also took time to discuss the proposed $90 million increase to school funding.
He feels the proposal is fair and properly meets the mandates set forth by the Kansas Supreme Court. However, not everyone agrees as after the bill was sent off earlier this session, Schools for Fair Funding stated the $90 million increase was not adequate and the number should be upwards of $900 million.
Highland says this number is not possible and would require the legislature to pull funds from other areas leading to major impacts in other departments. While he is confident the proposal will be approved, possibly as soon as Friday, he tells KVOE if it is not then a special session may be coming soon.
You can listen to the full interview with Representative Highland online in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
