Category: Kansas state government
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Clarifications to Kansas unencumbered fund balances report
Last week the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy released a groundbreaking research report detailing the several billion dollars hidden away in Kansas state government funds. My reporting on this, along with links to the study document, is at Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances. There’s been a bit of pushback. Some officials have said…
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Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances
The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has released research that shows that the state of Kansas has large unencumbered balances, representing excess funds needlessly collected from Kansans in the form of taxes and fees. The numbers are staggering, with over 1,600 state funds holding between $2 billion and $3 billion in excess balances, depending…
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Schodorf introduced bill to reduce notice of some bond sales
Kansas Senator Jean Schodorf, who is considering a run for the United States Congress, doesn’t have much regard for citizens’ right to know of impending sales of municipal bonds.
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Jean Schodorf a candidate for Congress?
I just received a tweet from Jean Schodorf, a Republican member of the Kansas Senate from northwest Wichita: “JeanSchodorf Special announcement regarding 4th Congressional District, 2day from 12-1 @ the Midtown Resource Center. 1150 N. Broadway. Lunch Provided”
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Josh Svaty named Secretary of Agriculture
Today Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson appointed Josh Svaty, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives as acting agriculture secretary. Svaty is a Democrat from Ellsworth.
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Who will watch for Kansas minimum wage victims?
Today, the new Kansas minimum wage law takes effect. It’s likely that as employers are required to pay their workers more, some will lose their job. So now minimum wage supporters have a duty to perform. They need to watch for people who may lose their job and for companies that may close due to…
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Kansas’ tax system is broken, according to spending advocates
According to Gary Brunk, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, the Kansas tax system is broken. It’s the same message you hear from other organizations that depend on state funding, such as the public school spending lobby. In their eyes, the problem that needs fixing is that Kansans aren’t taxed enough to support their…
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Kansas alternative media discussed on Kansas Week
Bob Weeks discusses the difficulty of alternative media obtaining press credentials at the Kansas Legislature. From the KPTS public affairs television program Kansas Week on June 26, 2009.
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Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access
The issuance of legislative press credentials is handled, in alternating years, by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House. This year is the Senate President’s year. So in March I stopped by the office of the President of the Senate, and upon making my inquiry I was told by a staff member that…
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Kansas Action for Children calls for tax increase
Reporting by Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy shows Kansas Action for Children (KAC) calling for higher taxes on Kansans. Soutar cites a KAC report: “The long-term solution to avoid increasing budget gaps is to update and modernize the Kansas tax system in a way that accurately reflects the current economy…
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Kansas loses private sector jobs as government grows
Today the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy reports on the rapid growth in government jobs in Kansas. This is taking place at a time when the private sector is rapidly shedding jobs. “Kansas continues to lose jobs in the private sector as the number of government employees grows. According to the U.S. Bureau of…
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Flint Hills Center expands staff
The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy in Wichita announces that it has hired a person to assume the role of Vice President of Advancement and Marketing. This is the second major expansion of staff this year at the Flint Hills Center.