Tag: Kansas legislature
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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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In Anaheim, I am the press
In Kansas, alternative media outlets like this blog can’t get the same level of access that traditional media has in the Kansas statehouse. My post Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access gives details.
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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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Audit report reveals important questions
Do some school districts spend your dollars more efficiently than others, and if so, how can the others catch up? An auditing office in Kansas state government started to look at these questions. But what it did not ask — and in some cases, was not allowed to ask-is just as interesting, if not troubling.
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Faust-Goudeau’s concern selective
In today’s Wichita Eagle, Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate representing parts of north-central and northeast Wichita, writes this in a letter to the editor: I would like to commend Mayor Carl Brewer and the Wichita City Council for having the courage to vote down a rate increase for water and sewer…
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Moving Kansas schools from monopoly to free choice
Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has released a report that tells how Kansas could get better value for the money the state spends on K-12 education. Charter schools and school choice programs could — if not for opposition from the existing public school lobby and teachers unions — provide flexibility…
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Oklahoma tinkers with petition law; Kansas has none
Sometimes we in Kansas like to poke fun at our neighbors to the south in Oklahoma. I’m sure they do the same to us. But one way in which Oklahoma has Kansas beat is in Oklahoma citizens’ ability to petition their government through the process of initiative and referendum. It’s not possible to do this…
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Kansas school spending lobby pot calls kettle black
After the 2009 Kansas Legislature ended its session in May (notwithstanding the formal closing in June), the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) produced a document wrapping up the session and setting the stage for the future. Kansans need to be aware of the agenda of this organization and its allied school spending…
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$29 cut marks end of Kansas school spending rise
Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy reports on the rapid rise in Kansas school spending, and what may be in store for the future.
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Kansas historic tax credits should end
The Wichita Business Journal reports that without historic tax credits, some redevelopment projects might stop. In other words — the Business Journal isn’t quite so blunt — if taxpayers don’t give developers money, some of their projects might not be economically feasible. Or so the developers say.