Tag: Kansas state government
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Open records in Kansas not always so
Open records and meetings in Kansas are in the news.
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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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Earthjustice meddles in Kansas again
The radical environmentalist group Earthjustice is again meddling in Kansas energy policy. They’ve sent a “warning letter” to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
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Kansas open records law needs an overhaul
“An open and transparent government is essential to the democratic process. Under Kansas law, citizens have the right to access public records and observe many meetings where decisions are made that affect our state.” That quote is taken from the Kansas Attorney General’s web site. Unfortunately, the second sentence isn’t really true. Kansans may technically…
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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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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 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.
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Budget battles in Topeka
The following analysis by Flint Hills Center for Public Policy Fellow Jonathan Williams provides a useful summary of the past legislative session in Kansas regarding the budget. Now that lawmakers have left Topeka after adjourning the 2009 legislative session, we have some time to reflect on their actions.