WEEK ONE KANSAS LEGISLATURE REPORT by Chuck Weber, Kansas Catholic Conference

Dear reader, thank you for taking a few minutes to learn about what happened this past week at the Kansas legislature—YOUR Kansas legislature. 

We earnestly believe that the Catholic Church in Kansas has something very good and positive to offer in the public policy arena.  Our mission here is to pull back the curtain and explore issues from the Catholic viewpoint that you may not always hear about otherwise. That's not to say that as Catholics we shouldn't be interested in news stories from the so-called mainstream secular media. Some—even many—issues they cover we are also focused upon. But the simple fact is that the prism with which we review the work of the Kansas Legislature is different than what you'll get elsewhere. 

Here's a quick look at what happened last week, and a peak ahead.

TWO VISIONS OF THE "STATE OF THE STATE" OF KANSAS 

Democratic Governor Laura Kelly delivered her 8th and final "State of the State" address before a joint session (Senators and State Representative) of the Legislature. Like virtually every Governor before her, she proclaimed that Kansas has never been stronger.  She emphasized a desire for civility in public discourse, talked about the Kansas City Chiefs relocating to Kansas, taxes and a new centralized office for early childhood programs. You can read her speech here: Governor Kelly 2026 State of the State Address.  Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins delivered the Republican response that you can watch here:Speaker Hawkins Republican response.

DEFENDING THE INTEGRITY OF THE FAMILY

The struggle to defend the integrity of the family against the insidious LGBTQ+ gender ideology takes many forms in the policy and legislative arena. This past Tuesday, a hearing was held regarding updates to the Woemn's Bill of Rights, known as HB 2426.  This "fix it" legislation is intended to more clearly define the word "gender" in Kansas law to mean "sex." The legislation is needed due to court rulings and attempts by some to arbitrarily redefine their sex from male to female—or vice versa—on a Kansas driver's license. 

You can watch the entire hearing here: HB 2426 Hearing, starting at about the 10:40 mark with Attorney General Kris Kobach testifying at length and in person. You may be interested in hearing from Catholic physician Michelle Baalmann, M.D. and her testimony starting at about 1:03.00.  As Catholics, we know and believe from Scripture that we were all created as male or female in the image of God. Science tells us the same thing!  Lucrecia Nold from the Kansas Catholic Conference testified in favor of this bill. Her testimony can be viewed beginning at about 1:08.00.  We encourage you to watch the opponent's testimony that follows. This will give you an idea of the sort of misaligned thinking we face in the legislature regarding the integrity of the family and the holiness and goodness of human sexuality.

SAVE GIRLS SPORTS!      

Coincidentally, on the same day the KCC was testifying in support of HB 2426, a similar debate was unfolding in Washington, D.C. before the United States Supreme Court.  The Justices were hearing arguments regarding the protection of female athletes from so-called "trans" men athletes. Laws have been passed in several states, including Kansas, to ensure that biological males who claim to be female cannot compete in sports against biological girls. The KCC was proud to testify in support of the Kansas law, which could be impacted by the Supreme Court ruling.  You can read more details about this national case here: Save Girls Sports Alliance Defending Freedom

STUDENT CELL PHONE BAN IN ALL KANSAS SCHOOLS?     

Legislation intended to restrict the use of cell phones in Kansas schools took a step forward this past week. Here is the short explanation of SB 302 which had a hearing on Thursday in the Senate Education Committee: 

"Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices during instructional time and prohibiting any employee of a school district from using social media to directly communicate with any student for official school purposes."

The Kansas Catholic Conference stands in support of this legislation. Nearly all Kansas Catholic schools have had some sort of cell phone restriction in place for many years.  We are grateful that others, including many legislators and the Governor, see the benefit of this policy. 

But no legislation is perfect. One concern with SB 302 is that, for the purposes of the bill, the state government will be able to regulate activity in our Catholic schools. If this bill becomes law—and depending on the final version—it will not be the first time state government will have an enforceable mandate of some kind in Catholic schools.  Just last year, and over the objection and veto of Governor Kelly, legislators passed a law requiring that an age-appropriate science-based film accurately depicting the earliest stages of human life be shown in classrooms statewide. This mandate in the curriculum, sometimes called the Baby Olivia Video bill, included Catholic schools. The KCC supported this legislation. We will be watching the cell phone ban bill closely.

SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES AND STUDENTS

This could be the start of a big win for parents and families looking for help in choosing an education that best fits their students' unique needs. 

If passed, legislation known as HB 2468 will do two things:

• It will allow Kansans to "opt in" on a new federal program where each taxpayer can designate and donate up to $1700 of their federal tax responsibility to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) and get a tax credit for that donation. Those dollars can then be used to award scholarships to students attending non-public schools, or for public school students seeking additional academic assistance like tutoring, occupational, physical, behavioral or speech‑language therapy.

• Increases the amount statewide that can be donated to SGO's for the existing scholarship program where scholarships are awarded to students from low-income families. The current statewide "cap" on such donations—$10 million per year—has been reached. The cap has never been raised in 10+ years and the time is now.

Learn more about the new federal program, also known as the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) here: https://eccacredit.com/

Learn more about the existing Kansas low income tax credit scholarship program and why raising the cap is important here:  Kansas Low Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program

Tuesday, January 27 at 11:30 a.m. in the State Capitol: School Choice Rally.Kansas School Choice Rally | National School Choice Week

Tuesday, January 27 at noon, Assumption Mater Dei Catholic Church, directly north across from the Statehouse: The annual Red Mass with the Kansas Bishops. 

Wednesday, January 28: Ignite for Life Rally at 9 a.m., Mass for Life at 10:30 a.m. and the annual Kansas March for Life beginning at noon.

Do you know your legislators?  Each Kansan is represented in Topeka by a State Senator and a State Representative. Find your elected voice in Kansas State Government by going to this link: https://www.kansascatholic.org/issues/connect-with-your-legislators

For more frequent updates, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kscathconf/

Please pray for all of our elected officials. Please pray for the staff of the Kansas Catholic Conference. We seek to be one with the Catholic Bishops of Kansas and Catholics across Kansas. 

Until next time, we persevere!

Chuck Weber

Kansas Catholic Conference