Kansas Rep Russ Jennings dies at age 66 after cancer diagnosis cjonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cjonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As cries of no justice, no peace and Black lives matter once again rang out in streets across the country this summer, policymakers were faced with the most intense calls yet to increase racial equity in policing.
Kansas was not immune to those discussions in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minn., police. Protests followed in Topeka, Wichita and scores of other communities, as residents again sought changes in their backyards and across the state.
Whether state legislators will consider advancing aggressive reforms favored by those activists, however, remains unclear. And some changes, like alterations to how police departments are funded, can only be pursued at the local level.
The Kansas Legislature will kick off its session Monday afternoon for what is sure to be a session like no other. Following off an unprecedented year and amid a pandemic, there will be many issues lawmakers will have to tackle.
With a supermajority, Kansas Republicans will have a massive say in what will be brought up or not. Here are seven major issues that could be of noteworthy attention.
State budget
The state’s multi-billion-dollar spending document is always tough to wrangle, but that difficulty will be magnified this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding effect on state finances.