Stateline Headlines

Attorneys General Prepare to Defend Controversial Laws

State attorneys general are about to head to court to defend controversial state laws. Are they required to defend laws that might not survive legal scrutiny?

Logan elected chair, Wilk elected vice chair of Kansas Board of Regents

Kansas lawmakers agree to issue biodefense lab bonds

Education spending, state worker pay cap hold up Kansas budget negotiations

Top Kansas House Democrat: Staffer faces discipline over tweets

Budget provision would block state funding for Common Core standards

Foreign Law Bans: Political Statement or Unconstitutional?

State lawmakers are focused on keeping U.S. courts away from the influence of foreign law. But does banning all foreign law go too far?

Bill eases land-use rules near historic sites

New judicial-selection plan fails

Higher education officials say concealed carry on campus probably inevitable in the future

Possible Kansas tax compromise in the works

End the secrecy in criminal cases in Kansas

State Board hears opposition to Common Core Standards

Conservatives at odds over budget, taxes as wrap-up session drags on

Court and legislators spar over Kansas judicial selection

Kansas education official defends use of racial slur

KU may get money it didn’t ask for, but not what it wanted

Brownback, GOP leaders defend private talks on tax plan, budget

Brownback: Private GOP tax talks ‘going well’

State education board may seek attorney general’s opinion on ‘innovative districts’ law

New plan for Kansas judiciary selection emerges

Kansas advocacy group files lawsuit to force AG to release information about tobacco funds

Kansas legislators part of recent national trend by states to change how judges selected

Many criminal records closed in Kansas

Analysis: Stalling is key part of strategy as Kansas Senate's leader pushes House on sales tax

Kansas lawmakers return for session's 80th day

Kansas Action for Children files lawsuit against Attorney General Derek Schmidt over settlement records

Kansas Republicans face tough spending and tax issues, and elections, for 2014

Republican freshman lawmakers in Kansas House undergo re-election briefing

Republicans push through proposal blocking the desires of advocates for the developmentally disabled

After hesitating, Kansas House panel OKs bonds for national biodefense lab

Lawmakers: KanCare for developmentally disabled or $4 million cut

Kan. Senate leader sees session going past 80 days

Kansas House, Senate far apart on tax issue as legislative wrap-up starts

Ralliers want to preserve current system of providing long-term services to those with disabilities

Kansas lawmakers hoping to resume tax negotiations

Budget focus

Kan. Democratic leaders say Brownback hasn't provided enough information about new NBAF bonds

Brownback concludes tour urging support of stable funding for higher education

Kansas lawmakers still pursuing judicial selection change

Deal on taxes and spending in Kansas could be near

Brownback’s sales tax increase is best of bad options

Kan. Supreme Court soliciting applications for advisory committee on child support guidelines

Advocates for those with developmental disabilities applaud Brownback’s funding proposal, urge withdrawal of KanCare plan

What the Oregon experiment says about Obamacare

74% of lobbyist spending on Kansas lawmakers unaccounted for

About 100 people rally against policies of Brownback and legislative majority

Revenue secretary says tax cuts are working

Governor, lawmakers considering whether to keep planned Kansas sales tax cut

Missouri, Kansas lawmakers face furious debates over alcohol regulation

Ill-advised appeal

After Expanding Coverage, Health Care Pioneer Seeks to Tame Costs

The Affordable Care Act will extend health care coverage to almost everybody. Now states are moving on to the next frontier in health care reform: containing costs. Once again, Massachusetts is taking the lead by putting its health care industry on an annual budget and requiring all insurers and medical providers to make detailed price lists available to the public.

In Drought Ravaged Plains, Efforts to Save a Vital Aquifer

The Ogallala Aquifer, which feeds some of the world’s most productive croplands, is running dry.

Maryland Repeals Death Penalty, Sixth State in Six Years

Maryland became the sixth state in as many years to repeal the death penalty. But the fate of the state’s five remaining death row inmates is up to Governor Martin O'Malley.

Issue To Watch: School Testing

A number of states are pushing to up the stakes on reading tests for younger students and assign letter grades to schools.

Hard Realities on the Environmental Disaster Front

After another year marked by expensive and deadly disasters, states all over the country are still picking up the pieces from what Mother Nature wrought in 2012. But they confront equally sobering expectations for 2013.

Issue To Watch: Immigration

Long-bottled-up bills that address state policies on whether to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students could become law this year, because of changes in party control of legislative chambers and changes in federal policy.

GOP Lawmakers Look to Abolish Income Taxes

Republican lawmakers in several states are taking aim at something no state has done in more than three decades: eliminate income taxes.

Kansas State of the State Address 2013

TOPEKA, Kansas -- Jan. 15 -- Following is the prepared text of Gov. Sam Brownback's 2013 State of the State Address:

Kansas Cuts to Education Unconstitutional, Court Rules

A three-judge panel on Friday said the state was shortchanging its students about $400 million each year — money it must find to comply with the constitutional mandate.

Brownback's Dilemma: How to Balance the Kansas Budget After Massive Tax Cuts

Kansas made a big gamble last year that huge income tax cuts would eventually bring prosperity. Right now, though, they’re causing painful decisions.

State School Funds On Trial, Again

Texas, Colorado, Kansas and others will see action on school finance lawsuits next year, but it could be years before they make a difference in the classroom.

Oklahoma Among States Limiting Property Taxes

Lowering property taxes is always popular, and results from the November 6 elections show this year was no exemption

As Layoffs Mount, Governors Seek Support on Wind Tax Credit

With election season politics behind them, several governors are reapplying pressure on Congress to extend a tax credit whose looming expiration is stirring angst within the wind industry.

U of Kansas Turns to Legacies to Boost Enrollment

As the University of Kansas contends with four straight years of declining enrollment, school leaders and the alumni association hope to attract more “legacy” students, whose parents or grandparents attended the school.

Dam Inspectors Fear the Deluge

Each year, more dams in the United States show signs of disrepair. Meanwhile, the money to fix them grows harder to find.

Kansas Attorney General Wants Return of “In Cold Blood” Evidence

Kansas Attorney General Derek Smith on Monday called for the return of the case file records, investigative reports and gruesome crime scene photographs related to the 1959 murders of Holcomb, Kansas farmer Herb Clutter, his wife and two children, the subject of Truman Capote’s classic book “In Cold Blood.”

Wind Subsidies Raise a Storm in Heartland States

Wind-energy has been a booming industry in many states the past few years. But the federal tax credits that have helped fuel that growth is likely to disappear in a few months.

Best of #StateReads: Ex-Parks Official Had Criminal Past

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Farmers, Frackers and Scarce Water

Hydraulic fracturing by energy drillers may not be the heaviest consumer of water on parched land. But environmentalists and some farmers are starting to worry about it.

Even in Hard Times, States Find It Difficult To Recruit Talent

As state government hiring picks back up, competing with the private sector for highly skilled workers is becoming a challenge for some agencies.

In Kansas Primary, Results Could Advance Governor’s Agenda

On a busy primary day in four states, conservatives in Kansas are looking to oust moderate Republicans, freeing up room for the governor to push his ambitious agenda.

Best of #StateReads: California Parks Director Resigns After Budget Revelations

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Art for the Economy’s Sake

After years of budget cuts, state funding for the arts is making a comeback.

Kansas and Oklahoma Income Tax Cuts Won’t Reach Zero

Kansas may soon finish a large tax cut and Oklahoma is likely to approve a smaller one, but both will be short of some lawmakers’ initial aspirations: ending the income tax entirely.

Q&A With Outgoing Colorado Pension Chief: ‘The 401(k) Experiment Is a Failure’

After more than two decades heading public employee pension systems in Colorado and Kansas, Meredith Williams says Americans are woefully underprepared for retirement.

In Kansas, a Redistricting Battle Like No Other

While nearly every other state is done with the once-a-decade redrawing of its political districts, Kansas Republicans can’t seem to come to an agreement.

Labor Shortages Lead Businesses to Support Help for Undocumented Workers

Business groups, especially in agriculture, are pushing several state measures to aid immigrant laborers who are in the country illegally. But many of those efforts are treading on uncertain legal ground.

Busy Brownback Agenda Running Into Problems in Kansas

TODAY'S TAKE: Legislative leaders from both parties are expressing doubts about Republican Governor Sam Brownback's proposals to cap state spending, overhaul the tax code and revamp school financing.

In Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback Drives a Rightward Shift

TOPEKA, Kansas - Republican Sam Brownback is pushing what may be the boldest agenda of any governor this year. In the process, he is setting up a showdown with moderates in his own party.

Kansas State of the State Address 2012

TOPEKA, Kansas — Jan. 11 — Following is the prepared text of Gov. Sam Brownback's (R) 2012 state of the state address Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Legislators, Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court leaders of Kansas sovereign Native American Nations,

Governors Preview Their 2012 Priorities

TODAY'S TAKE: From a constitutional amendment to expand gambling in Kentucky to creation of a health insurance exchange in Idaho, some governors are not waiting until 2012 to declare their agendas.

Protests Mark Child Poverty Forums in Kansas

SOCIAL POLICY BEAT: Holding town hall meetings on ways to reduce childhood poverty might seem unlikely to offend anyone. But don't tell that to the folks in Kansas.

Medicaid Directors to Feds: Give States Flexibility

HEALTH BEAT: In a new report, the leaders of state Medicaid programs say federal rules discourage them from experimenting with ideas that could save money and improve care.

Only Kansas Defunded the Arts, National Group Finds

TODAY'S TAKE: States took a variety of steps to cut their budgets this year, but Kansas was the only one to eliminate all state support for the arts, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Report: Six States Changing the Way Health Care is Governed

HEALTH BEAT: Fiscally strapped states are using more managed care, cutting doctors' fees and limiting drugs and medical services to contain rising Medicaid costs. A few are taking a broader approach to health care spending.

Abortion Laws Blocked in Indiana, Kansas and South Dakota

SOCIAL POLICY BEAT: States enacted a record number of restrictions on abortion this year, but some of the most-closely watched new laws are on hold until the courts determine if they are legal.

Maryland Bridge Tolls Could Double

TRANSPORTATION BEAT: Maryland officials are considering higher bridge tolls for the first time since 1975 ... Michigan revisits its motorcycle helmet law … Connecticut's governor finds out that the public loves highway rest stops, and other transportation news.

Budget Cuts Hitting Poor in Unusual Ways

SOCIAL POLICY BEAT: As more legislatures finish their budgets, programs that help the poor in Kansas and Florida are among those getting scaled back or eliminated altogether.

New Governors Drive to Reorganize Agencies

An unusually high number of states are debating merging the functions and offices of state government. But consolidation is often easier to do on the organizational chart than it is in real life.

Planned Parenthood Fight Shifts to States

TODAY'S TAKE: Governor Mitch Daniels will decide within the next week whether Indiana will become the first state to cut off all government funding for Planned Parenthood. Kansas could approve a similar measure soon.

Road Funding a Big Issue in Contest for Governor of West Virginia

TRANSPORTATION BEAT: Highways emerge as a crucial topic in West Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial primary … Atlanta area officials have a long wish list of transit projects … Kansas and Texas move forward with plans for higher speed limits, and other transportation news.

Where Labor is Weak, State Workers Face Huge Cutbacks

As the nation debates collective bargaining in Wisconsin, public workers in Alabama, Texas and many other states are fighting over massive pay cuts, huge increases in health premiums and basic civil service protections.

Health Exchange Head Start Reaps Dollars

Every state must have a health insurance exchange in operation by 2014. A few have received rewards for running ahead of schedule.

State Officials Try to Redefine 'Adequate' Education

EDUCATION BEAT: Kansas and New Hampshire look for a new definition of "adequate" public education ... An Indiana Senate committee advances a bill limiting collective bargaining for teachers ... Nevada's governor proposes cuts to higher education and K-12 budgets, and other education news.

Kansas State of the State Address 2011

TOPEKA, Kansas - Jan. 12 - Following is the prepared text of Gov. Sam Brownback's (R) 2011 state of the state address: "Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Minority Leaders Hensley and Davis, Mr. Chief Justice, legislators, justices, cabinet officers, elected officials, honored guests and my fellow Kansans: I understa

Secretaries of State Up the Political Ante

In most American states, the job of secretary of state has long been seen as a largely non-partisan post, invested for the most part with administrative and caretaker duties. A new crop of activists is working hard to change that.

Kansas' Brownback Hopes to Have a Charity Inaugural Ball

Kansas' incoming governor is stymied in efforts to hold a charity fund-raiser for his inaugural ball, California's new governor wants to scale back the state's Washington, D.C. office, and more news of the historic shift in power in the states.

New Year Brings Slew of New State Laws

New laws for 2011 include further state bans on the practice of texting while driving.

Republican to Advise Democrat Kitzhaber on Oregon Health Policy

TRANSITION WATCH: Oregon's new governor picks a Republican for a key post, Florida's incoming governor faces delays filling his administration, and more news of the historic shift in power in the states.