Hateful lawmakers covet millions of dollars from hardworking Kansans to subsidize their contempt

Avery Holland, of Wichita, appears at a Feb. 6, 2026, legislative hearing at the Statehouse as part of a demonstration for trans rights. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas legislators have done a whole bunch of hating lately. And they want you to pay for it.

That’s the only conclusion after the past week at the Statehouse. Local governments have raised the alarm over the anti-trans “bathroom bill” passed by the House and Senate. The legislation imposes new responsibilities and liabilities on municipal governments without letting pesky details get in the way. Spencer Duncan, Topeka mayor and government affairs director for the League of Kansas Municipalities, said implementation could cost millions of dollars. That’s before the likely legal challenges.

Simultaneously, legislators want to erect a complex framework meant to deny poor people from accessing food and medical assistance. Senate Bill 363’s fiscal note estimates that such efforts will cost $17-18 million a year. (Yes, the bill had 40 opponents from Kansas and a single supporter — from Florida — but I can only deal with so many outrages at a time.)  

Here’s a question for Kansas lawmakers: Who pays for all of this new spending? You talk a big game about being responsible with taxpayer money. You talk about wanting to ease the burden on hardworking Kansans. So why are you picking our pockets to discriminate against others?

Lawmakers have a simple response to this dilemma. They dismiss the costs altogether.

“Quite frankly the fiscal note is, I guess we could say, hogwash,” said Sen. Doug Shane, R-Louisburg, about the family assistance restrictions. “There are just some pure fallacies.”

No doubt we could get better cost estimates. Perhaps if legislative leaders didn’t shove through rapidly changing legislation at a moment’s notice, hardworking staff would have more time to do a thorough job. Regardless, both bills will cost the state money that could have been used elsewhere.

Here’s a loathsome secret: House and Senate leaders value vengeance above all. They don’t like public schools. They don’t like public universities. They don’t like LGBTQ+ people. They don’t like poor people. They want everyone involved in those institutions and groups to suffer — no matter the cost.

 

Sen. Brad Starnes proposes a bill that would require a civics test before graduating high school. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Communist kids?

Kansas kids have a communism problem. At least that’s the issue reportedly addressed by Senate Bill 381, which calls for schools to teach K-12 students about ever-terrifying “communist and socialist regimes and ideologies,” as well as requiring students to pass a civics test to graduate.

State Sen. Brad Starnes, R-Riley, cited a string of odd statistics to support the legislation. As Grace Hills reported, he claimed that “19% of Americans under age 45 can pass the citizenship test, 34% of Americans ages 18-29 say they have a ‘favorable view’ of communism, and a rising number of Gen Z and millennials who believe the ‘Communist Manifesto’ guarantees freedom and equality better than the Declaration of Independence.”

Learning about different political systems and focusing on civics sounds fairly benign. But lawmakers also wasted time with absurd takes on public education, while trying to scare the constituents with the creaky specter of communism.

Time for some straight talk. Kansas legislators are the ones who repeatedly pass unconstitutional laws. And it’s Kansas young people who regularly and fervently show up to exercise their First Amendment rights at the Statehouse.

Looks to me like Kansas youths have a far better grasp on constitutional rights and responsibilities than lawmakers.

 

The Kansas Statehouse dome stands out above trees on Jan. 12, 2026. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Trumped up turnaround

We’ve arrived at the fabled turnaround week, which is either a pivot point in the Kansas legislative session or entirely meaningless.

I lean toward the second of those options.

The way the Legislature once worked, committees were supposed to hear bills in the first few weeks of the session. Bills would be advanced to the floors of their respective chambers. Once the House and Senate had their say, approved bills would head to the other chamber.

The House would then work on legislation passed by the Senate, and the Senate would work on legislation passed by the House. All neat and tidy right?

In reality, it’s not nearly so simple. Selected committees in each chambers can continue to consider bills, and legislation can be “blessed” by leaders, meaning it remains in play whether passed or not. Likewise, the gut-and-go process — in which leaders stuff new text into an already-passed bill — means that any policy can be in play up until the final minutes of the session.

In other words, don’t get your hopes up. Turnaround isn’t the beginning of the end. It’s not even the end of the beginning.

 

Simple statement

I haven’t been in the Statehouse often these last couple of weeks because of work on my upcoming book. See the last installment of Statehouse Scraps to learn about that.

But sometimes a social media post comes across your mobile device and summarizes those weeks better than thousands of words. Here’s how House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, D-Lenexa, summed up proceedings last week.

The @KSHouseDems are fighting to feed hungry kids in Appropriations Committee while Republicans on the committee think kids are fraudsters. That, alone, should tell you everything you need to know. #ksleg

— Brandon Woodard (@Woodard4Kansas) February 13, 2026

 

Kansas Reflector editor Sherman Smith and senior reporter Morgan Chilson appear at a Nov. 7, 2025, town hall in Hiawatha. (Photo by Jessica Tufts for Kansas Reflector)

Leavenworth welcome

Thanks to the fantastic folks of Leavenworth for welcoming us to their fair city last Wednesday. We spoke to around 50 residents at the Home2 Suites hotel.

The audience asked a variety of well-informed questions, including ones about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities, bipartisan cooperation in the Legislature and the upcoming constitutional amendment vote on judicial selection. If you want to see a video of our appearance, it should be posted online soon.

Thanks again to the League of Women Voters of Leavenworth County for the invitation. If anyone else wants us to come and speak to their civic organization, please send editor in chief Sherman Smith an email.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.