Governor decries ‘distracting’ Kansas with ‘wedge issues’ in State of the State address

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly known as Tuesday for Kansas officers to cease distracting themselves with “wedge points” in schooling, sharply rebuking a Republican-controlled Legislature pursuing insurance policies catering to conservative mother and father sad with public faculties.

Kelly used her annual State of the State deal with to decry what she known as efforts to “flip mother and father towards academics” and “flip communities towards their faculties.” She wasn’t particular, however high Republicans have promised to pursue a number of concepts in vogue in GOP-led states, together with restrictions on what public Okay-12 faculties can train about gender and sexuality.

Republican lawmakers plan to pursue a measure to permit mother and father to assert tax {dollars} beforehand earmarked for public faculties to cowl non-public or house education prices. Iowa’s GOP-controlled Legislature authorised such a plan early Tuesday. Kelly strongly opposes the concept.

Kelly additionally toughened her tone in advocating for the legalization of marijuana for medical makes use of, calling the state’s present prohibition “ridiculous.” She highlighted the case of a terminally unwell man who had his northwestern Kansas hospital room raided by police as a result of he was utilizing marijuana extracts to ease his ache.

The Democratic governor’s powerful discuss on these points contrasted along with her extolling the pursuit of middle-of-the-road insurance policies elsewhere in Tuesday night’s deal with to a joint session of the Home and Senate. She additionally known as for continued bipartisanship within the inaugural deal with that opened her second, four-year time period earlier this month.

“All of us agree our youngsters do higher when mother and father and academics are concerned of their schooling,” Kelly mentioned within the ready textual content of her deal with. “So, quite than distracting ourselves with wedge points, let’s give attention to giving them the sources and help that they want.”

Kelly had been scheduled to provide the State of the State on Jan. 11 however examined constructive for COVID-19 the day earlier than, solely to be taught later it was a false constructive. Her workplace went forward with releasing her proposed $24.1 billion state funds for the 2024 fiscal 12 months starting July 1.

The state is flush with money, and Kelly already had proposed a collection of tax cuts, together with the elimination of the state’s 4% gross sales tax on groceries on April 1. Republican leaders are pushing a proposal to maneuver Kansas to a “flat” revenue tax, with one price every for particular person and company filers, as a substitute of three for people and two for companies.

Republicans outlined an agenda two weeks in the past that features measures common with GOP conservatives in quite a few different states, together with a ban on transgender athletes in women and girls’s Okay-12, membership and school sports activities. Kelly has vetoed two earlier proposals.

In Republicans’ official response, taped two weeks in the past, Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, mentioned that below Kelly, the state is on a path towards making Okay-12 faculties “into little greater than factories for a radical social agenda.” Masterson has mentioned he needs to pursue restrictions on how public faculties talk about gender and sexuality, like what critics name Florida’s “Don’t Say Homosexual” regulation.

Kelly declared: “Know this: I’ll oppose any efforts which can be designed to show mother and father towards academics, to show communities towards their faculties, to show younger folks away from the educating career.”

State Rep. Kristey Williams, a Wichita-area Republican chairing a Home committee on Okay-12 spending, mentioned she is engaged on a plan for schooling financial savings accounts for fogeys, utilizing tax {dollars}. Masterson mentioned the GOP will “give attention to college students, not legacy methods.”

“We wish top quality classical schooling that focuses on tutorial excellence, getting ready our youngsters for a profitable future, not the sexualized woke agenda we see permeating the system right now,” Masterson mentioned.

Kelly’s deal with got here solely hours after a whole lot of abortion opponents and parochial college college students rallied outdoors the Statehouse to mark final Sunday’s fiftieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade resolution, which the U.S. Supreme Courtroom overturned final 12 months. However Kansas anti-abortion teams suffered a decisive political loss in August, when a statewide vote strongly affirmed protections for abortion rights below the Kansas Structure.

Kelly applauded the August vote however did not point out abortion within the State of the State deal with. GOP lawmakers anticipate to push for tens of millions of {dollars} in new funding for anti-abortion being pregnant counseling facilities.

Home Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, opened his remarks on the anti-abortion rally with, “Good afternoon, God’s warriors!” and promised, “We are going to proceed to battle.”

Annually Kelly has been in workplace, she has known as on legislators to develop Medicaid as inspired by the 2010 federal Reasonably priced Care Act championed by former President Barack Obama. Republicans who strongly oppose the transfer have held sufficient key management jobs to dam growth, at the same time as voters in different Republican-leaning states have embraced it, together with Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Kelly additionally has pushed legislators to legalize marijuana for medical makes use of. Whereas the Home authorised a plan in 2021, it by no means had even a committee vote within the Senate.

“Daily, hundreds of Kansans are pressured to decide on between breaking the regulation and residing with out ache,” Kelly mentioned. “It’s an insufferable selection — and a fully pointless one.”

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