News from Kansas Senator Elaine Bowers
2023 Senate Scene Week Eight & Nine
SENATE HIGHLIGHTS
Senate Committees continued to review bills sent over from the House, and we had two days of General Orders this week in the Senate. As we work through committee bills on the floor, we will also begin to have Conference Committee reports to vote on. A Conference Committee is a small, bipartisan, and bicameral committee that works to smooth out the differences between the House’s and Senate’s versions of a similar bill. Once the Conference Committee comes to a compromise, the committee’s version of the bill will be sent to both the House and the Senate for a final vote before advancing the bill to the Governor’s desk.
SENATE FLOOR ACTION
HB 2184 would shift the deposit of docket fees previously credited to the Judicial Council Fund to the State General Fund. Currently, the Judicial Council receives 0.99 percent of docket fees. The bill would remove statutory provisions that direct the State Treasurer to credit 0.99 percent of revenues from docket fees to the Judicial Council Fund. HB 2184 passed 35-3. I voted yes.
HB 2238 also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, would create the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (Act) and require interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by public educational entities or any school or private postsecondary educational institution whose students or teams compete against a public educational entity to be expressly designated based on biological sex. HB 2238 passed 28-11. I voted yes.
SB 114 would define advanced recycling and related terms and provide exemptions to solid waste management systems and similar terms. SB 114 passed 28-10. I voted no as this process is already occurring in Kansas under KDHE rules and bonding requirements - this bill would carve out advanced recycling from under the current laws all Kansas recyclers must follow, including mechanical recycling (tire recycling).
Full texts of the bills, supplemental notes, and the Final Action vote on these measures can be found at www.kslegislature.org.
PAGES FOR THE SENATE – March 8 and 9
On March 8th, Lexi Smith from Belleville and Kryslynn Carlson from Scandia; and on March 9th, Bricen Benyshek, Paige McWhorter, Isabelle Plush, David Schmidt, and Qwinter Thrash from Concordia were pages for the Kansas Senate. The pages spent their day with us at the Capitol, running errands, working in my office, attending committee meetings, and taking a historical tour of the Capitol and the dome tour.
FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE – Scott Schwab
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
March is Women’s History Month – an opportunity to recognize women’s contributions to our state and nation. Kansas women were at the suffrage movement's frontlines and helped secure voting rights for women in Kansas before the national movement. Elwill M. Shanahan was the first female Kansas Secretary of State from 1966 to 1978. Secretary Shanahan was the first woman to hold a position in the constitutionally elected branch of the Kansas government and the second female president of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 1975. Learn more about the women who paved the way for us through the Kansas Historical Society and Kansas State Department of Education.
One of the best ways to celebrate the suffrage movement is to register to vote. The following links are available to ensure you are prepared to participate in the upcoming municipal elections.
Volunteer in the 2023 elections
WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE
Kansas Legislature YouTube – Here you can follow the legislature live as it happens or access archives of past sessions and committee meetings.
Kansas Legislature Audio – Here you can listen in on session or committees when they are in session, or access prior committee meetings, as well.
Kansas Legislature website – www.kslegislature.org - has extensive information on legislators, committees, bills, and past sessions.
I appreciate all your calls, emails, and letters regarding your thoughts and concerns about happenings in Kansas. I always encourage you to stay informed of the issues under consideration by the Kansas Legislature. Committee schedules, bills, and other helpful information can be easily accessed through the legislature’s website at www.kslegislature.org. You are also able to ‘listen in live’ at this website. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. An email is the best at this point in the session.
Thank you for the honor of serving you!
Senator Elaine Bowers
Kansas State Capitol Building
Room 223-E
300 SW 10th St.
Topeka, KS 66612
785 296-7389
