Morgan Chilson | Kansas Reflector

Kansas utility regulators are weighing the benefits and costs of approving construction of a $493 million transmission line that would travel through four southwest counties.

An audit of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program usage, conducted by the Legislative Post Audit Department, found that between $700,000 and $1.2 million in federal fiscal years 2023 and 2024 may have been paid to recipients living outside Kansas.

Two Kansas medical professionals sat for an hour at an early morning committee hearing in mid-March, waiting their turn to speak out against a bill. One drove two hours to attend. Neither got a chance to talk.

HB 2346 would have established the new grant program at the Kansas Department of Commerce to provide dollar-for-dollar matching grants to support sports tourism events.

The Kansas Legislature approved a provision to clamp down on public school protests by requiring students to receive parental permission before participating, and hitting districts with penalties as high as $100,000 per day for failing to enforce restrictions.

Gov. Laura Kelly signed the state budget, House Bill 2513, but vetoed line items, including sections that addressed assessment tests and how scores are set for Kansas students.

The bill makes it a misdemeanor crime to go within 25 feet of a first responder while they are working. A violation can result in a fine up to $1,000 and jail term of up to six months.

Kelly signed House Bill 2528, a controversial bill that rolls back nonpractice disciplinary actions after some former nurses testified they were punished for simple administrative errors.

As it prepared for the second year, a meeting scheduled with Department of Energy contractors during President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January was cancelled.

The resolution, which would have been on the August ballot for voters to decide, limits the assessed valuation of residential, commercial, and agricultural property from jumping more than 9% in any one year.