Interesting developments at the statehouse.

Interesting developments at the statehouse.  

Constitutional convention?

The House today sent to a final action vote Monday-but on a weak 77-44 vote a message to Congress that Kansas wants the federal government to authorize a national convention to update the U.S. Constitution and "impose limits on the federal government."

The 77 votes for the measure are telling, because it will require 84 votes to be adopted on final action. The opposition was the entire 27-member Democratic caucus of the House and 17 Republicans. That additional 7 votes for passage may be hard to round up for the letter to Congress.

The measure drew stout praise from generally Republicans who believe the Congress will authorize the constitutional convention to remove its powers over the state, while Democrats wondered whether the expanding reach of the federal government over states is similar to the expanding regulation of local units of government by the Legislature.

In the Senate, a measure that would establish, after July 1, a procedure for school districts to hold an election to make sure that at least a majority of professional employees want to be represented by a specific union. If the union currently representing teachers can't muster that majority vote, it ceases to be the bargaining agent for those employees.

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Ty Dragoo
United Transportation Union - SMART
Kansas Legislative Director
523 SW VanBuren Suite 100
Topeka, Kansas 66603
Phone  785.286.7527
Fax       785.286.7521
Email    ty@smartks.org