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    Kan. lawmakers expect to debate immigration again

    nebraska.tv
    The Associated Press
    Updated: Dec 31, 2011 1:25 PM EST

    TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislators can't avoid a debate on illegal immigration after they open their annual session Jan. 9.

    Kris Kobach, an architect of get-tough proposals across the nation, serves as secretary of state, and fellow conservative Republicans are eager to raise the issue.

    But even Kobach acknowledges that his home state's lawmakers are likely to concentrate on familiar proposals rather than move as aggressively as legislators did in 2011 in Alabama, which claims the nation's toughest immigration law.

    Instead, Kansas legislators are expected to consider a measure requiring government contractors to use the federal E-Verify system to check the status of their workers.

    Another proposal would direct law enforcement officers to check the status of people they suspect of being illegal immigrants after stopping them for other reasons.

    http://www.nebraska.tv/story/1642283...igration-again
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    Redistricting likely to complicate Kansas session

    washingtonexaminer.com
    By: JOHN HANNA
    Associated Press
    01/02/12 11:43 AM

    The Kansas Legislature's coming annual session promises to be memorable because of the ambitious agenda already outlined by Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative Republican allies' desire to pursue social issues such as abortion and immigration.

    But lawmakers also must tackle the complicated issue of redistricting, which tends to increase political and personal tensions and could make it difficult to wrap up the session on time. The once-in-a-decade redrawing of legislative and congressional districts is done after each census to adjust for population shifts.

    History suggests a monster session is on the way. The state constitution specifies 90-day sessions, but it's often been more of a psychological barrier than a practical one, because lawmakers have the authority to extend their time. During redistricting in 1992, they went to 100 days, and in 2002, the session stretched to a record 107 days.

    Since then, legislative leaders have modified session schedules so that more of the 90 days they normally schedule are left for the wrap-up. But this year's conclusion could rival 2002's, with Brownback's agenda including taxes, school finance, public pension changes and overhauling the state's Medicaid program.

    "We've got a really big agenda, one of the biggest, most aggressive in decades," Brownback said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

    The Legislature's session last year was significant for members' struggle to balance the budget and Brownback's insistence in his first months in office that the state needed to tackle the escalating costs of Medicaid and public pensions. The election of Brownback, a Republican and a strong abortion opponent, also guaranteed the enactment of anti-abortion measures that had been vetoed by his predecessors.

    Amid the hurly-burly, some House members contemplated cutting this year's session down to 80 days, partly as a symbolic gesture in difficult financial times. Legislative leaders are now anticipating the traditional 90 days, though their staff acknowledges lawmakers might stretch it past 95 days.

    Last year, legislators had a long 16-day wrap-up in late April and early May to finish the bulk of their business in 90 days, adding a short 91st day when the House rejected some members' attempt to override Brownback's veto of funding for the Kansas Arts Commission.

    Brownback was content last year with kicking off debates on school finance and tax policy. This year, he's pushing a proposal to rewrite the school funding formula and he's expected to outline a plan for reducing the state's top individual income tax rates after the session opens Jan. 9.

    State law also requires lawmakers to consider a commission's proposal for moving toward a 401(k)-style plan for new teachers and government workers. A study on the issue was done last year.

    And the governor's agenda includes a revision of the state's traditional "use it or lose it" policy on allocating annual water rights to give farmers and other holders of water rights more flexibility in how much they use from year to year. Brownback believes such a change will encourage conservation.

    "It will be a real challenge to be able to get the redistricting process completed along with the other issues the governor has put on the table within the time that's allotted," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat.

    The Legislature's session also will be crowded by issues that aren't on Brownback's agenda. Conservative Republicans want to revisit illegal immigration and pass more abortion restrictions, while Democrats want to revise the state's 2007 gambling law to make good on promises of a casino in southeast Kansas and slot machines at dog and horse tracks.

    At least a few lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, contend redistricting shouldn't overly complicate the session. O'Neal sees it as a "self-contained task."

    But the speaker also acknowledges such statements can seem naïve.

    Some tensions in redistricting are regional, with rural areas attempting to minimize their loss of clout in the Legislature while Johnson County gains seats. Some tensions are partisan, with Democrats worrying about the designs of large Republican majorities and a GOP governor.

    Tensions within the Republican party also can influence redistricting as many moderate GOP incumbents are likely to face primary challenges from conservatives bent on taking control of the Senate.

    The process can get personal, too.

    "Individual legislators tend to look at it as, well does that mean I can get elected easily, or not elected easily? Does that complicate things for me?" said Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican.

    With so many competing interests in the mix, this year's session has a good chance of slipping into overtime.

    ____

    EDITOR'S NOTE: John Hanna has covered Kansas politics and government since 1987.

    Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2...#ixzz1iKwQEX4B
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