Who should control the Kansas Highway Patrol? Some lawmakers say Kris Kobach.

A pair of Republican lawmakers are crafting a move to shift control of the embattled Kansas Highway Patrol from the governor to incoming Attorney General Kris Kobach, pointing to declining recruiting classes and a series of lawsuits challenging current agency leadership.

Changing control of the agency, however, would almost certainly prompt a major fight, with Kelly standing by current Superintendent Herman Jones amid the flood of allegations and discontent with his leadership of the statewide policing agency.

A federal lawsuit filed in 2020 by numerous current and former female employees alleged a hostile environment, sex discrimination and leadership retaliations against male officers who attempted to stand up for the women.

More:Female Kansas Highway Patrol staff allege harassment, retaliation in latest lawsuit against agency

Jones was personally implicated in the lawsuit, with one employee alleging he touched her shoulders and shook her before singing “shake it for me.” In a separate incident, the woman said Jones put his hand on her back and asked “Does this make you feel uncomfortable?”

A separate lawsuit from two male leaders in the agency said they were fired for helping female troopers report a hostile work environment, though a legislative audit later found no issues in how the two majors were fired.

And another trooper who claimed he was fired as retaliation for supporting female troopers had his dismissal overturned by the Kansas State Civil Service Board in August after he was allegedly let go because of his conduct during a vehicle pursuit.

Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, a former Kobach campaign staffer, said he has been personally contacted by KHP staff after sharing social media posts criticizing the current state of affairs at the agency, with troopers alleging other forms of intimidation and retaliation.

The agency's culture, he said, has caused recruiting to diminish sharply. A representative from the agency told lawmakers earlier this year that the agency had 78 sworn positions and 16 civilian positions vacant.

"I don’t think it has anything to do with just morale," Major Andrew Dean said. "I think it might be a small group of people who have issues. I think it has less to do with the negative news media and what is happening."

Claeys disagreed, noting that in the span of a few months, the number of new recruits in the latest class of trooper graduates has bottomed out to its lowest point ever.

More:Kansas Highway Patrol trooper suing agency placed on administrative leave; no reason given

"The excuses just simply aren't holding water," he said. "We have another reason. And that reason is that the leadership has been failing at the Kansas Highway Patrol."

Sean McCauley, an attorney for the Kansas State Troopers Association, the union representing state troopers, said the group still wants "Governor Kelly to intervene and make those necessary changes herself" to agency leadership.

"But if she fails to take such necessary action, the KSTA will carefully review any option to effectuate change, whether that is removing the appointment from the Governor or other possible legislative remedies," McCauley said in an email.

Lawmakers say they would back off push if KHP superintendent steps down

Claeys and Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, chair of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, are pledging to hold hearings on the state of the agency and are in the process of drafting legislation that could give Kobach power over the agency.

One version of the bill would shift the KHP fully under the control of the attorney general, leaving it in a position similar to that of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Another option would be to give Kobach power to hire and fire the superintendent for as long as Kelly remains in office.

Lawmakers also could insert a policy provision in the KHP budget changing the agency's control.

Claeys said he would back off the push if Jones were to step down, giving officials the option of working together with the Highway Patrol to address the agency's struggles, something he said happened when former Superintendent Mark Bruce took over for Ernest Garcia in 2015.

Owens did say he felt the plan made a certain degree of sense, regardless of the state of agency leadership.

More:Does Kansas government pay workers enough? Salary survey says no, at least for most jobs.

"It makes sense to move the other law enforcement agency underneath there, regardless of the leadership changes. I mean, I think there's a valid case to be made there," Owens said. "However, priority one by far is ensuring that the agency has new leadership and gets back on track."

A spokesperson for Kelly did not respond directly to the potential plan or comment on Jones' future with the agency.

"The Kansas Highway Patrol is a valued part of the Kelly administration and will continue to be throughout her time as governor," spokesperson Zach Fletcher said in an email.

Any measure to remove the KHP from Kelly's power would almost certainly be met with a veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to override. In a statement, incoming House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said "the House intends to fully dig into the Kelly administration’s mismanagement of the Kansas Highway Patrol."

"Based on the findings of the review, the legislature will consider all potential courses of action to ensure the mismanagement of the KHP does not continue," Hawkins said.

Democrats have framed the move as a mistake, arguing Kobach should not be given control over the law enforcement agency. Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, pointed to Kobach's past experience as secretary state, where he prosecuted over a dozen voter fraud cases, as example he was not to be trusted with this potentially newfound power.

"In essence, Kris Kobach through his appointee has the authority to write traffic tickets," Carmichael said. "But also has the authority to station a highway patrol car outside an abortion clinic to look for Oklahoma tags ... this could have some catastrophic consequences."

More:Kansas troopers endorse Derek Schmidt for governor as KHP leadership embroiled in scandal

A better idea, Carmichael said, would be to wait and see if Jones steps down as Kelly's administration transitions into a second term. Two of Kelly's cabinet secretaries have already resigned ahead of her January inauguration.

"I think those matters will probably resolve themselves in due course, and hopefully fairly soon, and the superintendent will be able to retire," he said.

Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Highway Patrol control could move from governor to Kris Kobach