PBS funds, tax cuts, porn ban: Stories from Kansas legislative session still unfolding

Lawmakers returns to the Kansas Statehouse on June 18 for a special session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Statehouse scraps

Opinion editor Clay Wirestone’s roundup of legislative flotsam and jetsam. Read the archive.

During the rush of the Kansas Legislature’s annual session, stories whip in and out of view like so many SUVs ignoring the speed limit on the turnpike.

With the 2024 session done and dusted, we can now take a look at how a handful of those stories played out beyond the headlines. And for that purpose, I’m resurrecting my trusty Statehouse scraps column. Buckle yourselves in as we fire up the engine, rev the accelerator and head onto the open road.

PBS funding

Back in February, legislators flirted with the idea of cutting $50,000 from Kansas’ already paltry half-million-dollar allocation for public broadcasting. A broadcast of LGBTQ-rights documentary “No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas” had angered state Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker.

Shortly after I identified the documentary in a column (lawmakers refused to do so during hearings), the Senate Ways and Means Committee restored the funding. Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, even suggested adding $200,000 to the total.

“During our little problem with our budget, I’ll give them cuts for that there,” she said, deftly understating the pain of former governor Sam Brownback’s tax experiment. “But today we’re not having problems.”

Wouldn’t you know it, the budget as passed now boasts a whopping $700,000 for public media.

You don’t often see a happy ending in this business, so I’m glad to bring you one here. A tip of the Wirestone fedora to those who realized the potential for Kansas looking terrible in this situation and reversed course with alacrity.

Porn ban

Speaking of former column subjects, I tackled the state’s misguided online age-verification bill in April. That required adult website to screen out minors — while applying an outdated obscenity statute that makes depictions of same-sex couples even holding hands illegal.

That was bad enough, but now that the bill has become law, it’s pretty clear that lawmakers intended to simply ban pornography. Leading adult website PornHub (among others) has blocked users from Kansas, refusing to even try to comply with the law’s restrictions.

None of this will stop people looking at pornography, of course. It simply means they will do so through dodgier websites, VPNs or other methods. Because prohibition has always worked so well in our nation’s past.

Best friends forever

Republican state Sen. Dennis Pyle ran against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in 2020. But the two sure looked chummy in photos from her ceremonial signing of the special session’s tax cut package.

Pyle stood alongside Kelly back in January when she unveiled her own tax plan and proved a dependable ally throughout the session. This likely didn’t endear him to GOP colleagues, many of whom still nurse a grudge over his independent gubernatorial bid (they believe it threw the election to Kelly, even though she won by a larger margin than Pyle’s vote total).

Whatever the case, Pyle reaped the reward of Kelly’s kind words in Hiawatha and Holton.

Pyle “stuck with me to sustain those vetoes until we got a package that really eliminated the Social Security tax and some other things, but also left enough in the coffers for us to be able to pay our bills and fully fund our schools,” the governor said.

Masterson grumbles

The Kansas Supreme Court kept up its support of abortion rights last week with twin decisions striking down anti-choice bills passed by the Kansas Legislature.

Senate President Ty Masterson had to weigh in, blasting out a press release.

“Today’s decisions are not surprising, but nonetheless shocking in terms of their long-term consequences,” Masterson said. “Over the course of three decades, the people’s elected representatives have passed common-sense protections for women and the unborn supported by bi-partisan supermajorities and the vast majority of Kansans.”

Huh. As I recall, the vast majority of Kansans voted in favor of women making their own reproductive health decisions. Someone should ask Masterson about that when he runs for governor.

Marion County

The shocking raid on the Marion County Record newsroom on Aug. 11, 2023, was a nationwide story. Officials appear to have abused their power in a vendetta against the newspaper owner and his staff.

Dueling resolutions in the Kansas Legislature would have put lawmakers on the record, supporting a free press. As we reported in late February, neither of the resolutions had gained much traction.

After that story, nothing changed. Neither the Kansas Senate nor the Kansas House spoke up for the free press.

The story continues, however. Former reporter Deb Gruver has settled with former Marion police chief Gideon Cody for $235,000. And we’re still waiting for word from the special prosecutors in the case about what charges — if any — may be brought against either the newspaper or those who so grossly mishandled last summer’s raid.

Which word

Last week, I wrote a column about the challenges faced by news outlets in Kansas and the United States. My headline: “Democracy’s warning signs flash ‘emergency’ as newsrooms shudder in Kansas and nationwide.”

Almost from the moment the article appeared online, I heard from readers via email and social media. They all wanted to know whether I had meant to use the word “shutter” instead.

This makes a certain amount of sense. “Shutter,” when used as verb, can mean to close. But as I wrote these correspondents, and as I tell you now, I meant to use the word “shudder.” Only one news outlet mentioned in the article had closed. The others faced reductions or challenges, but remain open. Indeed, the point of my column was to encourage readers to support these outlets so they don’t, well, shutter.

The intended reading of the headline was that newsrooms felt a slight shiver at the prospect of further difficulties ahead

Anyhow. We now head out on the road to track candidates as they run for national, state and local office. Kansas primary day arrives Aug. 6. Keep watch, keep informed and keep reading.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

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