Dems contemplate 15-15 state senate split, rules to govern

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff

Despite rumblings behind the scenes between Republicans and Democrats about a tied Senate, leaders said their focus remains on the majority, and Epstein noted that a tie would require a rewrite of the chamber’s rulebook. Epstein said it is “to be expected” that lawmakers have conversations across the aisle about what a tied Senate would look like, but noted that the focus is to win a Democrat majority. Though Epstein did not deny that such conversations have taken place, she said she has not yet reached out to Republicans to consider what a tied Senate could look like. “I’m a computer systems analyst, so I believe in making decision trees in many aspects of my life,” Epstein said. “As such, I’ve got a decision tree for a 15-15 split. So yes, working on that is an option, but that is certainly not the goal.” In the case of a tied chamber, Epstein said she would seek out an agreement that allows for “checks-and-balances” within the chamber. “If we have a 15-15 split, I’d like people to stop focusing on who is in charge and start focusing on how to have a system of checks and balances,” Epstein said. She said that in the situation of a split chamber the Senate president role would not matter. Instead, new rules should be put into place to ensure fair representation for both parties, Epstein said. For instance, she said one party could have the power to assign bills to committees, while the other could decide which ones receive a floor reading. The agreement, which was made by lawmakers in the Senate in 2000 — the most recent instance in which Arizona has seen a tied chamber  — gave Democrats control of powerful committees, such as Appropriations, while a Republican led the chamber. “The rules change,” Epstein said. “If we have a 15-15 split, the first thing we do is re-write the rules. Therefore, the role of the president and the role of committees all need to be set up in that we have checks and balances for both parties. The current rules give the president far too much power.” On the other hand, Petersen said he remains “optimistic” that Republicans will hold their majority – or even flip the chamber. “I think the time to discuss a tied Senate would be after the election and right before the next session,” he said. He added that he has not personally been a part of any discussions about a 15-15 chamber with Democrat lawmakers.

Secretary of state announces 2024 presidential electors

Posted on by Bryan Richardson

The Secretary of State’s Office has received the names of the 24 Kansans who will serve as 2024 presidential electors.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab on Wednesday announced each recognized political party and independent candidate submitted their slate of electors as required by law.

Democratic Party electors: Benjamin Cohen of Topeka, Ariel Dillon of Wichita, Sharon Gordon of Udall, Jo Ann Roth of Ellinwood, Kent A. Roth of Ellinwood and Tom Sawyer of Wichita.

Republican Party electors: Mike Brown of Overland Park, Kristi Brown of Overland Park, Maria Holiday of Overland Park, Mark Kahrs of Wichita, Cheryl Reynolds of Topeka and Alan Townsend of Goodland.

Libertarian Party electors: Tim Giblin of Lawrence, David (Ric) Koehn of Cimarron, Eric Lund of Paola, David Graham of Overland Park, John Hauer of Topeka and Loren John Hermreck of Wichita.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. electors: Benjamin Luker Gloe of Kansas City, Gena Marie Reeves of Leawood, Heather Lorraine Lowe of Leawood, Lisa Gae Everett Andersen of Olathe, Elizabeth Ellen Heilman of Wichita and Andrea Michelle Fehr of Marysville.

Kennedy, who suspended his presidential campaign Aug. 23, is seeking to remove his name from the ballot in 10 states, but Kansas isn’t one of them.

Once the State Board of Canvassers certifies the November election results, Gov. Laura Kelly will prepare Certificates of Ascertainment identifying the prevailing slate of electors.

The electors will meet at noon Dec. 17 to cast their votes as members of the Electoral College ahead of Jan. 6, when Congress will meet to count the electoral votes.

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.

Statewide proficiency levels ‘startling,’ superintendent says

Posted on by Matthew Sasser

While North Carolina students made gains in many reported categories and slowly recover to pre-pandemic levels, the state superintendent of public instruction, Catherine Truitt, said student proficiency data was “startling” before the pandemic and remains so in 2024. 

“We’re still looking at, especially in our Black and Hispanic communities, proficiency ranks in the eighth grade of 26% in math and 30% in reading,” Truitt said. “The overwhelming majority of Black and Hispanic students are attending a failing school. This is unacceptable.” 

Truitt said school performance grades are not always indicative of school quality or student success, but the state board of education needs to be focused on the proficiency levels. 

According to data shared by Tammy Howard, senior director for the Office of Accountability and Testing, students in North Carolina have almost reached the same levels of proficiency reported in 2019, the last year of data unaffected by COVID-19. 

In third grade math, 97% of students in 2024 met the proficiency level that was reported in 2019. Up to eighth grade math, students are only a few percentage points behind the 2019 data. In science, grade levels three through five reported 91% of students have achieved the 2019 proficiency level. 

Truitt said the fact that two designations, state and federal, exist for low-performing schools creates a barrier to school improvement. The discrepancy creates reporting headaches, the funding doesn’t exist at the state level and available personnel from the federal resources isn’t enough, according to Truitt. 

“These are ongoing challenges … [and] if we do not find a way to fix these challenges, we are going to continue to repeat this cycle that we have seen for the last 20 years of our low-income and students of color continuing to receive substandard education despite the fact that teachers are working harder than ever before,” Truitt said. 

An 86.9% graduation rate was reported for the 2023-24 school year in North Carolina, a slight increase from previous years. However, that increase didn’t inspire confidence in Truitt. 

“I’m also shocked to see these low levels of proficiency with higher graduation rates than ever before,” Truitt said. “What does that say about the students that we’re graduating? We have a diploma integrity problem.”

Truitt referenced a study from the Equitable Grading Project released in August that reported increased grade inflation occurring nationwide, especially among minority students. 

Truitt said there’s a lot to celebrate from the North Carolina data shared at the meeting, but more work needs to be done. 

“We can’t expect our teachers to do the same things over and over again and expect different results,” Truitt said. 

State board of education member at large Catty Moore agreed with Truitt that multiple designations of low-performing schools is damaging. 

“Multiple agencies to which you are having to respond makes it very difficult, I believe, for our classroom teachers, the boots on the ground, to actually focus on what they have to focus on in the classroom every day,” Moore said. “That’s something that, until we fix, we’re not going to see any changes.”

In addition to the board’s goal of a highly qualified and well-compensated teacher in every classroom, Moore said there’s a disconnect between what the board says is needed and how the board is able to implement the demands of their constituents. 

“All of those sit in our Legislature with no action,” Moore said of the new school accountability model and additional compensation for teachers. “The proposals are there; the requests are there. Listening to our stakeholder groups around what those needs are, and there has been no movement. I think that until we figure that out, what it takes to get movement from all levels, and that’s from the Legislature on down to the classroom level. … We can’t hear what we hear from teachers, hear what we hear from principals … and then take no action.”

Vice Chairman Alan Duncan agreed with Moore’s assessment, saying she’s “right on point.” Chairman Eric Davis said the conversation around testing is important to continue and should be added to next month’s agenda for further discussion.

For questions or comments, or to pass along story ideas, please write to Matthew Sasser at [email protected] or contact the NC Insider at [email protected] or @StateAffairsNC 

Federal judge grants limited injunctive relief for families in attendant care lawsuit

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

A federal court judge last week granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to arrange in-home skilled nursing care for two medically fragile children impacted by changes made this year to the state’s Medicaid waivers.

Tanya Walton Pratt, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, said in an amended order that the children — E.R., a 6-year-old, and G.S., a 10-year-old, cared for by their single mothers — would likely lose dozens of hours of weekly services and be at “serious risk for institutionalization” because of the changes.

The preliminary injunction calls for E.R. to receive at least 40 hours a week of in-home skilled nursing services and G.S. to get at least 80 hours a week of the same. Their mothers must also be reimbursed for providing structured family caregiving services in conjunction, the order said.

The injunctive relief applies to only the plaintiffs. The court determined the preliminary injunction the plaintiffs sought — to enjoin the defendants from enforcing attendant care restrictions — posed too great a risk to the state. The broader injunctive relief would have put the state out of compliance with Medicaid regulations, potentially jeopardizing federal reimbursement funds Indiana receives and, by extension, Medicaid services offered to Hoosiers, the court said.

The court said a permanent injunction requiring the administration to amend its Health and Wellness Waiver could still be possible. The court decided not to make such a mandate in the order because, by its estimation, the administration would be irreparably harmed “should they rewrite the H&W [Health and Wellness] Waiver and later succeed in this case.”

In December, the administration revealed it had made a nearly $1 billion Medicaid forecasting error.

To corral the unexpected costs, the administration announced plans to no longer allow biological parents and guardians of minors to provide attendant care under what would later become the state’s Health and Wellness Waiver. (In July, the state’s Aged and Disabled Waiver became two separate waiver programs — the Health and Wellness Waiver for Hoosiers aged 59 and younger, and the PathWays for Aging Waiver for Hoosiers aged 60 and older — as the state started its PathWays for Aging program.)

Yet the administration allows the parents and guardians to provide care under the state’s Structured Family Caregiving program, which often pays a lesser, capped per diem rate. The plaintiffs argue the program does not pay enough and that the per diem rate would force the mothers to seek outside employment, which would leave their children without care.

Representing the two minors, the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission filed litigation against the administration in May. The commission claims the administration failed to ensure care is available for medically complex children enrolled in the state’s Health and Wellness Waiver — children determined to need “nursing facility level of care.”

E.R., G.S. and their families have been without nursing care for years, according to the order, even though the administration has approved them for in-home skilled nursing and has “agreed to pay for those services.” Both parties highlighted the state’s nursing shortage as a contributing factor to the families’ difficulty in securing services.

“It is undisputed that there is a nurse shortage in Indiana and that nurses are unable to provide skill[ed] nursing services for the number of hours G.S. and E.R. are approved for,” the court said.

On Tuesday, the plaintiffs filed an emergency motion to modify the preliminary injunction because “arranging for qualified nursing staff is not an overnight endeavor.” To ensure the children’s continued care, the plaintiffs ask the court to allow E.R.’s and G.S.’s mothers to continue providing attendant care services “at least until they [E.R. and G.S.] receive qualified and trained nursing staff capable of attending to their complex medical needs while their mothers return to the workforce.”

As of Tuesday, the families had not yet received skilled nursing services, according to the motion.

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

Lilly Endowment earmarks $50 million for Indiana State Parks

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

Lilly Endowment on Wednesday said it had given the Indiana Department of Natural Resources a $50 million grant to improve Indiana State Parks.

The department has committed an additional $10 million to supplement the grant. The department’s contribution will be used on Indiana State Parks’ continued deferred maintenance needs, according to a news release.

Half of the Lilly Endowment grant will be used at Prophetstown State Park, Indiana’s newest state park, which last month celebrated its 20th anniversary. According to the news release, the park, which sits near Battle Ground, is a part of the Myaamia homelands and was “used by other Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.”

The state plans to use $15 million to create more than 120 new campsites at the park, doubling its current offerings. Additional facilities — such as a visitors center, outdoor exhibits and a recreated Native American village — will cost $8 million, according to the release. The state will spend $1 million developing new trails and another $1 million making upgrades to the pool and other water features at the park’s aquatic center.

“We particularly appreciate and look forward to strengthening the connections that help Hoosiers understand and appreciate Native American ties to the land at what is now Prophetstown State Park,” Scott Brewer, chair of the Native American Indian Affairs Commission and a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, said in the release.

The remaining $25 million from the Lilly grant will be used across the state parks system: The state plans to spend $11 million renovating and repairing playgrounds, $10 million upgrading campsites to be “full-service,” $3 million repairing historic structures and $1 million providing motorized wheelchairs.

“These funds will greatly enhance the facilities and services at our Indiana State Parks, along with the interpretation of the natural and cultural resources we conserve and manage,” Terry Coleman, director of the Division of State Parks, said in the release.

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

Leadership change coming for Gaming Commission

Posted on by Tom Davies

The Indiana Gaming Commission will join other state agencies seeing leadership changes as Executive Director Greg Small steps down and General Counsel Dennis Mullen becomes acting executive director.

The transition will take place with Small’s resignation becoming effective Sept. 20, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.

Small has led the Gaming Commission since September 2021 after having been the agency’s general counsel since 2015.

Clash between Gaming Commission and lawmakers

Some top legislators criticized Small and Mullen last year over leadership of the Gaming Commission.

That included Senate Majority Leader Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, questioning them at length during a State Budget Committee meeting about fines the agency issued over regulation violations and claims by some casino operators to him that they had faced retribution threats from agency officials.

Small responded that he was proud of the agency and its employees’ work.

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office on Wednesday credited Small with improving efficiency of the Gaming Commission’s investigations and streamlining the process for issuing licenses to casino workers. Small also oversaw the opening earlier this year of the Terre Haute casino, which followed the state’s first competitive casino license grant in more than a decade.

“Greg’s knowledge and expertise has been invaluable in leading the Indiana Gaming Commission effectively and efficiently,” Holcomb said in a statement. “The agency will be left in good hands with Dennis at the helm.”

Mullen will continue as the commission’s general counsel as he becomes acting executive director Sept. 23. 

Garten and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ryan Mishler, who also criticized Small’s leadership in December, did not immediately respond to requests for comment that State Affairs made to their offices.

Small didn’t reply to a message from State Affairs seeking comment.

However, Small wrote on his LinkedIn page that he was leaving to become the head of legal and government affairs for Fliff Inc., which describes itself as a “free-to-play social sports gaming” site.

“Serving as executive director has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Small’s LinkedIn post said. “I am proud of the work the agency has done.”

Small was the Gaming Commission’s top lawyer when sports gambling was legalized in 2019.

Changes as Holcomb’s term nears end

Similar transitions have taken place at other state agencies as Holcomb nears the end of his time as governor in January.

Those include Holcomb naming acting directors for the State Budget Agency and the Department of Homeland Security following their leaders’ resignations.

Joseph Habig has overseen the State Budget Agency since Zac Jackson’s exit in April to become Carmel’s chief financial officer and controller.

Jonathan Whitham is now leading the Homeland Security Department since Joel Thacker resigned last month to become Carmel’s fire chief.

Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.

Off again, on again: Tennessee GOP to hear Ragan challenge on Saturday 

Posted on by Andy Sher

State Rep. John Ragan’s formal challenge of his 4.6-percentage-point primary loss to former Clinton police chief Rick Scarbrough in Anderson County is set to be heard Saturday by the Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee during an in-person meeting.

The move comes after considerable back and forth, later followed by directives from two top state Republicans, Secretary of State Tre Hargett and state Comptroller Jason Mumpower. Ragan had enlisted the officials’ support as he insisted the committee, acting in its role as State Primary Board, must hear the challenge in person due to a 2023 change in state law. 

Members for years have conducted challenges via Zoom or teleconference to spare members from traveling as long as 10-hour round trips for an in-person meeting. After previous efforts to land a time and place for the meeting foundered, state GOP Chair Scott Golden was happy to find an agreeable compromise. The 66-member GOP panel composed of a male and female representative from each state Senate district, will meet in Mt. Juliet in Wilson County on Saturday.

“Our best recollection is we have to do it because it is properly challenged, it is deemed to be challenged, therefore the board has to meet,” Golden said in an interview. “Then we have to meet the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, because we’re acting in the capacity of a state board.”

Golden noted GOP bylaws dating back to before his tenure say the chairman can dismiss a challenge for lack of grounds. 

“And we don’t know if that refers to if somebody else challenges it outside of the candidate, because obviously the state law states that if a candidate challenges, it’s deemed to be challenged and you got to hear it,” he said.

In this case, Ragan, a former Air Force pilot and the hard-right Republican who chairs the House Government Operations Committee, asserts that Democratic crossover into the Aug. 1 primary cost him the nomination. He lost to Scarbrough by 258 votes. 

Tennessee has no registration by party and GOP lawmakers have long resisted efforts to close primaries. When Democrats governed the state, Republicans happily crossed party lines to favor conservative candidates. 

According to Ragan’s analysis, 197 ballots were cast by people who had voted in only Democratic primaries over the previous four contests. The incumbent said another 94 had voted Republican once during that span, but for Democrats in the other three cycles.

Executive committee member Ken Meyer of East Ridge, a former state House member, wrote in an email to fellow members that “this is obviously not enough to change the outcome of the election. Furthermore, of that total, Mr. Ragan is implying a highly implausible argument that every one of those votes were cast for his opposition and none of them were cast for him.” 

“It has been a few years since I studied statistics but I would characterize this as statistically improbable,” Meyer wrote, while also noting that Ragan is additionally trying to argue that 420 ballots cast by voters with no previous voting history should be disallowed. 

That, Meyer said, “again assumes all 420 of those votes were cast for his opponent. Absent any evidence of collusion or campaign shenanigans, I attribute this number to new Tennessee voters, those coming of age, new residents or simply those who only now find it important.

Meeting logistics

The GOP SEC has routinely shot down similar attempts to overturn primary elections in the past. 

As State Primary Board members, Republicans have the following options: They can vote to uphold the election results or overturn the results. They can set aside the election or go with any other solution the board “sees fit” if it is legally permissible. 

The  meeting is not subject to the rules of evidence or other procedures followed in courts of law or equity. The meeting will be governed by Robert Rules of Order. Proxy votes aren’t allowed. A quorum must be established for any measures to be considered. 

Regardless of how Ragan’s challenge comes out, the GOP nominee will face Democrat Anne Backus in the November election.

Ragan and Scarbrough each will have nine minutes to speak. Ragan will have an additional two minutes for rebuttal. The candidates are allowed to retain legal counsel who can speak on behalf of them. If they do, that will be counted as part of the candidate’s time.

The rules provide 10 minutes comments by members of the public, who may speak for one minute each. Another 20 minutes is allotted to questions and comments from members. 

Kansas Daily News Wire September 4, 2024

Posted on by State Affairs

Welcome to the Kansas Daily News Wire, your daily roundup of top state and political stories from newsrooms across Kansas. — Hawver’s Capitol Report/State Affairs

STATE

August tax revenue exceeds estimates by 3.5%: While Kansas’ August tax revenue exceeded estimates by nearly $23 million, Gov. Laura Kelly took time Monday to reflect on the future reductions from a recently passed tax cut. (Richardson, State Affairs)

Settlement of Delaware lawsuit transfers $1.5 million in unclaimed property to Kansas: The state treasurer for Kansas said the bipartisan settlement of multistate litigation against Delaware regarding unclaimed property from a money-transfer company would result in $1.5 million being forwarded to Kansas for distribution to consumers. (Kansas Reflector)

Paige likely to be confirmed as late Rep. Robinson’s replacement: Wanda Brownlee Paige will likely soon be confirmed as the replacement for late Rep. Marvin Robinson II, according to Wyandotte County Democratic Party Chair Jeffrey Hollinshed. (Resnick, State Affairs)

LOCAL

New city law aims to crack down on nuisance parties at short-term rentals in Wichita: The city of Wichita is attempting to crack down on nuisance parties at Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.  (The Wichita Eagle)

Lawrence community members call for city to ‘stop the sweep’ of Amtrak camp: Several Lawrence community members, both housed and unhoused, pleaded with city commissioners Tuesday not to close the camp where people are living behind the Amtrak station in East Lawrence. (The Lawrence Times)

Former Emporia police officer charged with sex crimes, human trafficking: A former Emporia police officer has been formally charged in connection to a human trafficking case. (KAKE)

Geary County officials identify drowning victim as Fort Riley soldier: A Fort Riley soldier has been identified as the victim of a drowning over the weekend at Milford Lake in Geary County, authorities said. (WIBW)

Lottery player wins $25,000 a year for life in Kansas: A lucky lottery player just hit it big in Kansas, winning a cash prize that will keep coming back for years to come. (KSNT)

Ultium Cells recognizes UAW at electric vehicle battery plant in Spring Hill

Posted on by Erik Schelzig

Workers at the new electric vehicle battery factory next to the General Motors plant in Spring Hill will be represented by the United Auto Workers after more than half of the facility’s 1,000 blue collar employees signed union cards.

Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, recognized the union after it gained the support of a majority of the workers at the plant. 

The $2.6 billion Maury County facility is the second Ultium plant to join the UAW after Lordstown, Ohio, where the UAW in June negotiated a contract setting starting wages at nearly $27 an hour, up from $16.50 when the factory opened in 2022. The agreement calls for pay to increase to $35 per hour over three years. 

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee last year passed legislation requiring companies receiving state incentives to hold union elections via secret ballot rather than by the card check method. But the law does not apply to deals struck before it went into effect, meaning Ultium — and the Ford plant under construction in West Tennessee — are not covered.

The Ultium plant received $78 million in grants from the state in 2021.

Ultium represents the UAW’s second major victory in Tennessee this year after the union in April won an election at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga by a margin of 45 percentage points. The win was the union’s first among foreign automakers in the South. Previous efforts at the VW plant had narrowly fallen short in 2019 and 2014.

“The UAW members at Ultium and VW are proving that the new jobs of the South will be union jobs,” Tim Smith, the director of UAW Region 8, said in a release. 

The UAW said workers engaged in the unionization effort did so “without facing threats or intimidation.”

Workers at GM’s Spring Hill plant have been represented by UAW Local 1853 since it opened as a Saturn factory in 1990.

Guest column: SCOTUS reversal of 40-year-old doctrine could have major impact in Louisiana

Posted on by Ward Cormier

While most of the nation is focused on the 2024 elections, there has been a major shift in the way laws and regulations are implemented. 

For 40 years, the federal government has operated under the Chevron doctrine, which made it standard practice for courts to give deference to an agency’s interpretation of congressional intent when legally challenged, a practice that has ended due to a recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Enterprises v. Raimondo. This ruling is consequential because it weakens executive authority and will require Congress to be more specific with its intent in drafting future legislation.

The 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A. v. NRDC originally established the Chevron doctrine. Proponents of that decision argue that agencies have expertise in their particular areas of jurisdiction making deference to their decisions more practical, while also allowing the administration the flexibility to deal with changing circumstances as they arise. Opponents argue that this deference to agencies leads to overreach by the executive branch, with a need for courts, rather than agencies, to play an active role when Congressional intent is not clear.

The Supreme Court decision in Loper Enterprises v. Raimondo constitutes a major realignment in shifting the burden of regulatory development from the administration to Congress. Congress has often deferred to agencies on enactment and implementation of laws, leading agencies to retain policy and issue experts to finalize the development of laws prior to implementation. There will likely be a move by Congress, especially by committees, to retain more policy experts to ensure that Congressional intent is clearly defined for federal agencies, or at a minimum decipherable by the judicial branch.

While this change will have no impact on laws created by Louisiana’s state government, there are implications for issues and federal agencies that are prevalent to the State’s economy. 

In Louisiana, Chevron’s effects have been seen in the EPA’s clean air and water standards, the Army Corps of Engineers’ implementation of coastal restoration projects, and fisheries management in the Gulf. More prominently it has been felt in the governance of offshore drilling, with past administrations issuing regulations based on their own interpretation of Congressional intent to either promote or curb development. 

The recent ruling prevents the immediate overturning of regulations enacted prior to the decision, but does allow for some legal actions, especially for executive interpretations that were not previously challenged in court. 

The ruling also allows Congress to legislate authority to a federal agency to interpret any ambiguities.  This will put pressure on Congress to enact more specifically defined laws to clarify Congressional intent and hopefully avoid lengthy judicial processes which may delay enactment. 

As Congress becomes more prescriptive in its legislative drafting, it will be more important than ever for stakeholders to be active on Capitol Hill, engaging with members and staff to ensure they are aware of potential impacts to their interests. 

Ward Cormier is senior director of federal affairs with The Picard Group. He is based in Washington, D.C.

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