Articles written by John Hanna
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 915
GOP mulls next move after Kansas governor vetoes effort to help Texas in border security fight
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' governor is blocking an attempt by Republican legislators to give the state's National Guard a "border mission" of helping Texas in its partisan fight with the Biden administration over illegal immigration. Top R...
Kansas' governor vetoed tax cuts again over their costs. Some fellow Democrats backed it
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' Democratic governor on Wednesday vetoed a broad package of tax cuts for the second time in three months, describing it as "too expensive" despite the bipartisan support it enjoyed in the Republican-controlled L...
A ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care also would bar advocacy for kids' social transitions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A proposed ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care for minors also would bar state employees from promoting it — or even children's social transitioning. Teachers and social workers who support LGBTQ+ rights worry that they cou...
Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' Democratic governor on Friday vetoed proposed tax breaks for anti-abortion counseling centers while allowing restrictions on college diversity initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law wit...
Kansas GOP congressman Jake LaTurner is not running again, citing family reasons
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner is not running for reelection this year in his GOP-leaning eastern Kansas district so that he can spend more time with his four young children, he announced Thursday. LaTurner is a...
Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' Democratic governor on Friday vetoed proposed tax breaks for anti-abortion counseling centers while allowing restrictions on college diversity initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law wit...
A new, stable fiscal forecast for Kansas reinforces the dynamics of a debate over tax cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The picture for tax cuts in Kansas and the next state budget remained stable Friday with the release of a new fiscal forecast that reinforced the dynamics of a conflict over proposed tax cuts between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a...
Kansas' higher ed board adopts an anti-DEI policy after pressure from GOP legislators
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State universities in Kansas are banned from requiring prospective students, potential hires and staffers seeking promotion to disclose their views on diversity initiatives under a policy change approved Wednesday by the state's h...
Kansas has some of the nation's lowest benefits for injured workers. They'll increase in July
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will increase what have been among the lowest benefits in the U.S. for workers who are injured or killed on the job under bipartisan legislation that Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law Thursday. The new law is set to take e...
Kansas governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors and 2 anti-abortion bills
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' governor on Friday vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers and what she called a "vague" bill making it a crime to coerce someone into h...
A bill passed by Kansas lawmakers would make it a crime to coerce someone into an abortion
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — People who make physical or financial threats against others in Kansas to force them to get an abortion could spend a year in prison and be fined up to $10,000 under one of several proposals pushed through the Republican-controlle...
Tax cuts pushed by GOP leaders and the governor advance, but a tough vote is ahead
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor in Kansas advanced their compromise plan to cut the state's taxes Thursday, but the last vote the measure faced involved a large and bipartisan group of critics. The state S...
Kansas lawmakers scuttle a plan for cutting taxes, defying the governor and GOP leaders
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bipartisan group of rank-and-file lawmakers in Kansas scuttled a plan for cutting taxes Thursday, with Republicans defying GOP leaders and Democrats ignoring a personal appeal from the state's Democratic governor. The state H...
GOP lawmakers are using the budget to pressure Kansas' governor on DEI and immigration
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are likely to approve a proposed state budget for Kansas with provisions aimed at forcing the state's Democratic governor to restrict diversity initiatives on college campuses and help Texas in its fight with the B...
Kansas lawmakers approve a tax bill but the state still might not see big tax cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are struggling to overcome political divisions that have prevented their state's residents from seeing major income tax cuts over the past two years even as other states have slashed income tax rates. The R...
Kansas GOP lawmakers revive a plan to stop giving voters 3 extra days to return mail ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas have revived a proposal to stop giving voters three extra days after polls close to return mail ballots after making key concessions in a bid to get enough votes from rural GOP lawmakers to o...
A Kansas paper and its publisher are suing over police raids. They say damages exceed $10M
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A weekly central Kansas newspaper and its publisher filed a federal lawsuit Monday over police raids last summer of its offices and the publisher's home, accusing local officials of trying to silence the paper and causing the deat...
Republican states file lawsuit challenging Biden's student loan repayment plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group of Republican-led states is suing the Biden administration to block a new student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. In a federal l...
As Kansas nears gender care ban, students push university to advocate for trans youth
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — With Kansas poised to ban gender-affirming care for minors, college students are trying to counter Republican efforts to roll back transgender rights by pushing the state's largest university to declare itself a haven for trans...
Kansas lawmakers race to solve big fiscal issues before their spring break
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Legislature is scrambling to address tax cuts, funding for disability services and immigration issues ahead of its annual three-week spring break starting next week. Most bills that don't pass by then won't be c...
In the Kansas House, when lobbyists ask for new laws, their names go on the bills
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — For years, pinning down the source of a bill in the Kansas Legislature could be a chore for lawmakers' constituents. Committees sponsor almost 85% of the proposals, so finding the group or lobbyist responsible could require q...
Kansas considers limits on economic activity with China and other 'countries of concern'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas advanced proposals Wednesday aimed at preventing individuals and companies from China and other U.S. adversaries from owning farmland or business property, limiting state investments in foreign c...
They don't define DEI, but Kansas lawmakers are attacking it like GOP colleagues elsewhere
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas have joined their GOP counterparts in other states in trying to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on university campuses, but the proposals they've advanced are written to avoid h...
Viral video of Biden effigy beating prompts calls for top Kansas Republican leaders to resign
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two top Kansas Republican Party officials are facing internal calls to resign over a viral online video showing people at a fundraiser kicking and beating a mannequin wearing a mask of President Joe Biden, underscoring the n...
Voters backed abortion rights. Yet Kansas could make doctors ask patients why they want abortions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas moved closer Thursday to requiring abortion providers to ask patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies and report the answers to the state. It would join other states with Republican legislatures that ban m...