News from Kansas State Representative Ken Rahjes

Hello from Topeka. We are on the floor all day this week, getting ready for a slew of conference committees between the House and Senate as we work towards first adjournment on April 1st.

March 18th was the last day for non-exempt committees to meet. This means that all committees - with the exception of House Appropriations, Federal & State Affairs, and Taxation (along with their Senate counterparts) - have wrapped up meetings for the 2022 session. Attention will now be focused on the House floor, where all non-exempt bills must be considered by March 23. After that, conference committees will be busy hammering out differences between House and Senate versions of bills that have passed at least one chamber.

House redistricting map passed out of committee

On Friday, the House Redistricting Committee passed an amended map for reapportioning the House’s 125 seats based on population shifts in our state. This map is the result of a bipartisan compromise. The map makes a number of tweaks from the original map introduced in committee this week. Highlights of the Freestate 3 map include:

•    Priority was given to keeping rural counties whole, especially in Western Kansas. This helps county election officers be efficient with local elections by avoiding creation of unnecessary new voting districts in lower populated areas. It also makes it easier for citizens to know who their Representatives are when needing assistance or voicing concerns to their legislators.

•    The two existing House Districts, 108 and 117 will be new districts in Johnson County.  

•    Keeps new districts close to the ideal population for each district, with the deviation varying by just over 3 percent.

Recognizing Kansas Master Teachers

The House adopted House Resolution 6024, which honors the 2020 and 2022 Kansas Master Teachers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was suspended during 2021, and instead all Kansas teachers were recognized for their efforts in that year. Though the 2020 ceremony was canceled, the winners will be honored this spring.

Under the Master Teachers program, seven teachers are selected each year for this special recognition and each receives a $1,000 stipend to be used for professional learning. The Master Teachers were also commended by the House Education Committee. Members of the committee were introduced to the winners and had the opportunity to learn about the program.

The 2022 winners are:

•    Andy Battenfield, Physical Education Teacher at Village Elementary School, USD 253 Emporia

•    Melanie Hammond, Chemistry/Physical Science Teacher at South High School, USD 305 Salina

•    Karen Stohlmann Henderson, Mathematics & Engineering Teacher at Northwest High School, USD 229 Blue Valley

•    Sarah M. Hoff, Social Studies Teacher at Dodge City High School, USD 443 Dodge City

•    Gina Johnson, Fourth and Fifth Grade Teacher at O'Loughlin Elementary School, USD 489 Hays

•    Bryan Scruggs, Instructional Coach at Seitz Elementary School, USD 475 Geary County

•    Barbara Tholen, Journalism Adviser/Graphic Design Teacher at Lawrence High School, USD 497 Lawrence.

The 2020 winners are:

•    Hillary Barscewski, First-Grade Teacher at Cottonwood Elementary School in USD 385 Andover

•    Holly Bright, Kindergarten Teacher at Grandview Elementary School, USD 490 El Dorado

•    Justin Heeke, Seventh-Grade Physical Education Teacher at Comanche Middle School, USD 443 Dodge City

•    Erica Huggard, Biology/Health Science Teacher at Emporia High School, USD 253 Emporia

•    Eunice Izazaga, Second-Grade Teacher at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, USD 259 Wichita

•    Vickie Marcozzi, Art/Enrichment Reading and Writing Grades 2-5 Teacher at Oakdale Elementary School, USD 305 Salina

•    Kathy Wagoner, English Teacher at Hays High School, USD 489 Hays.

Kansas kids, House Committee endorse Sand Hill plum as the state fruit

Last week, the House Federal and State Committee held a hearing on House Bill 2644, which designates the Sand Hill Plum as the state fruit. The bill originates from Sabetha Elementary school children. They researched and identified four native fruits to choose from - the American permission, gooseberry, red mulberry, and Sand Hill plum. A teacher reached out to other Kansas school children over the summer, and received replies from 24 schools, representing more than 400 Kansas kids. The students selected the Sand Hill plum over the red mulberry. The Committee heard testimony from several students from across the state. This week, the Committee passed out HB 2644 favorably and the full house passed it early this week.

You can follow along on happenings in the legislature online at kslegislature.org  and you can watch committee meetings and when the House and Senate are on the floor on the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel.

If you would like to contact me: my office is still located in Room: 149-S. My statehouse phone number is (785) 296-7463 and email is: ken.rahjes@house.ks.gov and you can always try my cell number at (785) 302-8416.    

It is my honor to serve you.