Contact: Peggy Mast 620-343-2465
As I sit up here on the House Chambers for the eleventh day in a row I think that it is time to let the people back home know “What is taking so long?”. That is the question that is asked so frequently. When we were called in for a special session of the Legislature to respond to the courts insistence of $143,000,000 more for education this year and possibly $563,000,000 next year, the dilemma that was instantly brought to the surface was that there is more than one dilemma. There are those who say that we came up here to address education and that our work should be done by now. There are those who say that we have come to a constitutional crisis with our Supreme Court and that is crucial. I say that we have come to Topeka for both reasons. There were many of us who chose to say that we did not want to try to appease the court without assurance that this would never happen again. The solution to that problem is a constitutional amendment that would define the limitations on the court. The constitution seems pretty clear without the amendment, but we need to prevent this incident from occurring in the future; especially when we know that there is a similar case that is working its way through the court regarding Interhab.
Were those of us who said that the court was wrong, right? Absolutely. The court’s PR man announced today the decision of the court and stated that this is a constitutional crisis. They have diverted from the constitution with their decision and the separation of power. Yet, with that said, we can not get a majority of members of the House to agree to the amendment. Those of us who have chosen to hold the line feel that the future of our State rests in the balance. The National Review is here as well watching for the results on this insult on the Kansas Constitution.
As for spending on education, it will happen. We have worked bills through the House that would give my school districts a great deal more, but they have not passed through the entire process without the necessary changes in the Constitution that would keep our schools open and ensure the integrity of our state.
As I finish this writing, we are closing the business of the day @ 7:00 P.M. on Saturday, but it is just a recess. The battle will be fought again beginning Wednesday July 6. Thanks for staying patient with me as I try to help resolve the problem.
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