TOPEKA–Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has signed the following bills into law.
Friday, May 6, 2016:
House Bill 2610: Names certain highways and interchanges.
Monday, May 9, 2016:
Senate Substitute for House Bill 2088: Accelerates effective date for implementation of the property tax lid.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 44: Amends the Commercial Real Estate Act to clarify language allowing brokers to have liens on real estate.
Senate Bill 19: Modernizes the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act and Kansas Judicial Review Act to allow for electronic filing.
Senate Bill 227: Enacts the Contaminated Property Redevelopment Act to better allow for the development of property previously subject to environmental contamination.
Senate Bill 326: Increases production limits for microbreweries.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 337: Strengthens reporting requirements for annual water use.
Senate Bill 407: Revives statute concerning conditional release of certain criminal offenders.
Substitute for House Bill 2062: Modernizes the Uniform Commercial Code concerning the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
House Bill 2163: Allows county commissioners and municipalities to perform fire district audits.
Senate Substitute for House Bill 2285: Reconciles amendments for statutes pertaining to the Department of Labor.
Substitute for House Bill 2289: Amends the administrative hearing process for drivers’ license restrictions or suspensions.
The Governor has now signed 71 bills into law this session and vetoed two. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign the bill into law, veto the bill or allow the bill to become law without his or her signature.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor is looking into allegations of misuse of public funds against a top federal elections official when he was a county election commissioner in the state, two county officials confirmed Monday.
Brian Newby left Kansas for a job as executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in November, 2015. Johnson County spokeswoman Sharon Watson said the county had concerns over findings of an audit done when Newby was an elections official there, and informed District Attorney Stephen Howe of its findings.
Howe said in an emailed statement that his office “has and will continue to work with county commissioners” to review Newby’s conduct.
Newby says it would be wrong to say he is under criminal investigation.
His actions in the federal post have angered voting rights activists.
BARTON COUNTY – A former Kansas State Trooper was sentenced on Monday for aggravated assault.
The hearing for Darrin Hirsh, 40, at the Barton County Courtroom took nearly three hours after attempts for acquittal, a new trial, and statements from family members.
Judge Ron Svaty sentenced him to 18 months to be served in the Barton County Jail.
Hirsh was convicted last December of threatening his wife and children in March 2013. Hirsh was found guilty of aggravated assault, two counts of criminal threat, and domestic battery.
Hirsh’s ex-wife, Candace Hirsh, stated Darrin held a pistol to her head on March 12, 2013 and made threats to her and their three sons.
In an attempt to have the case acquitted, the defense attorney stated there was bias-based policing. The defense claimed the Kansas Bureau of Investigation focused solely on Candice’s comments and her as a victim because she was female. Judge Svaty ruled that the jury found Darrin guilty based on evidence and not based on gender bias and the judge refused to overturn the jury’s decision based on this claim.
The defense then asked for a new trial based on the jury being confused as to what was considered a deadly weapon. In testimony, Darrin was said to have used a pillow against Candice. The pillow was not to be considered a deadly weapon in convicting Darrin for the crime. The judge said it was clear to the jury that the handgun was the only deadly weapon for conviction.
Judge Svaty mentioned after the sentencing he wanted to send a message to the public on his ruling that law enforcement will be treated like any ordinary citizen when it comes to being punished.
Svaty also said he felt Hirsh’s decision to have a baby with another woman earlier this month was a planned child to potentially help out his case as to why he should receive probation.
Hirsh has already served 141 days in jail since his December 22, 2015 sentencing that will be subtracted the time he must serve.
Hirsh and the defense have 14 days to file for appeal.
Dr. Chris JochumAfter a national search, Dr. Chris Jochum was selected in April to become Fort Hays State University’s new chair for the Department of Teacher Education.
“I’m honored to join the award-winning Teacher Education Department at FHSU,” said Jochum. “The faculty’s student-centered focus and commitment to quality pre-service teacher preparation is outstanding. I’m also excited to become a part of the FHSU community and its entrepreneurial spirit, which is truly forward thinking and world ready.”
Jochum is coming to FHSU from the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he spent the past eight years as an associate professor of Spanish and foreign language education. In 2015, Jochum was inducted into the Academy for Teacher Education Excellence, a prestigious award for those who have made significant contributions to teacher education and preparation at UNK.
Jochum’s previous professional appointments include assistant professor of secondary education at the University of Central Missouri, Spanish teacher and chair of the World Languages Department at Salina South High School, and a K-12 English as a second language teacher in Kearney Public Schools. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UNK and holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University.
Jochum’s research interests focus on the preparation and professional development of pre-service and in-service educators, with primary emphasis on self-efficacy, mentoring and the value of study abroad. His research has appeared in a number of peer-reviewed journals as well as being presented at both national and international conferences.
CHICAGO (AP) — Electronic cigarettes have sickened rising numbers of young children, and most cases involve swallowing liquid nicotine.
That’s according to a new study of U.S. poison center calls from 2012 through April 2015.
Most kids weren’t seriously harmed, but one child died and several had severe complications including comas and seizures.
The researchers say the results highlight a need for better parent awareness about the importance of keeping the devices out of sight and reach of young kids. They also recommend stricter regulation and applauded long-awaited restrictions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued last Thursday.
The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration stated last week that the state will resurrect a plan to combine Medicaid support services for Kansans with various disabilities “as soon as is possible from a practical standpoint.”
Photo by Andy Marso/KHI News Service Mike Randol, left, director of the Division of Health Care Finance within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment; and Tim Keck, interim secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said last month their agencies were preparing to combine Medicaid waivers on Jan. 1, 2017. – See more at: http:/
Angela de Rocha, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, was responding to a KHI News Service story published Wednesday.
That story was based on an email from an official with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announcing that work on the Medicaid changes, called “waiver integration,” has been suspended until a “future date.” De Rocha said that future date will be sooner rather than later.
The waivers provide Medicaid coverage for home and community-based support services that allow Kansans with disabilities to remain at home rather than in institutions.
The services are currently split into seven groups based on type of disability: developmental, physical, frail elderly, autism, traumatic brain injury, technology assisted and serious emotional disturbance. The Brownback administration’s plan would compress the services into two groups: one for children and one for adults.
The KDHE email, de Rocha said, was meant only to tell employees who had been working at a “hectic pace” on the project that they could take a breather.
“It was certainly not written to indicate that the work on waiver integration was coming to a halt,” she said. “It was meant to tell them to stand down briefly until we could regroup and reschedule.”
The email referenced a “legislative directive” as the reason for the work stoppage. Early Monday morning the Legislature passed a budget that included a proviso stating that no money is to be spent to integrate the waivers any sooner than July 2018.
De Rocha said it was too early to say whether Brownback will veto that provision. But she said even if he does not, the administration believes it has the authority to use normal staff hours to continue readying the integration plan.
There would be no travel budget to do outreach in other areas of the state and no money for outside consultants, but the base work would continue.
“Regardless of that (veto) process, we’re not stopping work on waiver integration,” de Rocha said. De Rocha said workgroups formed to take input from Kansans with disabilities and their service providers would restart soon with the goal to form more effective Medicaid waiver services. She and other administration officials say that would allow all Kansans with disabilities to receive a broader array of services more efficiently, rather than being constrained by labels.
“Right now if you’re on the PD (physical disability) waiver and you need a service that’s on the DD (developmental disability) waiver you can’t get it,” de Rocha said.
“What we’re doing is enlarging the kinds of services that are available to people that are on Medicaid waivers.”
Disability advocates say the plan is short on details and worry it could lead to service reductions.
The administration originally intended to implement the plan July 1 of this year but delayed that target by six months amid concerns the process was moving too quickly.
Those concerns remain and the implementation timeline is now hard to pin down. Legislators on a subcommittee formed to study integration said in March they believed the administration would agree to their recommendation to further delay the rollout a year to Jan. 1, 2018.
Weeks later, leaders of KDHE and KDADS said they were still preparing for a Jan. 1, 2017, rollout. Talks between Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Republican from Wichita who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, resulted in Colyer issuing a letter assuring legislators the administration would not move forward until after the 2017 session.
But Rep. Jerry Henry, the top Democrat on the House budget committee, then successfully pushed for the budget proviso pushing the implementation date into 2018. De Rocha did not provide a target date, saying instead that it would be based on the progress of preparations.
“What we’re going to continue to work on is getting this into the best shape and form we can so it’s done right,” she said. “We won’t go forward with this until it’s right.”
Members of the congregation at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Hays held their annual Service Sunday event last week. Sharon Leikam, facilitator of the Mission Action Team, said a little over 100 members turned out for the community-wide event.
“It’s just a wonderful way to give back,” she said.
Congregation members spent time doing service projects including yard work and highway cleanup.
Messiah Lutheran Church is located on 20th and main, and holds services every Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is suspending its work on a plan for complying with federal regulations meant to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions from power plants.
Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation approved by the GOP-dominated Legislature to put the work on hold because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in February.
The new law takes effect May 19 and is a response to the high court’s 5-4 ruling staying the federal rules until legal challenges are resolved.
Wyoming and Virginia have enacted similar measures.
The Kansas law will prevent state agencies from conducting studies or doing other work for a carbon-emissions plan while the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay is in effect.
Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said Monday that the federal government is attempting an “unprecedented expansion” of its power.
ELLIS COUNTY – A woman from Hays was injured in an accident just before 4:30 p.m. on Monday in Ellis County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Ford Ranger driven by Anntanette Nelson, 22, was eastbound on Interstate 70 two miles east of Hays.
The pickup entered the median, made a U-turn in turn around for westbound Interstate 70 and pulled out in front of a 2015 Peterbilt semi.
The semi hit the Ranger and came to rest in the north ditch.
Nelson was transported to Hays Medical Center.
The semi driver Jonathan Godbee, 34, Valley View, TX, was not injured.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
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At around 4:20 p.m. Monday emergency responders were called to the scene of a rollover accident 1 mile east of Hays on Interstate 70, near the Commerce Parkway exit.
As crews worked the scene, traffic in the westbound lane was stopped as eastbound traffic was being diverted around the accident on the Commerce Parkway on-ramp.
While the cause of the accident is still unknown a semi truck carrying building materials had overturned and came to rest on the north side of the westbound lane. A pickup also involved in the accident came to rest between the east and westbound lanes and caught fire.
One driver was transported to the Hays Medical Center. The condition of the driver is unknown at this time.
Cleanup at the scene is ongoing.
No further information was available as of 5:20 p.m. Monday.
Check Hays Post for more as details become available.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting that wounded a Kansas City, Kansas, police detective. (all times local):
The KCKPD is attempting to locate Curtis Ayers in regards to the detective shot near 110th and State Ave. Anybody with information contact 816-474-TIPS or KCKPD.
5:20 p.m.
Police say a Kansas City, Kansas, detective was shot and killed, and a man who’d been sought for questioning in that was later wounded and arrested after a shootout with police in neighboring Missouri.
Police say the detective was shot at least twice about 12:30 p.m. Monday while helping respond to a report of a suspicious person near the Kansas Speedway. Police said in a statement that he later died at a hospital. His name wasn’t released.
Police say the shooter fled in the detective’s car, then carjacked a vehicle with two children inside before abandoning that vehicle, leaving the kids unharmed.
Police sought 28-year-old Curtis Ayers for questioning in the shooting. He ultimately was taken into custody in Kansas City, Missouri, when he crashed his car after exchanging gunfire with officers.
4:15 p.m.
A man sought for questioning in connection with a shooting that hospitalized a Kansas City, Kansas, police detective was later wounded after being shot by police in neighboring Missouri.
Police say 28-year-old Curtis Ayers of Tonganoxie, Kansas, was taken into custody Monday afternoon when he crashed his car after exchanging gunfire with officers. A Kansas City, Kansas, police spokesman said that person was in stable condition.
Kansas City, Kansas, police had sought him for questioning in connection with a shooting that wounded a police detective at least twice near the Kansas Speedway.
Police have not released details of the wounded officer’s condition.
Police say the shooter fled in the detective’s car, then carjacked a vehicle with two children inside before abandoning that vehicle, leaving the children unharmed.
2:40 p.m.
Kansas City, Kansas, police say they’re searching for a man in connection with a shooting that wounded a police detective near the Kansas Speedway.
Police spokesman Patrick McCallop says the shooting took place about 12:30 p.m. Monday after the detective, in an unmarked car, helped respond to a report of a suspicious person. McCallop says that’s when the man ran into a field and exchanged gunfire with the detective, wounding him at least twice.
McCallop says the shooter fled in the detective’s car, then carjacked a vehicle with two children inside. That vehicle later was found in nearby Basehor, and the children were unharmed.
McCallop says police are asking for the public’s help in locating 28-year-old Chris Ayers, who is believed to be armed.
2:20 p.m.
Kansas City, Kansas, police say one of the department’s detectives was shot and wounded near the Kansas Speedway by a suspect who later fled the scene.
Police Chief Terry Ziegler says the shooting took place about 12:30 p.m. Monday. Ziegler says the detective later was in surgery, though his medical status was not immediately clear.
investigation near the scene of the shooting- photo courtesy KMBC
It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting.
The FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol say they are assisting in the investigation, though they deferred questions about the matter to Kansas City, Kansas, police.
Messages left with a police spokesman were not immediately returned.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City, Kansas, police say one of the department’s detectives was shot and wounded near the Kansas Speedway.
Police Chief Terry Ziegler tells KMBC-TV confirmed that the gunfire happened early Monday afternoon, but he offered no immediate details on the detective’s medical condition.
Police near the scene of Monday’s shooting photo courtesy KMBC
It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting.
Messages left with a Kansas City, Kansas, police spokeswoman were not immediately returned.
VAN NUYS, Calif. (AP) — About 180,000 pacifiers have been recalled due to a choking hazard.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall involves Munchkin-brand Latch lightweight pacifiers and clips, which are sold as a set. The commission says the clip cover can detach from the clip itself, creating a choking hazard.
Commission spokeswoman Patty Davis says Munchkin is conducting a voluntary recall in cooperation with the government.
There have been 10 reports of the clip cover coming off in the U.S. and Canada, but no injuries have been reported.
The sets were sold between March 2014 and March of this year at retailers nationwide, including Babies ‘R’ Us, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Douglas County commissioners are asking a judge to stop a family from dumping junk at an old schoolhouse property south of Lawrence.
The Lawrence Journal-Worldreports that a petition filed in Douglas County District Court requests a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction. The property includes a rural schoolhouse that was built in 1890.
The petition describes the property as a “junk yard” and describes it as “dangerous” and a “nuisance” that could harm the health, welfare and safety of other residents. Junk on the property includes old cars and tires, machinery, vehicle motor parts and yard equipment.
It’s an unusual step for the county, whose code-enforcement philosophy in recent years has been to work with violators rather than to penalize them.
