By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

Some legislators spend time in the chambers dreaming of leadership positions throughout long, successful legislative careers — 110th District State Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady only had to wait one term to pick up a vital role within the House Republican Party. For at least the first part of his second term, a Palco native and Fort Hays State University grad will serve as Republican Caucus chairman.

His journey to the position began with stops in the offices of Sen. Pat Roberts, then-Sen. Sam Brownback, and in the state treasurer’s office before his election to to the 110th seat in 2012 after former Rep. Dan Collins decided not to run for another term.

“Being involved in the whole process gave me a leg up when I ran and ultimately won. It’s given me the opportunity to jump right in when we go to Topeka,” Couture-Lovelady said.

Couture-Lovelady also contributed the 2012 redistricting process to his success because of the influx of new legislators due to what some tabbed as a “civil war” by the governor. The influx of new senators left leadership voids, but rural voices in the state Legislature have always been needed due to the high number of legislators from urban areas.

“It’s key that we have representation in these leadership positions,” Couture-Lovelady said.

Lawmakers in Topeka will head to the Statehouse to open the session officially on Jan. 12. While many issues will be tackled, none appear as pressing as the looming budget crisis. Kansas faces a deficit of approximately $270 million for this year alone.

“We’ll have to deal with that right away,” Couture-Lovelady said. “We’ve got a very short time frame in Topeka. It takes a while to peel back the layers of government to find programs that are useful and other programs that have outlived their usefulness or other areas of government that can be trimmed back. I think that’s where we’ll start.”

At the center of the budget crisis are the Brownback tax cuts signed into law in 2012. The nonpartisan legislative research department have credited the tax cuts for the budget shortfall, but Couture-Lovelady said it’s only a matter of time before the cuts make a positive difference.

“What we were doing wasn’t working with high taxes. People were still leaving the state, so we had to do something,” he said. “We knew we needed to trim back government and put more money in the hands of the people.”

“It takes a few years for that to come to fruition, but we’re starting to see results. If we can just get through this dip in things, I think (the cuts) will really pay off in a couple years.” Couture-Lovelady said.

He also mentioned the funding of corrections and infrastructure as priorities for the 110th District, noting the Stockton Correctional Facility was almost shut down a few years back due to a mix up.

The second-term representative will serve as vice-chairman of the State and Federal Affairs Committee and will also serve on the Judiciary and Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development committees. While serving on the State and Federal Affairs Committee during his first term, Couture-Lovelady was instrumental in the passage of new gun laws concerning the right to carry in public buildings.

While serving as the Republican Caucus chairman, he will also serve as the Western Kansas Caucus chairman.

The Legislature will convene in Topeka for the first time in 2015 on Jan. 12. Couture-Lovelady was recently tabbed as one of the most interesting people in Kansas Politics in 2014.