WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The process of obtaining a new Real ID is creating headaches for some Kansas residents.

Vietnam War veteran Armando Fleming is among several Kansas residents who have left driver’s license offices empty-handed after learning that the documents they brought to verify their identity weren’t enough to get approved for a Real ID.

The credential will be required under federal law to board airplanes and enter some federal buildings beginning next year. Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 as a security measure following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Many states have been waiting to come into compliance closer to the Oct. 1, 2020, deadline.

Fleming, a Wichita retiree, was initially denied a Real ID with the name he’s been using his entire life because it doesn’t match the name on his birth certificate, the Wichita Eagle reported.

“I pulled out military records, discharge records, my awards . and I took them down (to the DMV) and the guy said, nope, it won’t satisfy the requirements” he said. “Needless to say, I started to get a little upset because I spent 15 years in the Army and fought for my country and got wounded for my country. I didn’t think I needed to prove who I was.”

The veteran’s documents listed Fleming as his last name, but they conflicted with his birth certificate.

Fleming’s maternal grandmother had filled out his birth certificate with his mother’s last name, Robinson. But he ended up using his father’s last name, Fleming, and didn’t even know about the issue until years later.

To obtain a Real ID, residents must present proof of their current legal name with a birth certificate or passport, as well as documents proving a social security number and residence. Individuals whose names don’t match their birth certificates or passports have to show additional documentation that traces their name changes, such as marriage, divorce or adoption records.

Fleming had to go to court and spend $204 to legally change his name so that he could get a Real ID with the name he’s been called for 74 years.

The Kansas Department of Revenue has acknowledged that some people are seeking legal name changes to obtain a Real ID that matches the rest of their personal, military, school and financial documents.

Kent Selk, the department’s driver services manager, said it’s a problem that mostly affects older residents.

“The state’s just upholding the federal law,” Selk said. “We’re following all of the guidelines from the federal government that says this is what you have to do to issue this credential.”

It’s unclear how many people across Kansas have changed their name to obtain a Real ID, or how many have decided not to apply for one because of the trouble or cost of getting a legal name change.

According to the department, more than 40% of Kansas’ 2 million licensed drivers have a Real ID.

By STEPHEN KORANDA
Kansas News Service

In the waning days of the 2019 session, the conservative Republicans controlling the Kansas Legislature made one thing clear to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and her allies: They were ready for a fight against Medicaid expansion.

The issue commanded the four-month session, which ended in the wee hours Sunday. The session was the first with the new Democratic governor in office, which gave people who wanted to expand health coverage for thousands of low-income Kansans the energy to push hard in the final days. Their efforts ultimately failed.

Conservative leaders in the House convinced enough Republican moderates to fold to break a logjam over expansion and approve a budget that boosts funding for roads, prisons, and education.

“Our ultimate goal was to make sure that we funded core government and that our schools were funded,” Republican House Speaker Ron Ryckman said.

Everyone involved agreed this wasn’t the last word on Medicaid expansion. House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer said “we gave it our best fight, and we’re going to keep fighting.” Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, who refused to debate it this year, promised to prepare a “much more robust” bill before the 2020 legislative session starts in January.

But that’s all in the future.

While Medicaid expansion stalled, other initiatives advanced and faltered in 2019.

Increased school funding, yet again.

Lawmakers handed Gov. Laura Kelly a victory by approving her K-12 education proposal with a bipartisan majority.

Kelly based her plan on calculations from the Kansas Department of Education, adding about $90 million per year to account for inflation. The Kansas Supreme Court must sign off; if they do, it will end a long-running lawsuit over education spending.

But the plaintiffs in the Gannon case say the state got the math wrong, and that the Legislature will have to put in more still to make school funding adequate. Oral arguments are on May 9.

Gave businesses and itemizers a tax break.

In late March, Kelly quashed tax-relief legislation that was crafted in response to changes at the federal level. Lawmakers successfully tried again at the end of the session, passing a more modest bill.

It will save Kansas residents used to itemizing from paying more in state taxes after changes to the federal tax code. And it will exempt corporations’ overseas income from state taxes.

That’s if the governor doesn’t veto this bill too. She’s called the measure hasty and wants to instead study the Kansas tax code over the coming year.

Lawmakers tried to make it more palatable by including provisions to cut the sales tax on food, which Kansas taxes more than almost any other state. Kansas would collect sales taxes from more online retailers to make up for it.

Let the state Farm Bureau market health coverage.

Critics said the group shouldn’t be allowed to sidestep insurance regulations, especially when it comes to guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions. But the farm bureau argued the flexibility will create new, cheaper health plans that their members could afford.

The governor expressed reservations, but let the bill become law without her signature, in part to encourage a compromise on Medicaid expansion.

Approved more money for prisons, with a twist.

Kelly offered a last-minute budget amendment to boost corrections spending by about $30 million. The administration is hoping that raising officers’ pay and moving some inmates to county jails and private prisons will ease the pressure on the state prison system.

Lawmakers ultimately included more than $25 million, but there’s a catch: the money’s being routed through the state Finance Council. It’s made up of the governor and leaders of both parties, who all will decide on actually doling out the funding.

Took baby steps toward fixing the child welfare system.

The across-the-board consensus to start off the session was that children dying on the state’s watch and kids sleeping in offices of overwhelmed foster care contractors constituted an emergency.

Lawmakers agreed to add staff for the Department for Children and Families to lighten the load, including more child abuse investigators. They also agreed to funding programs that will allow the state to get federal money to help struggling families stay together.

But most recommendations of the state’s child welfare system task force remained on the shelf, things like improving foster home recruitment and strengthening safety-net programs like Medicaid. And lawmakers cut support for child welfare oversight from the final budget.

Restored some funding for state colleges and universities.

Kelly wanted $8.9 million to fully restore what lawmakers had cut during the state’s lean financial years.

Lawmakers agreed and added more, boosting spending on colleges and universities by almost $16 million, plus about $4 million in additional funding targeted at specific programs, including a technical education initiative.

Overall, it’s still less than the $50 million the Board of Regents had requested, but the regents said they were thankful for what they got.

Got some highway projects rolling again.

Lawmakers routed extra money to speed up projects in the 10-year transportation plan, T-WORKS, that had been delayed due to the post-2012 tax-cut budget crunch.

A task force recommended finishing the delayed highway projects, and lawmakers agreed to pursue that before working a on a new long-term transportation plan.

Made it easier to vote, and get your ballot counted.

One provision in a package of updates to voting rules will allow counties to let voters go to any polling place on Election Day. But it’ll be up to those local election officials whether to make open polling available.

Another piece of the legislation allows voters to fix problems with the signature on their mail-in ballot. In some cases, ballots have been thrown out because county officials said the signature didn’t closely match an example on file. The new law will require county officials to try to contact voters and let them correct their ballot before all the votes are tallied.

The Legislature did not, however, revoke the Kansas secretary of state’s authority to prosecute election crimes. The move had broad support, and the endorsement of current Secretary of State Scott Schwab, but lawmakers ran out of time.

Allowed medical use of CBD oil containing some THC.

THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana still isn’t legal in Kansas. But lawmakers made allowances for having CBD oil with THC in it for medicinal purposes.

Patients and caregivers who have a doctor’s note will be protected against prosecution and child welfare proceedings. Republican Rep. Eric Smith, a sheriff’s deputy, said such a letter won’t necessarily protect against being arrested for possessing CBD oil containing THC.

Amend the state constitution to ban abortion.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled last month that the state constitution guarantees a right to abortion. Abortion opponents say that could knock down many of the restrictions that have been added to state law in recent years.

The court’s long-awaited decision amplified calls for a constitutional amendment, which would need two-thirds support in the Legislature to get on the ballot for a public vote. Abortion opponents are waiting until 2020 to make their push for that.

Legalize sports betting.

It has bipartisan support, but legalizing betting on sports turned out not to be a slam dunk. While eight states already have done it and two others look to be in line, Kansas lawmakers got hung up on who should run gambling, how much to tax betting and other nitty-gritty details. The issue will likely come back in the 2020 session.

Refinance the state pension program.

Kelly wanted to stretch out repayment of state pension debt to free up money for other priorities, like highways and Medicaid expansion. But the proposed refinancing might have increased overall costs by $7 billion. Lawmakers scoffed and chose not to pursue it. Still, the reamortization idea could rerturn in the coming years.

Expand Medicaid.

Democrats and moderate Republicans maneuvered to get Medicaid expansion passed in the House in March. With the goal of inducing a debate on expansion in the Senate, the coalition blocked the budget twice as the session wound down.

Despite the bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate, and popular support, Republican leaders held off the last-ditch efforts.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

BARTON COUNTY — Many residents in Barton County are cleaning up after damage from Sunday night’s storm.

Just after 5p.m.,  severe weather and several strong storm cells developed at various  locations in Barton County, according to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

A large funnel cloud was observed just north of the city of Great Bend but did not develop into a tornado. At the same time, funnel clouds were observed west of Ellinwood moving south east.

Sheriff’s deputies went to the area and discovered damage near the intersection of SE 30 Road and Southeast 120 Avenue.

Several structures at Barton County Feeders were damaged as well as other agricultural buildings and equipment in the area.

Powerlines were also destroyed. Some residences in the southeast part of Barton County remained without power Monday morning. It appears a tornado was on the ground for proximally 2 miles. Golf ball size hail was also observed in the area. No injuries were reported according to Bellendir.

WICHITA – Musical icon George Strait will once again take the stage at INTRUST Bank Arena on Friday, Jan. 24, for Visit Wichita Presents Strait To Oz, an exclusive one night engagement. Tickets for Visit Wichita Presents George Strait: Strait To Oz will go on sale Friday, May 17, through Select-A-Seat.

The King of Country’s January concert is the first show announced for INTRUST Bank Arena’s 10th Anniversary Concert Series in 2020, a celebration that will feature multiple artists and events throughout the year to commemorate the Arena’s 10th Anniversary. Visit Wichita Presents Strait To Oz will be one of Strait’s rare live performances in 2020. INTRUST Bank Arena’s first concert took place on January 9, 2010, and featured country superstar Brad Paisley.

“We can’t think of a better way to kick off our 10th Anniversary in January than by welcoming the King of Country, George Strait, back to Wichita,” said AJ Boleski, SMG General Manager at INTRUST Bank Arena. “This concert wouldn’t be possible without the support of Visit Wichita and we are very grateful for their partnership and willingness to share in our vision for bringing Strait To Oz to INTRUST Bank Arena.”

George Strait’s last appearance at INTRUST Bank Arena in April 2014 was part of his final two-year tour, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. The sold-out concert held the Arena’s single event attendance record for nearly five years and had a significant economic impact of $3.2 million for Wichita.

Strait recently released his brand-new album Honky Tonk Time Machine Friday, March 29 on MCA Nashville, debuting as his record-extending 27th No. 1 Billboard Country album. Comprised of 12 original titles plus Strait’s version of the Johnny Paycheck classic “Old Violin,” Honky Tonk Time Machine marks an incredible 30th career studio album for Strait. Strait, who produced the album alongside Chuck Ainlay, wrote eight of the 13 tracks including “Sing One with Willie” featuring Willie Nelson that the pair happily debuted at a recent Nashville show marking the first time the two country icons have ever shared the stage.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 17, at 10:00 a.m. and will be available online at www.selectaseat.com, by phone at 855-755-SEAT (7328) or in person at the Select-A-Seat Box Office at INTRUST Bank Arena. For an opportunity to purchase tickets during a presale period beginning Wednesday, May 15 at 10:00 a.m., fans are encouraged to sign up for INTRUST Bank Arena’s Newsletter at www.intrustbankarena.com. American Express® Cardmembers can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Friday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m. through Thursday, May 16, at 10:00 p.m. Additionally, George Strait’s Fan Club will have an exclusive presale opportunity.