By Paige Henderson
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — The House Committee on Education recently discussed a bill that aims to prevent and prohibit bullying in schools through policies and procedures in accordance with state law.

House Bill No. 2330 would create three new sections of law and amend the current bullying statute in place. The amendment redefines bullying, harassment and cyberbullying and includes the requirement of the adoption of a policy to prohibit these forms of bullying. It contains detailed provisions for how investigations of reports are to be handled and lists appropriate responses to bullying behavior. The bill also requires any student or staff member who witnesses or has reliable information regarding bullying, harassment or cyberbullying to make an initial report within 24 hours.

W. Thomas Gilman, a lawyer from Wichita, gave a testimony about his friend’s daughter who committed suicide after being continuously bullied and the lack of action from her school. From spitting on her to putting gum on her hair, Gilman described the substantial impact it had on the family, as well as the missed opportunities the school could have taken to prevent it all.

“I’m here after promising her parents that I will not give up,” Gilman said last Wednesday. “Please do not let this continue. This is a time to say ‘alright, let’s have our students protected.’”

Opposition to the bill was argued through the ambiguous definition of bullying and that it is a people problem, not a policy problem.

“We’re not going to solve all of the problems in the world, but this policy is a step forward,” Rep. Adam Thomas (R-Olathe), the sponsor of the bill, said in response.

Mark Dessetti, a lobbyist for the Kansas National Education Association, suggested legislature create a task force to take on the bullying epidemic, similar to the Alzheimer’s and dyslexia task force. Rep. Brenda Dietrich supported the suggestion as well.

“You’re not destined to succeed the way you want unless the whole community is involved,” Dessetti said.

Chairman Steve Huebert delayed any decisions, proposing to adjust the bill in future legislature meetings as well as consider forming a task force.

“I don’t want this to be just a conversation. Let’s get something done for our kids,” said Rep. Mark Samsel (R-Wellsville).

Paige Henderson is a University of Kansas senior from Lenexa majoring in journalism.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a man lost money in an online scam.

The 38-year-old man had used Twitter to communicate with someone he believed was a woman named “Kira,” according to Salina Police Detective Sergeant David Villanueva.

“Kira” used the social media app to tell the victim she wanted to visit him. She needed him to buy and send her agent a pair of $100 Amazon gift cards, $400 in ITunes gift cards and an additional $600 in iTunes gift cards to assist her with travel from New York to Salina.
On Monday, the victim told police he decided the incident was a scam when he discovered that a $2,050 deposit into his bank account was fraudulent, according to Villanueva.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican bill that would have threatened prison for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions. The measure seemed doomed from the start but offered the GOP a chance to appeal to conservative voters.

The vote was the latest instance in which Republicans have tried to go on offense on the issue and put Democratic abortion-rights lawmakers in an uncomfortable position. Supporters said the measure presented lawmakers with a simple, moral choice.

On Tuesday morning, Kansas First District congressman Roger Marshall spoke at the Born Alive Act press conference and is critical of the outcome of the vote by those in the U.S. Senate.

.@RogerMarshallMD speaks at the #BornAliveAct press conference. pic.twitter.com/i2t8dzoKmo

— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) February 26, 2019

“I want to ask each and every one of my colleagues whether or not we’re OK with infanticide,” said the measure’s chief sponsor, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

Opponents, noting the rarity of such births and citing laws already making it a crime to kill newborn babies, said the bill was unnecessary. They said it is part of a push by abortion opponents to curb access to the procedure and intimidate doctors who perform it, and said late-term abortions generally occur when the infant is considered incapable of surviving after birth.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a leading Democrat on health issues, said the measure would force women to accept “care that may directly conflict with your wishes at a deeply personal, often incredibly painful moment in your life — because politicians in Washington decided their beliefs mattered more than yours.”

Senators voted 53-44 for Sasse’s bill — seven votes short of the 60 needed to end Democratic delaying tactics aimed at derailing the measure.

Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Doug Jones of Alabama and Joe Manchin from West Virginia were the only lawmakers to cross party lines as Democrats demonstrated anew that even in the minority, they can derail abortion-related bills.

Several dozen House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., stood on the Senate floor during the vote, just as a contingent of House Democrats did last month during a crucial vote on ending the government shutdown. Republicans control the Senate by 53-47.

President Donald Trump reacted to the vote while en route to his summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, tweeting: “This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, it’s protecting the lives of innocent babies.”

Only 1 percent of all abortions occur after 21 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Abortions during the final weeks are rarer still.

Doctors’ and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions, which they say usually occur when the baby is extremely deformed or deemed unable to survive after birth. In such cases, families sometimes decide they want to induce labor so they can spend time with the infant before it dies.

“It only happens in instances in which we know that the baby will not ultimately survive, and a choice has been pre-made to provide just comfort care” to the baby so the parents can be with it, said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, a fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

If an infant is born alive during an abortion, Sasse’s bill would require doctors to render “the same degree” of care used for any birth. The baby would have to be immediately sent to a hospital.

Doctors who violate those requirements and other medical staffers who don’t report violations could face fines and up to five years in prison. Doctors who intentionally kill a child born alive after an abortion would face prosecution under federal murder statutes — potentially a death penalty or life in prison.

Republicans in the Democratic-run House plan to try forcing a vote on a similar measure this spring. They will employ a seldom-used tactic, a petition requiring signatures from most House members to succeed. The GOP is expected to fall well short of the 20 Democratic supporters they’d need.

Republicans, eager to put congressional Democrats from swing states in an uneasy political spot, have been pouncing on the issue since it arose earlier this year in Virginia and New York.

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a pediatric neurologist, spoke favorably in January about state legislation to ease restrictions on late-term abortions. He said “a discussion would ensue” between doctors and the family over what to do if an infant is born who is badly deformed or incapable of living. Northam has since faced pressure to resign over a racist photo that appeared in his 1984 medical school yearbook.

Trump has criticized a new abortion law in New York that permits abortions of a viable fetus after 24 weeks of pregnancy if the mother’s life is in danger — codifying conditions specified by U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to 80 months in federal prison for acting as a courier to deliver more than three pounds of methamphetamine, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Demetrius Summerson, 28, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that FBI agents had him under surveillance when he delivered more than 3.6 pounds of methamphetamine to a buyer in Lenexa, Kan. The buyer paid Summerson $10,000.

Summerson was working as a distributor for a drug trafficking organization operating in Johnson and Wyandotte counties that was obtaining methamphetamine from a provider in Michoacan, Mexico.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Opening remarks Monday in the trial of a former Kansas legislator offered jurors contrasting portrayals of his handling of campaign funds.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell is accused of fraudulently taking $10,500 from campaign fundsfor his personal use. He faces 23 federal counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering related to his state and county campaign funds.

Jury selection took up most of the first day of the proceedings. The trial before U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren is expected to last five days.

The prosecution’s opening statement outlined O’Donnell’s extraordinary access to resources through his elected position and his access to campaign donations through his state and county campaigns. Prosecutors say he was a great fundraiser.

The defense in its remarks focused on explaining the legitimacy of the campaign funds, saying nothing illegal occurred and the checks were for legitimate work done on behalf of his campaign.

The indictment alleges O’Donnell wrote a series of checks in 2015 and 2016 from his “Michael for Kansas” and “Michael for Sedgwick County” campaigns to various people who would cash the checks. Prosecutors alleged some of the money went into his personal checking account and some to friends.

O’Donnell, a Wichita Republican, was elected to the Kansas State Senate in 2012 for a term that ended in January 2017. He did not run for re-election and instead ran for and won a seat on the Sedgwick County Commission. His term began in 2017 and is set to expire in 2020.

He remains free on bond and continues to serve as county commissioner.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas legislator accused of fraudulently taking $10,500 from campaign funds for his personal use goes to trial Monday in federal court in Wichita.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering related to his state and county campaign funds.

Defense attorney Mark Shoenhofer said that his client was innocent of the allegations when the charges were initially unsealed in May. O’Donnell and his attorneys did not immediately return messages left this week seeking comment.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren is expected to last five days.

O’Donnell, a Wichita Republican, was elected to the Kansas State Senate in 2012 for a term that ended in January 2017. He did not run for re-election and instead ran for and won a term on the Sedgwick County Commission that began in 2017 and is set to expire in 2020.

The indictment outlines a scheme whereby O’Donnell allegedly wrote a series of checks in 2015 and 2016 from his “Michael for Kansas” and “Michael for Sedgwick County” campaigns to various people who would cash the checks. Prosecutors alleged some of the money went into his personal checking account and some to friends. The indictment identifies the people who cashed the checks only by their initials.

Defense attorneys tried unsuccessfully last year to get charges dismissed, saying “overzealous prosecution” sometimes occurs when prosecutors throw a wide net on criminal corruption. His attorneys argued O’Donnell came to law enforcement’s attention during an investigation of other people in Wichita suspected of illegal gambling. Prosecutors subsequently indicted several local residents, including law enforcement officials, stemming from that gambling probe.

Several people, including then-Gov. Sam Brownback and other state officials, received notification letters in 2017 from the U.S. Justice Department telling them that the federal government intercepted phone calls between them and O’Donnell’s phone number. O’Donnell, a conservative known in part for championing tougher rules for welfare recipients, was a political ally of Brownback who won his legislative seat in the 2012 purge of Senate moderates.

He remains free on bond and continues to serve as county commissioner.

Attorney Austin Parker held a news conference in November during which he claimed three commissioners tried to fire then-County Manager Michael Scholes after he cooperated in the FBI investigation of O’Donnell. Parker, who represents then-County Counselor Eric Yost, told reporters there is an FBI investigation into that effort and that Yost had been interviewed twice by FBI agents on that subject.

It is unclear whether that investigation is ongoing, but no charges related to Yost’s allegations have been filed. Kate Flavin, the county’s spokeswoman, said there have been no further developments.

Scholes and Yost left their county positions after reaching termination settlements with the commission.

Commission Chairman David Dennis said in a statement released through Flavin it was not appropriate to comment on O’Donnell’s case because the charges are not related to the county.