LKM

TOPEKA  —  An ad hoc committee appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court a year ago to review bonding practices, fines, and fees of Kansas’ municipal courts presented its recommendations at a news conference Sept. 19.

The 18 committee members were appointed by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss in an order signed September 6, 2017. Of the 18 members, 16 are municipal judges, one a city attorney, and the General Counsel from the League of Kansas Municipalities.

The Supreme Court directed the committee to study current municipal court practices, examine the practices in other courts across the country, and recommend best practices for Kansas municipal courts.

The committee’s report offered 18 recommendations. It was delivered to the judicial administrator of the Office of Judicial Administration and to the executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, as spelled out in the Supreme Court order.

To prepare the recommendations the committee formed four subcommittees and each was assigned an area to study: bonds; enforcement; fines and fees; and indigency. The full committee also met five times over the last year.

Brenda Stoss, who chaired the ad hoc committee, is a municipal judge in Salina and New Cambria. She said the report is the first comprehensive look at municipal court practices statewide.

“The recommendations are important for municipal courts across the state as well as for the residents of Kansas who appear before those courts,” Stoss said.

The recommendations are similar to those proposed in national discussions of bonding practices, fines, and fees in that they focus on procedural fairness, but they also reflect the range of Kansas municipal courts in terms of size and number of cases processed each year.

The committee’s recommendations range from improving communication with defendants to studying more thoroughly the use of pretrial bail risk assessments. They also emphasize the need to adhere to due process and equal protection requirements to ensure the economically disadvantaged are not adversely affected.

Brad Ralph of Dodge City represented the city attorney viewpoint on the committee. He is also a member of the Kansas House of Representatives.

“Our municipal courts are so often the one and only contact many Kansans have with the court system. The effort by this committee—and its resulting recommendations—was and is a demonstration that our municipal courts work extremely hard to not only serve their judicial function but also to solve problems for our residents in a fair and equitable manner at every stage of those proceedings,” Ralph said.

Plans are already in place to present the committee’s report and its recommendations to interested statewide groups.

Erik Sartorius, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities (LKM), said city attorneys will review the report at their annual meeting in October, and the League plans to fulfill the recommendation that it conduct periodic surveys of municipal court fine schedules and make the information available to all municipal courts.

“Reviewing systems and programs in search of efficiencies is a common function within government,” said Sartorius. “What this review did—and what sets it apart from others—is it considered whether the municipal court system acts in an equitable way for individuals, rather than just efficiency. We look forward to sharing the committee’s findings with our members and seeking ways to ensure that ‘equal treatment under the law’ remains a hallmark of municipal courts.”

The report is also on the agenda for municipal judges continuing judicial education next spring, said Nancy Dixon, the judicial administrator.

“The Office of Judicial Administration works with the municipal judges education committee to plan and deliver educational programs that meet continuing judicial education requirements. The purpose of this judicial education is to reduce court delay, promote fair and efficient management of court proceedings, and support the administration of justice,” Dixon said.

The Office of Judicial Administration and the League of Kansas Municipalities plan to continue examining each of the recommendations and considering next steps.

There currently are 394 municipal courts in Kansas, and 234 municipal judges. Some judges serve more than one municipal court. In fiscal year 2017, Kansas municipal courts processed more than 350,000 cases. Fiscal year 2018 data are not yet published.

The Kansas Supreme Court has general administrative authority over all courts in Kansas, although municipalities are responsible for funding city courts and appointing and paying judges. The Office of Judicial Administration implements the rules and policies of the Supreme Court and oversees the operation and administration of the judicial branch.

KDOR

TOPEKA — Kansas alcohol manufacturers and out of state suppliers will soon have a more efficient way to register beverage brands and renew liquor permits, the Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control announced earlier this week.

The system improvements, which go live October 1, will allow wineries, microdistilleries, microbreweries, and manufacturers to renew their license or permit and their brand labels in the same web interface. Previously, brand registration required a separate transaction on a different system for each beverage label a manufacturer produced.

“We are so pleased to offer a more intuitive way for alcohol beverage manufacturers to do business with the State of Kansas,” Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Debbi Beavers said. “This is a substantial improvement that will require less time and money from the manufacturers.”

The enhancements feature a cart where manufacturers can register multiple labels at once under a single, streamlined checkout process.

The improvements will also feature a newly reduced convenience fee structure that will be a cost saving to businesses. While the $25 per label fee is required by law to remain in place, the system enhancement will eliminate the label processing fee. Instead, manufacturers will pay a 2.5 percent credit card processing fee, or a $1.50 bank draft fee.

Kansas has 107 in-state alcoholic beverage manufactures and 1,136 out of state suppliers that register a approximately 52,000 labels with the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control every year.

DCF

TOPEKA – Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel is excited to announce that the agency recently received two new federal grants that will allow the agency to continue to build strong, healthy families in Kansas.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has awarded Kansas a $250,608 Kansas Kinship Grant through the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. DCF will be utilizing the funding from this grant to develop an intensive Kinship Navigator Program in Kansas. The Kinship Navigator Program will connect kinship caregivers to resources, programs and services and will provide much-needed assistance and support to kinship caregivers.

The Kinship Navigator Program will be included in the Kansas Family Network Support grant, which is currently in the bid submission process. The Kansas Family Support Network will focus on providing direct support to parents and kinship caregivers through prevention and intervention services. By making small shifts within families, they can have an enormous impact on Kansas child welfare outcomes, such as out of home placement rates and lengths of stay in foster care.  The Kansas Family Network Support grant will take effect July 1, 2019.

“I am extremely excited about the Kinship Navigator Program because it allows us to fill a gap that existed previously and provide quality, necessary support and services to parents and kinship caregivers in Kansas,” Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel said. “This program is aimed at reducing stress on families and reducing disruptions in the caregiver process. This is great news for the children and families of Kansas.”

DCF’s Economic and Employment Services (EES) division also received a new, substantial three-year grant this week that allows the agency to develop and implement a phone application for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) clients. The SNAP recipients will be able to contact their career navigator directly through the phone app, as well as set and track appointment dates with their career navigator, see upcoming workshops, access community resources, etc.

The Process and Technology Improvement Grant, received from the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (USDA), will work in conjunction with GOALS: A Program of HOPEWorks, to connect SNAP recipients to employment and training opportunities.

“We want to connect with and assist Kansas families as much as possible. By developing this phone app, EES can be more readily available to SNAP recipients,” EES Director Sandra Kimmons said. “This is a great opportunity to improve engagement in SNAP work program services, which will ultimately help more Kansas families achieve self-sufficiency.”

The Process and Technology Improvement Grant, which totaled $1,475,303, takes effect immediately and will run through September 2021. To learn more about SNAP or GOALS: A Program of HOPEWorks, visit www.dcf.ks.gov.

KDWPT

PRATT – In just a matter of days, ink will be drying on freshly-printed copies of Kansas’ 2018 Upland Bird Hunting Forecast, but if you can’t wait any longer, there’s an electronic version to tide you over. Bird hunters can download a PDF version of this year’s forecast at ksoutdoors.com.

How To Download the “2018 Upland Bird Forecast”

1. Visit ksoutdoors.com

2. Click “Hunting”

3. Click “Upland Birds” (found under “What To Hunt”)

4. Click “Upland Bird Forecast”

The annual forecast summarizes data from spring and summer surveys and predicts what pheasant, quail and prairie chicken hunters may experience across Kansas this fall. The verdict? Kansas should have “good” upland bird hunting opportunities this fall.

Biologists create the forecast using surveys of breeding populations and reproductive success of pheasants, quail, and prairie chickens. Breeding population data are gathered with spring whistle count surveys for quail, crow count surveys for pheasants and lek count surveys for greater prairie chickens.

PHEASANT

Kansas reported the second highest pheasant harvest among states in 2017, and Kansas will still have one of the best pheasant populations in the country this fall. Pheasant hunting in Kansas should be “fair to locally good” this year.

Pheasant densities had been slowly recovering from 2013 to 2016 with a few areas reaching relatively high densities. A late 2017 spring blizzard in western Kansas reduced nesting success and resulted in a decline in the 2018 pheasant crow survey. Winter precipitation was limited this year, resulting in short wheat and concern for nesting prospects. Heavy spring and summer showers greatly improved vegetative cover for nesting, but also limited nest success. Conditions shifted peak pheasant hatch later into June and July. While wheat harvest was delayed, which typically benefits pheasant production, the short wheat limited its usefulness for nesting. Roadside counts indicate a below-average pheasant population this year. The combination of heavy cover and a later peak hatch may have reduced the number of detectable birds on the counts, but generally survey conditions were ideal.

The best areas will likely be in the northern half of the Kansas pheasant range with areas of high densities also found in central and far southwestern regions.

QUAIL

Last fall’s Kansas bobwhite quail harvest was the highest recorded in the country, finishing just above Texas, and while hunting isn’t expected to be quite as good in 2018, Kansas will still have one of the best quail populations in the country.

Precipitation patterns observed over the past five years altered vegetation, increasing both the quality and quantity of habitat, allowing for a modern quail boom. While total harvest has remained well below average due to lower hunter participation, the average daily bag has remained at the best levels observed in 20 years. The bobwhite whistle survey in 2018 showed only a slight decline compared to the 2017’s highest values ever recorded from this survey, which began in 1997. Dry weather in the east and wet weather in the west provided optimism for high production and another banner year. Early reports indicated lots of birds along roadsides and throughout wheat fields during harvest. However, observations on the statewide roadside survey were significantly down this year, with only the Osage Cuestas showing improvement. Densities in the eastern-most regions are not as high, but all regional indices remain near or above their respective long-term averages.

The best opportunities will again be found in the central regions, extending east into the northern Flint Hills.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN

Kansas is home to greater and lesser prairie chickens. Greater prairie chickens are found primarily in the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies that occur in the eastern third and northern half of the state. The Southwest Prairie Chicken Unit, where lesser prairie chickens are found, will remain closed to hunting this year.

Greater prairie chicken hunting opportunities will be best in the Northern High Plains and Smoky Hills Regions this fall, where populations have been increasing or stable.

All prairie chicken hunters are required to purchase a $2.50 Prairie Chicken Permit in addition to their hunting license. This permit allows hunter activity and harvest to be measured and will improve management activities and inform policy decisions.

For more detailed information and regional breakdowns for all three species, consult the 2018 Upland Bird Hunting Forecast at www.ksoutdoors.com or pick one up at any Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Office. The full forecast will also be featured in the 2018 November/December issue of Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine, available for purchase by calling (620) 672-5911.