Each week during the 2025 Kansas legislative session, we will provide Johnson County lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state capitol.
The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker. The topics are of the lawmakers’ choosing and are not fact-checked.
Below is a submission from Democratic Sen. Cindy Holscher, who represents Kansas Senate District 8, covering a portion of Overland Park.
The Post earlier this week published a Capitol Update by Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin from Leawood. The Post also extended an invitation to Republican Rep. Adam Turk of Shawnee, but he did not respond.
I reached out to followers on social media asking what they wanted me to write about for this column.
There were a lot of responses, and as a result, I decided to do a Q-and-A to address as many questions as possible.
Let’s get to it:
Q: What is the state doing to take over programs being cut by the federal government?
A: In a word, nothing. The elimination of the Department of Education at the federal level means responsibility will shift to the states but not the dollars. To add insult to injury, the MAGA-dominated state legislature so far has not fulfilled its obligation to fund special education or general education for 2026. That means local entities will have to make up the difference. Generally, that translates into higher property taxes.
Q: What is happening in terms of voter rights?
A: There are attacks on voter rights on both the federal and state levels. This session, the legislature (which has an extremist/MAGA Republican supermajority) overrode Governor Kelly’s veto of SB 4, which eliminates the three-day grace period for mail ballots. Kansas will now have the shortest mail voting period in the nation. House Elections Committee Chair Rep. Pat Procter, a Republican from Leavenworth, has promised to continue chipping away at early voting.
Q: Why isn’t medicinal cannabis legal in Kansas?
A: While a medicinal cannabis bill passed in the House, Senate President Ty Masterson has been an opponent and has not allowed a bill on the topic to move forward.
Q: Why is there a push to change from a merit-based selection process to the electing of Kansas Supreme Court judges?
A: It boils down to school funding and reproductive health care. There is a very real movement (through the Koch network and extremist legislators) to destroy public education in Kansas. However, the court system has played a major role in preventing that from happening over the last decade. Additionally, the far right had hoped for the banning of abortion through the August 2022 “Value Them Both” amendment vote, when instead, Kansans overwhelmingly indicated their approval for access to reproductive health care. The far right has been successful with investing huge sums of money in legislative races. Their hope is to be able to buy judicial elections for “their candidates.” Read more here.
Q: Is there a DOGE committee on the state level?
A: Yes, it’s called COGE. Similar to the federal level, the focus has, unfortunately, been placed on eliminating programs that help people versus dealing with actual waste. A portal was established in late January for “members of the public to submit ideas on how state government can better serve the residents of Kansas.” The portal has come under scrutiny as access has apparently been restricted to only certain (Republican) members. You can read more about that here.
Q: What is the best way to keep up with what is happening in the state legislature?
A: There are a couple online publications that focus on the state legislature including the Sunflower Journal as well as the Kansas Reflector. You can sign up for the Reflector’s daily email with the latest stories here. Additionally, it is always recommended to sign up for the newsletter of local elected officials. If you would like to be included on my distribution list, go to this link and scroll to the bottom.
Q: How can we get a better legislature that is representative of the people?
A: State representatives are up for reelection every two years and state senators every four. Kansans will not get another chance to vote for Senate until 2028. But, every House seat will be on the ballot in 2026 along with the governor’s race. It is imperative we restore some balance to the House and work to ensure the governor’s office isn’t turned over to an extremist. That work starts NOW. If you are interested in helping save democracy, contact me at: cindyforkansas@gmail.com.
