February 23rd is fast approaching, “turnaround” day at the Kansas Statehouse. The last day for non exempt bills and proposals to be considered the house of origin before passing to the other chamber. Turnaround is informally considered the mid point in the legislative session.
Among the items moving from chamber to chamber are bills to further attack women’s rights to healthcare making access more difficult. Bills to redefine when life begins and a fetus becomes a person, disguised as requiring child support. Numerous tax bills to reduce or eliminate taxes or fines for certain businesses or industry’s, as well as measures that might be of benefit to the average person.
A bill to give tax credits for education expenses that would provide an education opportunity tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children not enrolled in public school.
A bill to restrict the decommissioning of fossil fuel power plants. And one measure that would declare current restrictive covenants that limit or prohibit the installation of solar panels on rooftops of residential properties to be void and unenforceable and would allow homeowner associations to adopt reasonable rules concerning solar panels that do not prohibit rooftop installation, which would benefit homeowners.
And in the wake of the St. Valentines Day Mass Shooting at the Chiefs victory parade, an amendment to Article 4 of the Kansas Bill of Rights to recognize the right to bear arms as a fundamental right and would clarify that such right includes the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories, and firearm components. This would open the door to allow convicted felons, domestic abusers under restraining orders and anyone else, to possess and use devices to convert rifles and pistols to automatic fire (machine guns) with high capacity magazines and armor piercing ammunition. Just what we need for another disaster.
I see no need to restrict a woman’s right to healthcare. And what makes legislators think that a man is going to pay child support from the moment of conception, when they can’t get many men to pay child support after a child is born? And worse yet, gun laws that will most certainly be struck down like the recent similar Missouri measure. We need common sense in Topeka.