Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
The second Andover Legislative Coffee Series and the third in the series lineup was attended by about 30 constituents. The meeting was held on March 15 at the Andover Music Scene from 8-10am.
Several of the same topics were brought up by constituents as were at the last meetings, which involved education funding, Medicaid expansion, healthcare and property taxes. When those same topics were brought up, the same message was echoed to constituents.
Legislator appointments
Senator Ty Masterson mentioned the tragic American Airlines crash of AA5342 and how it could’ve been dangerous for the Republican party to lose several senators or representatives had they been on that flight. It provoked the party to change policy that would require
“So, the last time I was on that flight I sat across the aisle from Senator Marshall, and right in front of him, Senator Moran, and I thought, look at that,” said Sen. Masterson. “If that plane would have gone down, we would have lost our entire US Senate voice. And the way that Kansas has appointment, Governor Kelly would appoint two Democrats.”
Sen. Masterson went on to explain that losing several politicians at once would result in a loss of balance in power in Washinton, D.C. Moving forward he voiced they want to change the policy that if someone were to pass away unexpectedly that the Governor would no longer appoint a replacement. Instead, the next person with the most votes from the general election would step in and a new vote would be done at the next general election to elect a new person.
“And that’s, in and of itself, not the big issue, but it’s the opposite of what the people voted for, right?” said Sen. Masterson. “Before this last term, there’s 5,149 in the US Senate. You can have one plane change the balance of power in Washington, D.C.”
Supreme Court election changes
Another topic brought up regarding elected officials included Supreme Court Judge elections. Historically in Kansas judicial judges are appointed by a committee made up of five lawyers. Sen. Masterson voiced that those lawyers then appear to work in front of judges with clients, which then opens the door for conflict of interests that aren’t addressed. While this is partially true in the fact that lawyers are on the commission, there are also non-lawyers that sit on the nominating commission that Masterson failed to mention.
According to www.Kscourts.gov, this way of appointing Supreme Court justices was voted into the Kansas constitution in 1958 and pulls one lawyer and one non-lawyer from the four congressional districts in Kansas. Non-lawyers are appointed by the governor while lawyers are elected by other lawyers within their congressional districts.
The first congressional district commission members are up for re-appointment in 2026, and the fourth congressional members are up for re-appointment in 2025.
The constitutional amendment that has been proposed will be placed on the August 2026 primary election for constituents to vote on across the state. It will ask voters to amend the Kansas Constitution to set open elections for the court. If voters react in favor of the change, justices will become free to campaign and hold leadership positions in political parties. The legislature will set the rules for Supreme Court candidates as to whether they can run on a partisan ticket, statewide or district wide if the amendment is passed.
Medicaid effects on providers
When the Medicaid expansion conversation began, the legislators argued that expansion has decreased worker ratio and encouraged people to work less. A small number of healthcare providers were present at the meeting and mentioned that they’ve had to stop taking Medicaid not due to reimbursement, which is already substantially low, but because they aren’t being paid by the state or provider for the services.
Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell stood up to comment on the situation.
“I should probably keep my mouth shut right about now but I’m not,” said Chief Russell. “Just to echo the provider’s concern of not being paid, it’s been about 10 years since I’ve been in the ambulance business but it’s the same story. They’re not being paid. So not only does it cost me, back them, $1,200 to run a call but we’re being paid back then to the tune of $120. So then the taxpayers have to pay more for ambulance services because they have to get the money from somewhere.”
“All of these are legit concerns, but all I’m saying is expansion didn’t fix it in any other state, that’s all I’m saying,” said Sen. Masteron. “It did not fix it.”
Future meetings
Augusta
Saturday, March 22 at the Train Depot located at 618 State Street. The event will be co-hosted by Go!Augusta and runs from 9-11am. Legislators in attendance include Kansas Senator Larry Alley and Kansas House Representatives Doug Blex, Sandy Pickert and Kristey Williams.
Benton
Saturday, March 29 at the Benton Community Building located at 150 S Main from 9-11am. In attendance will be Senator Ty Masterson and House Representatives Will Carpenter and Patrick Penn.
