Kansas Legislative Insights Newsletter | August 6, 2020
August 6, 2020
Secretary of State Update
On Friday, July 31, Secretary of State Scott Schwab released his pre-primary election update noting changing voting patterns. The impact of the pandemic, combined with competitive Congressional and legislative races, generated historic advance voting in Kansas. The number of advance mail ballots requested was 314,788, compared with 51,211 advance ballots for the same period prior to the 2018 primary election and 53,387 ballots before the 2016 primary. As of last Friday, 159,012 advance mail ballots had been returned to local election offices. Schwab also noted that advance in-person voting declined from 40,606 in the 2018 to 30,700 through last Friday. He predicted 27% voter turnout. Schwab noted that 30% of Kansas voters are unaffiliated with a political party and unable to participate in the primary election. Advance mail ballots postmarked on or before August 4 and received by August 7 mean results will not be available until next week in close races.
August Primary
Congressman Dr. Roger Marshall emerged from an 11-candidate field to win the Republican nomination for the U.S Senate. State Senator Dr. Barbara Bollier won the Democratic primary. The primary results mean the next U.S. Senator from Kansas will be a physician. The Congressional Republican primaries were won by former Lt. Governor Tracey Mann in the 1st District; State Treasurer Jake LaTurner in the 2nd District; former Republican Party Chairwoman Amanda Adkins in the 3rd District, and incumbent Congressman Ron Estes in the 4th District.
The Kansas Senate will have a 25% turnover with at least 10 new faces in January. Six incumbent Republican Senators were defeated in the primary. All six incumbents were completing their first term and were elected to reverse the Brownback tax experiment. In addition, Sen. Dan Goddard (R-Parsons) is currently trailing in his race by 42 votes and is awaiting the count of the final advance ballots. The results signal a conservative shift in the Kansas Senate. Four other Senate seats were open due to retirement or incumbents seeking other elective offices.
There were five Republican incumbents defeated in the House of Representatives. There are some close primaries that will require waiting until the advance ballots postmarked on or before August 4 and received by Friday, August 7 are counted. With no general election opposition, the August primary results in five Senate races and 13 House races are settled barring a write-in campaign.
2021 Kansas Revenue
July provided our first look at the 2021 Fiscal Year revenue collections. The July tax-only collections for the first month of the fiscal year were $980.8 million, or 0.5% below the estimate. The numbers surpassed the total tax-only collection by $484.6 million when compared to last July. The delayed tax filing deadline probably contributed to that result. Individual income tax and corporate taxes were below the estimates. Retail sales tax and compensating use tax collections performed better than the monthly estimate. Revenue numbers will be closely monitored in advance of the 2021 Legislature for budget and policy discussions.
Kansas Legislative Insights is a publication developed by the Governmental Relations & Public Policy Law practice group of Foulston Siefkin LLP. It is designed to inform business executives, human resources and governmental relations professionals, and general counsel about current developments occurring in current Kansas legislation. Published regularly during the Kansas legislative session, it focuses on issues involving health care, insurance, public finance, taxation, financial institutions, business & economic development, energy, real estate & construction, environmental, agribusiness, employment, and workers compensation. Bill summaries are by necessity brief, however, for additional information on any issue before the Kansas Legislature, contact Foulston Siefkin’s Governmental Relations & Public Policy Law practice group leader, James P. Rankin at 785.233.3600 or jrankin@foulston.com.
Kansas Legislative Insights Editors
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James (Jim) P. Rankin Governmental Relations & Public Policy Law Team Leader 785.806.3600 jrankin@foulston.com | View Bio |
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Gary L. Robbins Governmental Affairs Consultant 785.640.2651 garyrobbinsconsulting@gmail.com |
James P. (Jim) Rankin and Gary L. Robbins are co-editors of Foulston Siefkin’s Kansas Legislative Insights Newsletter.
As a partner at Foulston Siefkin, Jim’s practice focuses on employee benefits law relating to public, private, governmental, and tax-exempt organizations. A large part of his work involves insurance regulatory and compliance issues in many industries, including healthcare. Jim has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® list. He is the firm's representative with State Law Resources, Inc., a national network of independent law firms selected for their expertise in administrative, regulatory, and government relations at the state and federal level.
Gary, a governmental affairs consultant to Foulston Siefkin’s Governmental Relations & Public Policy practice group, provides legislative monitoring and lobbying services for Foulston’s governmental relations clients. He holds a bachelor of science degree in history and political science from Southwestern College and a master’s degree in labor economics from Wichita State University. Throughout his extensive career, Gary has served as CLE Director to the Kansas Bar Association and as Executive Director of the Kansas Optometric Association.
This update has been prepared by Foulston Siefkin LLP for informational purposes only. It is not a legal opinion; it does not provide legal advice for any purpose; and it neither creates nor constitutes evidence of an attorney-client relationship.
