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This week...

FRA Filibuster Ends After Over 41 Hours of Debate

Five members of the ����ӰԺ Senate Freedom Caucus participated in a filibuster that spanned over several legislative days and finally came to an end early Thursday morning after more than 40 hours of debate in an effort to block action on SB748, a bill that would renew the state’s Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA) program. 

The effort to take control of the Senate’s order of business was orchestrated by several members of the Freedom Caucus who demanded 1) the Senate take up and pass legislation to make it harder to amend the state constitution (IP Reform); and 2) the Governor sign legislation to ban state Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood; before they would allow the FRA to come up for a vote. 

It is unknown what motivated Freedom Caucus members to finally relinquish control of the floor early Thursday morning as neither of their demands were met. The bill should come up for one final vote in the Senate on Monday before it moves to the House. .

Why it matters: The FRA bill is considered “must-pass” legislation. If the FRA is not reauthorized before it is set to expire in September, the state will face a more than $4 billion budget shortfall. Since the 90s, the FRA has served as a funding mechanism used to draw down more federal dollars to help fund hospitals, nursing homes, ambulance services, and pharmacies throughout the state.

Budget Timeline Tightens, Deadline Looms

The original plan this week in the Senate involved a two step process: 1) pass the aforementioned FRA renewal bill and then 2) work through the Senate’s version of the state operating budget. In this case, step 1 took the entire week and still requires one more vote, which means approval of the FY 2025 budget must happen next week. 

In order to speed this process along, the House and Senate Budget Committee chairmen are believed to be meeting privately to iron out any differences to potentially avoid a conference committee altogether. More to come on this front as the constitutional deadline to pass the budget is Friday, May 10 at 6:00 PM.

House Ethics Committee Dismisses Complaint Against Speaker Dean Plocher

The House Ethics Committee, charged with investigating a complaint regarding unintentional duplications on some expense reimbursements submitted by Speaker of the House Dean Plocher, voted on Tuesday to formally dismiss the complaint. In a press conference, Speaker Plocher, a Republican from Des Peres who is running for Secretary of State, stated he had been exonerated from a series of “false allegations” and compared his situation to that of former President Donald Trump.

At her request, Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain View) was removed from her position as chairwoman of the House Ethics Committee and was replaced by Rep. Rick Francis (R-Perryville). .

Minimum Wage Increase, Sports Betting to Appear on ����ӰԺ Ballot

Initiative petition campaigns seeking to get their questions on the ����ӰԺ ballot are required to submit the minimum 107,246 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by Sunday, May 5. Up to five campaigns are expected to submit signatures before the deadline. Two groups have already submitted their signatures. 

Minimum Wage/Paid Sick Leave: A coalition seeking to raise ����ӰԺ’s minimum wage and codify paid seek leave submitted over 210,000 signatures the Secretary of State’s Office Wednesday afternoon, more than double the amount required to make the statewide ballot. .

Sports Betting: A group of petitioners seeking to legalize sports betting turned in over 300,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office Thursday afternoon. .

Abortion: Despite new efforts from anti-abortion groups, the ����ӰԺans for Constitutional Freedom, the group campaigning for abortion access to appear on the ballot, is expected to submit their signatures by the Sunday deadline as well. .

The Sunday deadline comes as Republican state lawmakers work to pass initiative petition reform, which would make it more difficult to amend the ����ӰԺ constitution. The Secretary of State’s Office must verify the signatures before they can be added to the ballot in the August primary or November general election.

Kansas City Police Funding to Return on November Ballot

The ����ӰԺ Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2022 that required Kansas City to spend a larger percentage of its money on their police department. The question, which was passed by voters by 63%, will reappear on the upcoming November ballot. 

Background: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas filed a lawsuit last year, alleging that voters were misled because the ballot language included false financial estimates included in the fiscal note summary. Kansas City leaders had informed state officials that passage of the measure would cost the city more than $38 million, but the fiscal note summary given to voters said that local government entities expect “no additional costs or savings”. .

Jill Carter Resigns from Senate Freedom Caucus

Senator Jill Carter (R-Joplin), elected in 2022, announced her resignation from the ����ӰԺ Senate Freedom Caucus Thursday afternoon. Sen. Carter did not engage in this week’s filibuster by the other members of the Freedom Caucus. .