Indivisible KC's Week in Action - Kansas, May 7th

Hello, Indivisibles!

State Capitol (photo: Adam Jones)We have a lot to digest this week as the Kansas Legislature officially wrapped up its session. In the final hours and days, both chambers passed a fix to the school funding measure, which was signed into law by Governor Colyer today. Additionally, legislators passed a budget, rejected a tax plan that would have cut revenue by an unspecified amount, and approved state-funded discrimination in adoption agencies.

As you might expect, there's a lot to take in - here are some great recaps of the final week:

Considering the session as a whole -

  • You advocated for sensible gun control laws - and the legislature passed a bill keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, while a bill that would have allowed 18-20 year olds to conceal carry ended with the session.
  • You advocated for adequate school funding - and the legislature passed a $500 million spending package!
  • You advocated for responsible, progressive taxation - and the House voted down a bill that would have cut taxes and revenue at a critical moment for the state.
  • You advocated for transparency - while many measures languished in committee, victims of leadership that did not want them voted on, a measure making all dealings with lobbyists did pass.
  • You advocated to expand Medicaid - unfortunately, that measure only reached the House floor as an amendment, which failed.
  • You advocated to make voting easier - a measure to make advanced voting by mail permanent passed the Senate, but was not taken up in the House.

And take a look at Mainstream Coalition's recap of the session and excellent look ahead: Now What? Here are Some Ideas. If your passion lies in state-level activism, definitely don't miss this blog.

Rest assured, that none of these fights are over. For key points that didn't reach where we want to be, we'll work the rest of 2018 to make sure that elected officials who will support our issues are elected or reelected, and when the 2019 session starts, we'll be right back in it.

(By the way - our friends on the Missouri side celebrated a big victory. Curious? Read more!)

Election 2018

Be ready to elect or reelect officeholders who are working for your values on your issues!

June 1st is an important deadline for both voters and candidates. For voters, it is the deadline to change your party affiliation to be able to vote in the August primaries. There are exciting primary races for both major parties, and you'll need to be affiliated with that party to vote.  

It's also the candidate filing deadline, so you'll soon be able to see who's running in the races that affect you.

Calls to Action  

Take action on your own schedule! Use your phone and computer to make your voice heard.

Block Haspel to the CIARemember January 2017 when we made Congress' phones ring off their hooks to block disastrous nominees? That's the energy we need to block Gina Haspel, Trump's nominee to be the new Director of the CIA. "Gina Haspel personally helped torture detainees in a secret CIA-run prison during the Bush administration. She then made sure the video evidence was destroyed."  Check out Indivisible's one-stop page for everything you need to block Haspel's nomination in its tracks.


Farm Bill,  no Harm BillDid you call Senator Roberts last week about the Farm Bill? We're putting the pressure on Senator Pat Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Ag Committee. The Senate version must not raise workfare requirements and threaten the Farm Bill.  Ready to bring the heat so that everyone can eat? Click here for the phone numbers and talking points!


And don't forget to put the pressure on Kevin Yoder, too - the House will be taking up the vote on the Farm Bill soon. Use Indivisible's explainer and call script!

Upcoming Events

Take action with others! Build energy and connection among like-purposed people.

Ongoing

SwingLeft has begun canvassing for the Kansas 3rd Congressional District most Sundays. If you're interested in getting involved with that and finding out more dates and times, be sure to sign up for updates on the KS-3 SwingLeft page.

Save the Date

On Thursday, May 24th and Saturday, June 2, SwingLeft will be hosting candidate forums for the challengers in the Kansas 3rd race. For more information, and to RSVP, visit the SwingLeft KS-3 Event Page.


As always, we'll see you out there - keep resisting!

Indivisible KC


Largelogo_(1)
Sponsored by
Kansas City, MO