One might think the end of her first legislative session as Kansas governor would give Laura Kelly some relief.
Oh, not much, she said. Weve been extraordinarily busy.
With lawmakers out of town until January, the governor has been rounding out her cabinet, appointing permanent replacements to lead the departments of administration and corrections, for instance. But Kelly says there are still probably literally thousands of other appointments to boards and commissions that have to be done, many of which were left neglected for years.
Beefing up government infrastructure, she said, will allow it to function.
Heres what Kelly told KCUR about issues left on the table.
School funding
In June, Kellys administration scored an important win when the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that its latest funding bill sends enough money to local school districts. The ruling effectively ended a nearly decade-long lawsuit. But the court didnt fully dismiss the case, leaving open the possibility that future funding squabbles could end up back before the high court.
Kelly said that success is a great example of delivering bipartisan wins in the face of hostile leaders in the Kansas Senate.
That was because of the 14 years I had been working in the Senate and had established relationships across the aisle, said Kelly. It was not the Republicans, generically, opposing everything that I wanted to get done it was Republican leadership.
Ultimately, said Kelly, I ran to be the education governor, so being able to fulfill that promise and adequately fund our schools and the cycle of litigation is very satisfying.
The passage of a school finance solution also means Kelly can turn more of her attention to other things, like what she called her legacy project: establishing the best and most robust early childhood education system in the country.
Medicaid expansion
The battle over Medicaid expansion was another example of the beef between Kelly and Republican leaders in the Senate.
The House passed Medicaid expansion and there were enough votes on the Senate floor to pass Medicaid expansion as we presented it, Kelly said. There were obstacles just in Senate leadership.
Two legislative committees will now study the idea, but the governor said theres no longer any excuse for continuing to hold out. She insisted expansion would be a boon for the health and economy of Kansas.
