In the waning days of the 2019 session, the conservative Republicans controlling the Kansas Legislature made one thing clear to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and her allies: They were ready for a fight against Medicaid expansion.
The issue commanded the four-month session, which ended in the wee hours Sunday. The session was the first with the new Democratic governor in office, which gave people who wanted to expand health coverage for thousands of low-income Kansans the energy to push hard in the final days. Their efforts ultimately failed.
Medicaid expansion has characterized this entire session, Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Bishop said during a final budget vote. It has run up against the will of the minority to thwart the will of the majority.
Conservative leaders in the House convinced enough Republican moderates to fold to break a logjam over expansion and approve a budget that boosts funding for roads, prisons, and education.
Our ultimate goal was to make sure that we funded core government and that our schools were funded, Republican House Speaker Ron Ryckman said.
Everyone involved agreed this wasnt the last word on Medicaid expansion. House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer said we gave it our best fight, and were going to keep fighting. Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, who refused to debate it this year, promised to prepare a much more robust bill before the 2020 legislative session starts in January.
But thats all in the future.
While Medicaid expansion stalled, other initiatives advanced and faltered in 2019.
What lawmakers did.
Increased school funding, yet again.
Lawmakers handed Gov. Laura Kelly a victory by approving her K-12 education proposal with a bipartisan majority.
Kelly based her plan on calculations from the Kansas Department of Education, adding about $90 million per year to account for inflation. The Kansas Supreme Court must sign off; if they do, it will end a long-running lawsuit over education spending.
But the plaintiffs in the Gannon case say the state got the math wrong, and that the Legislature will have to put in more still to make school funding adequate. Oral arguments are on May 9.
