By all accounts, the Kansas economy is booming.
Kansas leads the nation with a 9.7 percent increase in production of goods and services for the economy’s third quarter, almost double the nation’s overall increase of 4.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Also during that July-to-September period, Kansas came in third with a 4.9 percent increase in earnings compared to the national average of 3.5 percent.
The two go hand-in-hand.
Agriculture sales, though down nationally, propelled Kansas to the top of the GDP list.
Farm production was also the leading contributor to the increase in personal earnings in Kansas.
The first half of the year was just as sunny, increasing its output by 6 percent and 7.4 percent in the first and second quarters.
Last week’s news prompted Gov. Laura Kelly to justifiably crow, “Now, Kansas is outstripping the entire nation in economic growth and attracting business investment. It’s clear we have the momentum to continue this trajectory of success into 2024 and beyond.”
Since the beginning of her administration in 2019, business investment in Kansas has reached $18 billion, creating an additional 65,000 jobs. The state’s bank account and savings are as healthy as they’ve ever been.
The governor has every right to take credit for the economic boom. She would also be the first to admit such success comes from having a strong team.
And in terms of economic development, that team’s home base is the Kansas Department of Commerce.
So we’re puzzled as to why Sen. Tom Holland, a fellow Democrat from Baldwin City, is proposing legislation that would strip Lt. Gov. David Toland, who also serves as secretary of the Department of Commerce, of his post.
Kelly tapped Toland as Commerce Secretary when she was first elected governor in 2018. Quickly proving his worth, Toland also became Kelly’s lieutenant governor in 2021 in a musical chairs scenario when Kelly appointed then-Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers as Kansas Treasurer to replace Jake LaTurner, who had been elected to Congress in the 2020 election.
Rather than forgo his responsibilities at Commerce, Toland tacked on those of lieutenant governor.
So far, it appears neither office is the worse for wear from the decision.
Holland’s Senate Bill 328 would bar Toland and future lieutenant governors from simultaneously serving as head of any state agency as well as forbid legislators from concurrently holding jobs in an executive branch agency. The latter would affect Sen. J.R. Claeys, a Salina Republican, who in addition to his legislative duties serves as senior adviser to Attorney General Kris Kobach.
