Wichita Eagle: Kansas lawmakers to weigh constitutional amendment ahead of special session

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said if Republicans don’t want the court to be able to rule on school finance, they should bring an amendment “to eliminate the requirement of a suitable education for Kansas schoolchildren.”

“If that’s really what the voters of this state and the citizens of the state believe is a good idea, then that’s what they need to bring, simply to say, ‘We don’t have to adequately fund our schools and it’s not a constitutional requirement in Kansas,’” Carmichael said. “Now, I don’t think that’s the state that any of us want to live in.”

 

 

Carmichael predicted the proposal would fall short of the 84 votes needed to pass in the House, pointing out that an attempt to change the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected fell short of the minimum votes needed earlier this year.

The proposal’s real intent is to serve as “political theater and a sideshow to try and distract voters from the real crisis in Kansas,” Carmichael said.

http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article82765242.html

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