Public Policy
What does investing in our future really look like...
Time, not tax dollars, is the most poorly used resource in our government. By caving to reactionary politics and chasing issues that are trending on social media, our legislators often spend energy on the wrong problems, delaying meaningful progress. Too many policies focus on quick fixes or simply throwing money at a problem without addressing its root causes. Meanwhile, issues like child abuse, gaps in education, and the mental health crisis among young adults continue to grow, unchecked for decades.
My approach to policy is a little different. I believe we should focus on solutions that make a lasting impact that address root causes even if it takes time and draws political pressure. I believe it’s time to value our children as the greatest investment in our future, every policy I propose is guided by that basic principle. It’s time to tackle the issues that matter most and build a foundation for long-term success.
Child Advocacy
Grooming Laws
Currently all we can do in Kansas is wait for a predator to strike and hope we catch them before too much harm is done, that is unacceptable. Texas already provided us with the solution. Grooming Laws criminalize the predatory behavior of adults who are clearly grooming a child with the intent to commit sexual assault. We cannot afford to wait any longer on this, it's time to take a proactive approach to the safety of our children.
Erin's Law
Erin's Law is a body of legislation that has been passed in 39 states and was considered during the most recent legislative session in the Education Committee. It would place a free program into schools which provides age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention education for students. With the amount of abuse cases involving relatives, educators, and family friends, it is essential for children to know what to do when it seems like there is no one they can trust. This legislation has already proven to be effective across the nation and would be a valuable addition to our child advocacy laws.
Sex Offender Residency Laws
Currently in Kansas there is nothing that stops a known offender from living across the street from a school, a park, or even right next door to a day care. The concern is that these known sex offenders may struggle to find housing if we were to put in these protections; however, I find it odd that this seems to only be an issue in Kansas, since at least thirty other states have Sex Offender Residency Laws. This change should have been made decades ago.
Raising the Age of Consent
Raising the age of consent from Sixteen to Eighteen is another change that should have happened long ago. The primary concern with this is that we don't currently have "Romeo and Juliet" laws; however, this would be taken into consideration for any legislation proposed and would go a long way in improving our protections for minors.
Education
Improving Literacy
The State of Mississippi's turnaround on education, going from one of the lowest ranked states in the Union to one of the highest, has been dubbed the Mississippi Miracle, and it can be replicated. This process took over a decade, but that's exactly why we need to start now in Kansas. One of the most crucial parts of their system was making third graders pass a literacy test before moving on to fourth grade. Children develop at different paces and there is nothing wrong with taking an extra year to build foundational skills. By pushing children through to harder courses when they haven't mastered the basics, we close off opportunities for them at each subsequent year, as they constantly struggle to catch up with their peers. I encourage everyone to read more into Mississippi's reforms and see the potential they have in Kansas.
Reducing Technology Use in the Classroom
Over the last decade technology use has substantially increased in the classroom. This is a case of the State leaping before we looked. There had been no credible studies done to show that technology would improve educational outcomes, and the studies that are coming out now reveal what most of us already knew, that screens are an unnecessary distraction, one that even when used properly, results in poorer learning habits and worse outcomes. As the situation continues to grow, it is important not to act rashly. There is a place for technology in education, we simply should not immerse students in it from the moment they enter the classroom. We need computer literacy courses; we don't need tablets and Chromebooks provided for grade schoolers and middle schoolers.
Looking Towards Future Consolidation
The State spends around 57% of our General Fund on education. I am fine with the high cost, children are the future and education is the key to their future, but there has to be a return on our investments. There is a lot we can do to improve outcomes, much more than the basic topics I listed above, but the fact is that we spend too much to justify the lackluster results. Something that we as a State need to start addressing at the root of our problems is that we have too many School Districts. It is time to start preparing for consolidation. There are many factors to consider, a declining rural population, a widening gap in outcomes between rural and urban student populations, and administrative costs that continue to grow at an unreasonable rate. It's definitely a difficult topic, but it is something that needs to be addressed so that consolidation can take place in a controlled manner rather than having it forced upon us through what seems to be an unavoidable future.
The Spending Issue
Property Taxes
Property taxes are the most common subject in Kansas politics. The State has failed to provide meaningful relief for the last few decades, and it is time to change that. While it is important to realize that property taxes are a subject for local governments, the spending issue has gotten so out of hand that we need to step in and give property tax relief to our citizens. People are being taxed out of their homes, and people in the younger generation can hardly afford to own their own home. The median age at which a person will own their own home in the U.S. just reached 40 years old. Solutions here are hard to come by, and yet everyone seems to have their own idea for how to lower property taxes. As we saw during last session, there isn't a consensus on what will work best. Personally, capping property taxes on both ends didn't sound like an unreasonable idea to me. Essentially the idea was to cap the spending increases of local governments with restrictions to how much the mill levy rate could be increased, while keeping the assessed value of a property from going up over 3% yearly, while there were other pieces to this solution, that is the main idea of it. It will almost certainly be talked about again in this upcoming session, and we will have to see if a consensus can be reached.
Star Bonds
Star bonds are a highly controversial tool that are used at the state level. Personally, I do not believe that we should avoid using them entirely, but they should be used in moderation and under careful scrutiny. I am not a fan of picking favorites but there are some undeniable success stories where our investments have paid off for the people of Kansas. Due to the Chief's deal, we have an opportunity, maybe one we didn't want, but an opportunity all the same, to see the effects of large-scale star bond investments. It's unrealistic to think we can go back and change the past, so now we must find the silver lining of the realities we are left with.
Cutting Taxes
As the title of this section states, we have a spending issue in Kansas and it's important to realize that much of it comes from the local level through school boards, municipal governments, and county governments rather than just the State and Federal levels like we'd like to believe. At the state level the control of funds is not as clear cut as many may think, there are debts and programs which must be paid for, and in the past when major cuts have been made within the legislature, the Kansas Supreme Court intervened and forced them to reconsider. While we may hear about tax cuts quite often, the people of Kansas don't seem to feel much change. As much as I would like to claim that there is a major cut that we could make, that would pass through the supreme court, it likely doesn't exist in any meaningful form. The best I can offer is to control spending wherever possible, to fight fraud where it exists, and make small cuts that will add up over time.
Broadening the Tax Base
Lowering taxes in a meaningful way is a priority that the State that has consistently failed to meet. A realistic approach requires finding a way to increase Government revenue before making substantial cuts, addressing the issues of the section above. There is no clearly defined way to do this, but potential solutions have been attempted, and none are "quick fixes". As far as expanding the tax base goes, the use of STAR bonds, both to attract visitors to our state and to create jobs as a result of the new businesses sounds very good on paper. The Chief's deal is the most notable occurrence of this, and we will have to wait to see if it pays off in the ways it has been described. Another, more moderate approach, is doing what we can to keep college graduates in Kansas which means more workers, and a higher population. One of the primary reasons for leaving listed by graduates is a desire for better educational opportunities for their children. This is a population that values education highly and if we want them to consider Kansas as a viable option, we need to go through significant education reforms. Attracting new industries through the elimination of regulations, while also making it easier for Kansans to start their own businesses is another priority that will make graduates more likely to stay in Kansas while also offering more revenue for the state. Cutting through unnecessary red tape is something that has paid off in other states and it's something we need to consider doing as well.