Login Join

Newsroom

21 Feb

Posted at 08:31h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session, Week 6 The Legislature passed a Republican-friendly Congressional redistricting map last week (Sub Senate Bill 355), overriding Governor Laura Kelly’s veto. As anticipated, multiple legal challenges to the bill were filed. Major floor action in the House this week included the attempted passage of a resolution on a proposed constitutional amendment giving the Legislature oversight of rules and regulations adopted by executive branch agencies. The vote failed to gain the super majority votes required to pass, but it will likely come up for reconsideration on Monday. In the Senate, the...

14 Feb

Posted at 09:53h in Industry News
0 Likes

Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association is proud to welcome Clay Fagan and Trisha Fassnacht to its team, while announcing the promotion of Sidney Storey to director of event planning to begin 2022. Fagan joins the association as its director of member investment and training; Fassnacht as administrative assistant; while Storey steps into the event planning role vacated by the retirement of longtime KARA employee Shari Bennett. "We are thrilled to welcome Clay and Trisha to our team," KARA President and CEO Ron Seeber said. "In the short time they've spent with us we've...

14 Feb

Posted at 08:48h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session, Week 5 This week saw the override of Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a Republican-friendly map (Sub Senate Bill 355) that will draw new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts. It is assumed that legal challenges to the bill will follow. Following much consternation over the congressional map veto override vote, Senate President Ty Masterson removed two Republican senators from their committee leadership positions. Masterson also removed Senator Mark Steffen of Hutchinson from his vice chairmanship of the senate commerce committee and from his seat on the...

07 Feb

Posted at 08:17h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session, Week 4 This week, the legislature took a day of hiatus when winter storms were predicted to bring heavy snow to the capitol city. On Thursday, as predicted, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a Republican-friendly map that would have drawn new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts. The House got bogged down in deliberation over the Kelly Administration’s economic development bill aimed at bringing a large national corporate headquarters to the state with a specified capital investment of at least $1,000,000,000. Next week, a legislative committee will consider...

31 Jan

Posted at 07:13h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session, Week 3 This week, the Legislature passed a map drawing new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts, held hearings on various bills proposing to exempt “food” from states sales tax, and advanced an economic development bill that would provide for incentives for specified industries to establish their national corporate headquarters in the state with specified capital investment of at least $1,000,000,000. In addition, the Committees on Agriculture received annual reports from the state commodity commissions, and the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on a bill making...

24 Jan

Posted at 08:35h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session, Week 2 This week, the Legislature worked through bills and hearings, even while many legislators were absent due to positive COVID tests. The Senate passed a few bills of high importance, as the House also began initial committee work. Here are some of the highlights of the week. Redistricting Aside from passing a budget one of the main objectives of the 2022 session will be adopting new maps and boundaries for the legislature, statewide elected seats, state school board, and our state Congressional districts. On Friday, the Senate passed Sub...

17 Jan

Posted at 08:50h in Advocacy
0 Likes

2022 Legislative Session Commences The Kansas legislature gaveled in on Monday, January 10, 2022, and your Association’s government affairs staff was at the capitol monitoring and weighing in on bills affecting our industry. It was a busy week in Topeka which saw hearings on various tax issues related to wildfires in the state and Governor Laura Kelly’s State of the State address. Key issues this session will include reapportionment and redistricting following the 2020 census, a Senate vote on the “Value Them Both” constitutional amendment question on abortion, possible legalization of medical...

19 Dec

Posted at 14:00h in Industry News, Regulatory
0 Likes

Late on Friday, December 17, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision removing the stay on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for large employers. The ETS requires covered employees to be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and test weekly. The ETS was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, and then immediately challenged in federal court by dozens of states and other plaintiffs. The very next day, a stay was issued on the emergency standard by the U.S. Court...

16 Dec

Posted at 08:53h in Industry News
0 Likes

The selection committee for the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders (TAL) program met in early-December to review applications and select five members of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and five members of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association to comprise the 24th class of agribusiness’ premier leadership development course.   The selection committee, comprised of former TAL graduates chose: Michelle Busch (Syngenta); Garrett Buschjost (Koch Agronomic Services); Adam Butler (MKC); Douglas Graber (Producers Cooperative Association); Brandon Legg (Concordia Terminal LLC); Jacob Leis (CoMark Equity Alliance); Stacy Letourneau (Cloud County Cooperative Elevator); Adam Niehues (Jackson...

10 Dec

Posted at 07:17h in Regulatory
0 Likes

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced that President Biden will appoint Meg McCollister to become EPA’s Regional Administrator for Region 7. McCollister will lead the implementation of the Biden-Harris environmental agenda in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and with nine Tribal Nations. “Meg brings deep experience in community organizing and stakeholder engagement. I know she will ensure voices throughout Region 7 are heard on key issues and I’m very excited to welcome her to the team,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I’m incredibly honored to be appointed as...

X
X