The House Federal and State Affairs Committee will consider a bill Monday that bans broad swaths of Kansas news reporting.
Oh, how I wish I were joking.
Senate Bill 452 creates a new criminal offense that authorities can use to prosecute journalists: “unlawful approach of a first responder.” That means, according to the bill text, coming within 25 feet of said first responders while on the job. The proposed law includes conditions — such as whether law enforcement tells onlookers to stay away or feels at risk — but does little to define such broad terms.
Violating the law could cost journalists up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
The Kansas Press Association, not normally an especially agitated group, has raised alarms. According to legislative director Adam Strunk: “We see professional risk for working reporters and news agencies should it pass. The law makes it a crime to approach a First Responder (think anyone and everyone you usually interview during an emergency) while they are doing their duties if they feel distracted.”
The bottom line?
“We feel that, as broadly as it is written, this law will be weaponized by various members of law enforcement against reporters or agencies they just don’t like,” Strunk writes.
That should concern all Kansans, whether they’re reporters or not.
Over the past few years, the Kansas Legislature has repeatedly demonstrated its contempt for a free press and free speech. The Senate and then the House barred reporters from their floors. Neither chamber could rouse itself to condemn the unconstitutional attack on the Marion County Record newspaper. Members have raised the rent on press offices. Leadership has spread scurrilous lies about journalists who cover them.
This latest bill likely was inspired by confrontations between protesters and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Never mind the fact that President Donald Trump’s administration has rapidly backpedaled from its mass deportation rhetoric since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
But collateral damage toward the news media — and members of the public working to be citizen journalists — must be considered.
“You may feel like you don’t end up in these situations or have good relationships with your local law enforcement,” Strunk wrote. “However, it only takes one emergency and one bad apple to have you arrested for doing your job under this law.”
End of days
From all appearances, the Legislature plans to adjourn this week after a marathon sprint.
We hear the Senate aims to complete its business Thursday, while the House could be in session up through (prepare to be astonished) Friday.
This approach deserves vociferous condemnation from legislators and the public. No one has asked for House Speaker Dan Hawkins or Senate President Ty Masterson to conduct business this way, and they know that doing so leads to poor outcomes. But as we’ve established in watching them over the past few years, they don’t much care about quality governance. No, they’re concentrated on their own personal power over members. Pushing through dozens of bills through multiple lengthy days leaves members tired and confused. Reporters and advocates race to figure out what’s being proposed and debated.
Most importantly, this brutal sprint betrays the public. Do you want to know what your lawmaker is doing and why? Sorry! No one will be able to tell you this week because they’re so busy. Compressed schedules purposely obscures what those in power intend and obfuscates their actions behind a flurry of activity.
This is no way to run a Statehouse.
Cross-chamber sniping
Everyone in Topeka wants to address mounting property taxes in Kansas communities. They disagree on how to do so. The infighting reached a particularly spicy stage last week.
Last Thursday, the House voted down the Senate’s proposed state constitutional amendment to cap assessment increases.
On Friday, in a neat bit of tit for tat, the Senate struck a House bill allowing communities to challenge property tax hikes from its calendar.
Welcome to the durable Statehouse subplot of friction between the upper and lower chambers. The larger and unruly House takes a more populist approach to lawmaking. Representatives have fewer constituents and like to think of themselves as voicing their concerns. The Senate comprises fewer members, each with larger districts. The GOP majority there can act swiftly and decisively.
State-level attempts to address property taxes always faced long odds. Cities and counties levy and collect most of them, after all. But I would expect senators and representatives to grit their teeth and attempt to find a compromise before the week finishes.
This is an election year, after all.
Statehouse Scraps is Kansas Reflector option editor Clay Wirestone’s weekly roundup of Kansas legislative exploits. This column was edited for length. Read the full article and other viewpoints online at KansasReflector.com/commentary/.
