A key Kansas lawmaker is opposing a provision in an immigration bill to repeal a state law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.
Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, called the repeal efforts a “nonstarter,†and noted that the Legislature had failed in three previous efforts to repeal the law.
Under the 2004 law, children of illegal immigrants are eligible to pay in-state tuition if they have lived in Kansas for at least three years, graduated from a Kansas high school and are on the path toward citizenship.
According to the Kansas Board of Regents, 243 students are benefiting from the law, with 193 attending community colleges, 46 at state universities, and four at technical colleges or schools.
Would we rather these young people not attend college? Be unemployed?
As supporters of the law noted in testimony last week, regardless of how one stands on illegal immigration, this is about making sure our young people are prepared for the future.
“Why would we want to deprive a young man or woman from the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities so that they will be a productive and contributing member of our society?†asked Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., chairman of the Kansas Catholic Conference.
State lawmakers must back up their 2005 commitment to track and fight racial profiling by law enforcement by clarifying what counts as racial profiling. The bill proposed by state Sen. Donald Betts, D-Wichita, may go too far in calling it racial profiling whenever an officer uses race, ethnicity or gender as “a factor†in investigation, traffic stops and questioning. But the current language, that it be “the sole factor†in such situations, clearly does not go far enough, discounting many of the instances in which Wichitans and others believe they’ve been profiled. If Kansas’ law against such racial profiling means anything, it must be backed up with meaningful data collection and analysis.
So is state Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, one of those state lawmakers allegedly auctioning off their votes for the coal-plant bill? “I don’t play that game,†she told The Eagle editorial board. Landwehr voted against the bill last week because she wasn’t comfortable with it yet, she said. In particular, she had concerns about whether the new Holcomb plants might end up increasing electric rates. But Landwehr thinks new power plants are needed in western Kansas and that Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby overstepped his authority in rejecting the plant proposal. “He used an emergency statute when there wasn’t an emergency,†she said. So is she likely to switch and vote to override the expected veto of the bill by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius? It’s pretty possible, she said.
So much for Benjamin Franklin’s assertion that Paris could save an “immense sum†every year “by the economy of using sunshine instead of candlesâ€: Researchers say that switching all of Indiana to daylight saving time in 2006, where just 15 of 92 counties had observed it before, has cost an extra $8.6 million in electricity bills. “The reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings,†explained the Wall Street Journal. The article went on to clarify that Franklin had suggested “levying a tax on window shutters, ringing church bells at sunrise and, if that didn’t work, firing cannons down the street in order to rouse Parisians out of their beds earlier.â€
State Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, knew he couldn’t mention everyone in his recent Kansas Senate speech meant to celebrate the African-Americans who have served in state offices in Kansas, a tribute referred to on this blog last week. But he missed one of the biggest from Wichita: the late Theo Cribbs, whose 19 years in the Kansas House (1973-92) stand as the longest run in state office of any African-American. “We very much respect and appreciate Theo Cribbs’ tremendous service to the state,†Haley told The Eagle editorial board.
A key Kansas lawmaker is opposing a provision in an immigration bill to repeal a state law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.
