Between spanking,  opt-in sex education in schools, banning incompatibility divorces, banning surrogacy, to moving the date to change voter registrations from two weeks prior to the primary to prior to candidate filing deadline, to school finance, and gun rights, the Kansas Legislature has been very busy this year.
Just coming out of committee and undoubtedly of interest to the area, Senate Bill 392 would require a license to operate an animal rescue network.
Yet, at the Legislative Coffee this last Saturday in Great Bend, only about a dozen people attended, and all were over the age of 50.
Everyone is busy, but important decisions are made every day this time of year at the state level.
Our representatives come to these sessions and talk about their views. It is vital at the local level to know where these individuals stand on issues because these decisions will affect our everyday lives and the spending money in our pocket.
In 2012, a massive tax cut was given to many small business owners which can include professional business owners such as LLCs and Sole Proprietorships so that they pay no state income tax on the profits from their business. The goal was to have these small business owners have more money to hire people.
Buzzfeed on Facebook, while fun and entertaining is not a reliable source of the Kansas news that will affect each one of us. For some, this is a primary source of information. Buzzfeed excels at lists, for example, “14 things only nurses (teachers, female journalists, etc.) know.”
The divisive legislature at both the national and state level is deserving of attention. That attention ought to focus on something besides one or two hot button issues.
Attending the  Legislative Coffees are a good source of information. Stories about these issues are available in our newspaper.
It is important to the future of education and quality of life issues for our children and grandchildren to know about the issues discussed today.
Unless one is informed about what our legislators are doing, how do voters make good choices?
Karen La Pierre