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Kansas House of Representatives

Coordinates: 39°02′54″N 95°40′41″W / 39.04833°N 95.67806°W / 39.04833; -95.67806
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Kansas House of Representatives
Kansas State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 9, 2017
Leadership
Ron Ryckman Jr. (R)
since January 9, 2017
Speaker pro Tempore
Scott Schwab (R)
since January 9, 2017
Majority Leader
Don Hineman (R)
since January 9, 2017
Minority Leader
Jim Ward (D)
since January 9, 2017
Structure
Seats125
Political groups
  •   Republican (85)
  •   Democratic (40)
Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle 2, Kansas Constitution
Salary$88.66/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2016
(125 seats)
Next election
November 6, 2018
(125 seats)
RedistrictingKansas Reapportionment Commission
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber
Kansas State Capitol
Topeka, Kansas
Website
Kansas House of Representatives

The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on legislation, helping to create a state budget, and legislative oversight over state agencies.

Representatives are elected to a two-year term. The Kansas House of Representatives does not have term limits. The legislative session convenes at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka annually.

History

On January 29, 1861, President James Buchanan authorized Kansas to become the 34th state of United States, a free state. The ratification of the Kansas Constitution created the Kansas House of Representatives as the lower house of the state legislature.

Members of the Kansas House voted to impeach Governor Charles L. Robinson in 1862, but the impeachment trial did not lead to his conviction and removal of office.[1] The Kansas Senate did vote to impeach the secretary of state and state auditor for the unlawful sale of bonds, but only three state senators voted for the governor's impeachment.[1]

The Kansas House of Representatives in 1905

In 1870, the Kansas House of Representatives first met at the Kansas State Capitol, which was not officially completed until 1903.[2]

Populists and Republicans both claimed control of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1893, with the Populists accusing the Republican Party of election fraud.[3] The dispute led to separate Populist-led and Republican-led Houses in 1893 until the Kansas Supreme Court sided with the Republicans and the Populist-led House disbanded.[3]

In 1918, Minnie J. Grinstead became the first female elected to the House.[4]

In 1966, the state legislature began to hold annual general sessions and a constitutional amendment adopted at the 1974 general election extended the duration of the session held in the even-numbered years to 90 calendar days, subject to extension by a vote of two-thirds of the elected membership of each house.[5]

An early legislator who served from 1875 to 1883, Robert M. Wright, was also one of the founders of Dodge City and later its mayor as well.[6]

United States presidential candidate Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican nominee, began his political career with a two-year term in the Kansas House of Representatives after his election in 1950.[7]

Legislative procedure

State representatives introduce a proposed law in the Kansas House of Representatives in the form of a bill, which must be approved by a standing committee, the Committee of the Whole and the entire membership of the chamber.[8] Other state representatives can amend a bill in committee or on the floor of the chamber.[8]

A bill must be approved by both houses of the Kansas Legislature in order to be submitted to the governor, who can sign it into law or veto the bill.[8] State legislators can override the veto with the support of two-thirds majority of both houses.[8]

Party composition

Republicans hold a supermajority in the Kansas House of Representatives, and have controlled the chamber for decades.[citation needed] The following is the official make-up for the 2017-2019 session:

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
End of 2009–2011 legislature 77 48 125 0
Begin 92 33 125 0
End of 2011–2013 Legislature 92 33 125 0
Begin 92 33 125 0
End of 2013–2015 Legislature 93 32 125 0
Begin 97 28 125 0
End of 2015–2017 Legislature 97 28 125 0
Begin 85 40 125 0
Latest voting share 68% 32%

Leadership

The Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives is the leader of the chamber and is elected by his fellow state representatives.[8] The speaker presides over the legislative process on the floor of the chamber or appoints a presiding officer in his or her place. He or she also decides the committee structure.[8] The majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the chamber.

Officers

Position Name Party District
Speaker of the House Ron Ryckman, Jr. Republican 78
House Leadership[9]
Speaker Pro Tem Scott Schwab Republican 49
Majority Leader Don Hineman Republican 118
Assistant Majority Leader Tom Phillips Republican 67
Majority Whip Kent Thompson Republican 9
Caucus Chair Susan Concannon Republican 107
Democratic Leaders[9]
Minority Leader Jim Ward Democratic 86
Assistant Minority Leader Stan Frownfelter Democratic 37
Minority Whip Ed Trimmer Democratic 79
Caucus Chair Barbara Ballard Democratic 44
Agenda Chair Brandon Whipple Democratic 96
Policy Chair Adam Lusker Democratic 2

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives, 2017–2019

District Representative Party Residence
1 Michael Houser Republican Columbus
2 Adam Lusker Democratic Frontenac
3 Monica Murnan Democratic Pittsburg
4 Trevor Jacobs Republican Fort Scott
5 Kevin Jones Republican Wellsville
6 Jene Vickrey Republican Louisburg
7 Richard Proehl Republican Parsons
8 Patty Markley Republican Overland Park
9 Kent Thompson Republican Iola
10 John Wilson Democratic Lawrence
11 Jim Kelly Republican Independence
12 Doug Blex Republican Independence
13 Larry Hibbard Republican Toronto
14 Keith Esau Republican Olathe
15 Erin Davis Republican Olathe
16 Cindy Holscher Democratic Olathe
17 Tom Cox Republican Shawnee
18 Cindy Neighbor Democratic Shawnee
19 Stephanie Clayton Republican Overland Park
20 Jan Kessinger Republican Overland Park
21 Jerry Stogsdill Democratic Prairie Village
22 Nancy Lusk Democratic Overland Park
23 Linda Gallagher Republican Lenexa
24 Jarrod Ousley Democratic Merriam
25 Melissa Rooker Republican Fairway
26 Larry Campbell Republican Olathe
27 Sean Tarwater Republican Stilwell
28 Joy Koesten Republican Leawood
29 Brett Parker Democratic Overland Park
30 Randy Powell Republican Olathe
31 Louis Ruiz Democratic Kansas City
32 Pam Curtis Democratic Kansas City
33 Tom Burroughs Democratic Kansas City
34 Valdenia Winn Democratic Kansas City
35 Broderick Henderson Democratic Kansas City
36 Kathy Wolfe Moore Democratic Kansas City
37 Stan Frownfelter Democratic Kansas City
38 Willie Dove Republican Bonner Springs
39 Shelee Brim Republican Shawnee
40 Debbie Deere Democratic Lansing
41 Jeff Pittman Democratic Leavenworth
42 Jim Karleskint Republican Tonganoxie
43 William Sutton Republican Gardner
44 Barbara Ballard Democratic Lawrence
45 Tom Sloan Republican Lawrence
46 Dennis Highberger Democratic Lawrence
47 Ronald Ellis Republican Meriden
48 Abraham Rafie[10] Republican Overland Park
49 Scott Schwab Republican Olathe
50 Fred Patton Republican Topeka
51 Ron Highland Republican Wamego
52 Brenda Dietrich Republican Topeka
53 Jim Gartner Democratic Topeka
54 Ken Corbet Republican Topeka
55 Annie Kuether Democratic Topeka
56 Virgil Weigel Democratic Topeka
57 John Alcala Democratic Topeka
58 Vic Miller Democratic Topeka
59 Blaine Finch Republican Ottawa
60 Mark Schreiber Republican Emporia
61 Francis Awerkamp Republican St. Marys
62 Randy Garber Republican Sabetha
63 John Eplee Republican Atchison
64 Susie Swanson Republican Clay Center
65 Lonnie Clark Republican Junction City
66 Sydney Carlin Democratic Manhattan
67 Tom Phillips Republican Manhattan
68 Dave Baker Republican Council Grove
69 J. R. Claeys Republican Salina
70 John Barker Republican Abilene
71 Diana Dierks Republican Salina
72 Tim Hodge Democratic North Newton
73 Les Mason Republican McPherson
74 Don Schroeder Republican Inman
75 Mary Good Republican El Dorado
76 Eric Smith Republican Burlington
77 Kristey Williams Republican Augusta
78 Ron Ryckman, Jr. Republican Olathe
79 Ed Trimmer Democratic Winfield
80 Anita Judd-Jenkins Republican Arkansas City
81 Blake Carpenter Republican Derby
82 Peter DeGraaf Republican Mulvane
83 Henry Helgerson Democratic Eastborough
84 Gail Finney Democratic Wichita
85 Chuck Weber Republican Wichita
86 Jim Ward Democratic Wichita
87 Roger Elliott Republican Wichita
88 Elizabeth Bishop Democratic Wichita
89 KC Ohaebosim Democratic Wichita
90 Steve Huebert Republican Valley Center
91 Greg Lakin Republican Wichita
92 John Carmichael Democratic Wichita
93 John Whitmer Republican Wichita
94 Leo Delperdang Republican Wichita
95 Tom Sawyer Democratic Wichita
96 Brandon Whipple Democratic Wichita
97 Leslie Osterman Republican Wichita
98 Steven Crum Democratic Haysville
99 Susan Humphries Republican Wichita
100 Daniel Hawkins Republican Wichita
101 Joe Seiwert Republican Pretty Prairie
102 Patsy Terrell Democratic Hutchinson
103 Ponka-We Victors Democratic Wichita
104 Steven Becker Republican Buhler
105 Brenda Landwehr Republican Wichita
106 Clay Aurand Republican Belleville
107 Susan Concannon Republican Beloit
108 Steven C. Johnson Republican Assaria
109 Troy Waymaster Republican Luray
110 Ken Rahjes Republican Agra
111 Eber Phelps Democratic Hays
112 Tory Marie Arnberger Republican Great Bend
113 Greg Lewis Republican St. John
114 Jack Thimesch Republican Cunningham
115 Boyd Orr Republican Fowler
116 Kyle Hoffman Republican Coldwater
117 Leonard Mastroni Republican LaCrosse
118 Don Hineman Republican Dighton
119 Bradley Ralph Republican Dodge City
120 Adam Smith Republican Weskan
121 John Resman Republican Olathe
122 Russell Jennings Republican Lakin
123 John Wheeler Republican Garden City
124 J. Stephen Alford Republican Ulysses
125 Shannon Francis Republican Liberal

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ewing, Cortez A. M. "Early Kansas Impeachments," Kansas Historical Quarterly, August 1932 (Vol. 1, No. 4), p. 307-325, digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society. (accessed July 25, 2013)
  2. ^ Kansas State Capitol, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society. (accessed July 25, 2013)
  3. ^ a b Cool Things – Legislative War Artifacts, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society, November 1997. (accessed July 25, 2013)
  4. ^ Enicks-Knissr, Lori Lynn (April 2014). "The Lady from Seward" – Minnie J. Grinstead, the First Woman Elected to the Kansas House of Representatives (PDF) (M.A. thesis). Emporia State University.
  5. ^ "Kansas Legislative Research Manual Kansas Legislative Procedures," March 12, 2009.
  6. ^ "George Laughhead, Robert M. Wright (1840–1915), Dodge City, Kansas: Town President, founder, pioneer, September 23, 2009". kansashistory.us. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. ^ Kansas Legislators Past & Present-Robert Dole Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b c d e f Legislative Procedure in Kansas, Kansas Legislative Research Department, November 2006. (accessed July 24, 2013)
  9. ^ a b House Leadership 2017–18 sessions
  10. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article122570274.html

39°02′54″N 95°40′41″W / 39.04833°N 95.67806°W / 39.04833; -95.67806

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