Capitol Insider

Democratic state Rep. Gail Finney, Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson, Pastor William Vann and Helen Abdul-Raheem, who runs a child care facility, discuss their opposition to size, location and messaging involved with massive poles installed by Westar Energy, now known as Evergy.

Political science professors Bob Beatty, of Washburn University, and Patrick Miller, of the University of Kansas, provide insight into next year's U.S. Senate race and this year's legislative session.

Melissa Rooker, executive director of the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund, and Annie McKay, president of Kansas Action for Children, talk about the value of investing in early childhood education.

Justin Stowe, lead auditor at the Legislature's nonpartisan Division of Post Audit, and Chris Clarke, deputy post auditor, talk about their nonpartisan research approach and findings.

Scott Schwab expresses more interest in nuts and bolts of managing the secretary of state's office than inspiring the political or legal battles punctuating Kris Kobach's tenure.

Matt Fletcher, executive director of the advocacy group Interhab, talks about the rising demand for services to support Kansans with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Matt Graham, who installed solar panels on his Wichita home, Andy Rondon, who works with Lawrence-based solar installer Good Energy Solutions, and Dorothy Barnett, with the Clean Energy Business Council and Climate and Energy Project, talk about a Kansas Corporation Commission decision to approve special fees on solar energy producers.

Evergy senior vice president Chuck Caisley says customers who install solar units should share in the responsibility for maintaining the electrical grid.

Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, Rep. Susan Ruiz and Rep. Ponka-We Victors say women are viewed differently than their male colleagues in the Capitol. Women account for 14 members of the 40 member Senate, and 31 out of 125 in the House — just 27.3 percent overall.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt said an opportunity to serve in the U.S. Senate merits consideration. In the meantime, he is focused on the more than 1,000 duties of his current office.

Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers talks about  the Office of Rural Prosperity, which intends to grapple with housing shortages, financially struggling hospitals and shuttered businesses on main street. Priorities include boosting access to broadband services, expanding manufacturing jobs and driving tourism.

Donn Teske, president of Kansas Farmers Union, Paul Johnson, of the Kansas Rural Center, and Zach Pistora, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club, talk about neglected issues in Kansas agriculture.

Alan Conroy, executive director of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System, talks about the financial implications of a proposed budget maneuver by Gov. Laura Kelly that would extend liability payments while reducing yearly contributions from the state.

Sen. Tom Holland talks about his plans for a bill outlining regulatory framework to guide patients, physicians, farmers, retailers and law enforcement on medicinal marijuana. His bill wouldn't legalize marijuana for recreational consumption in Kansas.

House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Democrat from Wichita, says Gov. Laura Kelly has started off with the right tone, but the goal of Republicans in the Legislature is make her look bad.

Alan Cobb, left, president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber, and Eric Stafford, the group's primary lobbyist, talk about their wishlist of policy changes, weighing in on taxes, public schools and Medicaid expansion.

A review of last year's happenings in state government from Jim McLean, managing editor of the Kansas News Service, Tim Carpenter, statehouse bureau chief for The Topeka Capital-Journal, Jonathan Shorman, statehouse reporter for the Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star, and Sherman Smith, manging editor for The Capital-Journal.

Tom Bell, president and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association, and Chad Austin, who lobbies for the trade organization in the Statehouse, discuss their agenda for the upcoming legislative session. They expect pushback to Medicaid expansion despite, or perhaps because of, the governor-elect's support for expansion.

Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, and Democrats Brandon Woodard and Susan Ruiz talk about their election to the House, where they will be the first openly gay representatives in state history.

Gov.-elect Laura Kelly, who served on the Senate's budget committee for years, said she would authorize evaluations of state incentive programs purported to create jobs and of large state contracts issued without open bidding.