Kansas State legislature sent a shot across the bow of Candidate for Governor and sometimes Secretary of State Kris Kobach, telling him the state’s taxpayers would not be paying for the results of his courtroom antics.
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The legislation was offered by Rep. Russ Jennings, R-Lakin. He said the move would prohibit using any state money for defense or penalties involved in a finding of a contempt of court by statewide elected officials. That would include the governor and the secretary of state.
"You pay your own bills if you get yourself in that kind of trouble," Jennings said.
The decision to tell Kobach that he has to pay his own bill comes after the Secretary of State was found in contempt of court for his behavior in the case of ACLU v. Kobach, a case centered around voting rights:
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A federal judge on Wednesday found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt of court in a case involving state voting laws, her latest rebuke of the Republican candidate for governor.
Kobach is considered a GOP frontrunner despite his constant court battles involving voter fraud and strict voting requirements that he has pushed while in office as the state's top election official.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kan., referred repeatedly to Kobach as acting “disingenuously.”
The proposal, which passed the house 103-16, had overwhelming approval from both sides of the aisle, with a few interesting standouts. While the minority opinion largely represented strong conservative districts, one Republican, Randy Powell (R-Lenexa) represents a district where Hillary Clinton won the overall vote in his district.
Powell, who had prior argued that Kansas schools receive “too much money” and in favor of expanded vouchers or defunding schools comes into the election cycle where Democratic members have two candidates opposed: Matthew Calcara and Brandon Woodard, both in a primary hoping to become the first openly LGBT elected member of the Kansas State House.
The bill moves on, and is likely to draw the favor of sitting Governor Colyer, a primary opponent to Sec. Kobach for the Republican nomination.