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Three local state legislators — Rep. Steven Johnson, R-Assaria; Sen. Rick Wilborn, R-McPherson; and Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill — began Saturday’s hour-long Legislative Coffee at Grandma’s Soda Shop in Wilson with a briefing on Medicaid expansion and other major topics.

But with an audience of only nine people, that briefing quickly evolved into a more intimate, roundtable-like discussion of mental health and foster care in Kansas after concerns were raised by a retired Wilson nurse.

Another coffee with Johnson and Wilborn followed at the Ellsworth Steak House, with more than two dozen in attendance. Many of the issues were the same. Here is a sampling:

Opening remarks

Johnson, who chairs the House taxation committee, said there is a log jam created by a proposed Constitutional anti-abortion amendment that passed in the Senate and is stuck in the House and Medicaid expansion, which was passed by the House and is stuck in the Senate.

At Ellsworth, audience member Terry Bolte asked why the two issues have been tied together in the Senate by those who want to see the proposed anti-abortion amendment sent to the public for a vote.

“Expansion can benefit so many Kansans,” Bolte said.

Wilborn said the log jam is a product of “pure politics.”

Johnson was more diplomatic.

“I think Medicaid expansion moves at some point,” he predicted.

Wilborn said the state is missing an opportunity.

“We could end up, in years going forth, with a worse Medicaid expansion bill,” he said. “We’re going to screw around here and miss a chance for a compromise bill. And the next one may not be so palatable.” Johnson also delivered good budget

Johnson also delivered good budget news at Wilson and Ellsworth. Johnson said revenue is $100 million more since November than predicted.

“Which is great” but lawmakers need to know the source of the additional dollars, he said.

“If it’s pretty broad-based and it’s based on growth, it will probably stand.”

Wilborn, who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, said his committee deals sexual predators, human trafficking, and, from the House side, criminal justice reform — all of which cost money to address.

“Criminal justice reform is a buzz word throughout the United States,” he said. “We have 10,000 prisoners in Kansas, 1,000 female prisoners, and bunk-to-bunk we’re full.”

Wilborn said legislators must look at ways to modify sentencing laws — taking into account fairness and public safety — so Kansas prisons aren’t so full.

Johnson also said there is no traction in the legislature for the full legalization of marijuana in Kansas.

“There’s been discussion about medical use,” he added.

Voicing concerns

As the legislators took seats closer to those in attendance at the Wilson coffee, Debbie Whitmer of Wilson, voiced concerns first about conditions at Larned State Hospital and then about the mental health and foster care systems in the state.

Whitmer said there are a lot of problems related to patient care at Larned. She told of a patient who asked staff for a blanket to keep warm, but was instead given a stocking cap and told to wear the stocking cap to bed. Another story involved a patient being placed in a room that overwhelming smelled of dead mouse.

“How do we fix this?” she asked. Waymaster said Larned State Hospital is unique because its campus contains both a hospital and a correctional facility.

“There is a big disparity between the two,” he said, noting employees at the hospital are paid less than employees at the correctional facility.

“We’re trying to equalize that,” Waymaster said. “There’s a lot we have to address — not only at Larned but at all the correctional facilities and all the state hospitals.”

Whitmer also related stories about the care of children in foster care in Kansas.

“I hear a lot of the same stories that you’re telling and we have a lot of casework in my district that we get calls on,” Wilborn said. “I do know it’s been a crisis for several years. I’ve been told we’re paying attention to it, but we’re a long ways from getting where we need to be.”

Wilborn hopes the state will have enough money to help address mental health.

“The foster care system, we have known, has been broken for a long time,” he added. “That isn’t what you wanted to hear, but it’s more front and center than it has been in the past.”

“I just feel like nothing is being done,” Whitmer said.

“We’ve heard that there is a staffing issue from day one,” Wilborn said. “There’s facility issues, placement issues, input issues. I’m sorry to not have an answer.”

Waymaster said Kansas has a larger number of children in foster care than surrounding states do.

He said that is something that needs to be addressed.

Whitmer said she has been told there are 400 foster care children in Kansas who are lost.

Johnson noted there are competing funding priorities — including roads, education and broadband.

“How do we look at foster care, retirees, and the needs that are there, and say how do we go forward together?” Johnson asked. “Where is that priority?”

Wilborn said of all the town hall meetings he has attended, Whitmer was the first to specifically shine a light on foster care.

“You hear about it all the time, but you are the first participant that has challenged our focus on it,” he said.

Whitmer said a top priority should be to find 400 missing foster care children.

“How do you lose a child?” she asked.

Ellsworth Junior-Senior High School teacher Eric Coonrod asked if there was a way to make the restructuring plan proposed by Gov. Kelly work better.

“I don’t know if there is money available for counseling for younger ages, so they don’t go down the wrong path,” he said. “I really don’t know where the answer is on that.”

“We’ve got to intervene early, so we’re not paying for it later when they (children) are older,” Waymaster said.

Ellsworth concerns

Several issues consumed time at Ellsworth; however, taking front and center were property taxes.

Ellsworth County commissioner Kermit Rush opened the discussion by asking about Senate Bill 294, which among other things would remove the exemption for fire departments and other services related to public safety from the county tax lid.

Rush, who said commissioners had to redo their budget two years ago because the county’s auditor said they planned to spend beyond their authorization, would make the job of local governments even more difficult.

A representative from Kansas Farm Bureau said his organization supports the legislation because the way the law is now — farmers pay higher taxes when revenue is less and they can least afford them and lower taxes when income is strong. That’s because the use value of the land is figured by a multi-year rolling average.

Johnson said the proposed legislation, called “transparency in taxation,” is based on a Utah law. However, “the way it has been introduced is draconian.”

“I don’t think that’s going to get across the line this year with everything else that’s going on.”

Wilborn said he receives more mail on property taxes than any other subject.

Elections

Election security was another issue, this one raised by retired Ellsworth High School government teacher Jerry Marsh.

Both Johnson and Wilborn were at a loss to give definitive answers because their committees are not directly involved in the issue.

“There is a lot of effort that is being made. What I don’t know is how much foreign interference there is,” Johnson said.

“I think voting in Kansas — in terms of voting — is secure.”

He promised to follow up on the question with the Kansas secretary of state.

Linda Mowery-Denning contributed to this story.