As of today, February 27, Senate Bill 466, which seeks to raise the ridiculous Kansas minimum wage ($2.65/hour) is in danger of dying in the Commerce Committee and we need your help in making sure that doesn’t happen! Opponents of the bill may try and keep it in committee without sending it forward. Holding the bill in that manner is a procedural method of defeating it without a negative vote.

If this bill is going to survive the session, we need an immediate showing of community support! We are asking all of you who support this cause to contact the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee right away and respectfully ask that Senate Bill 466 be passed out of committee THIS WEEK! We already have the support of Senators Kelly and Barone, and obviously Senator Reitz, who proposed the bill. If you can, please contact the others as well. (contact list below)

Bills that begin in either Legislative House or the other must be considered and passed by their House of Origin (in this case the Senate) and sent to the other House for consideration no later than Saturday March 1st (also known as the “Turnaround date”). Bills not passed by their House of Origin by that date are essentially defeated for this session and would have to be rewritten and re-introduced the following year. Holding the bill in Committee past the turnaround date would effectively killing it for this session without forcing Legislators to go on record by voting it up or down.

A few phone calls/emails will only take minutes of your time.

Thank you!

The Chair of the Kansas Senate Commerce Committee:

Senator Karin Brownlee (R) D-23
Room Number 121 East
State Capitol -136-N Topeka, KS 66612-1504
(785)-296-7358
HOTLINE: 1-800-432-3924
FAX: (785)-368-7119
EMAIL:brownlee@senate.state.ks.us

R - Roger P Reitz – Member, Manhattan
Sponsor of SB 466; Co-sponsored SB 337 in 2007
Capitol Office
Room: 261E
Phone: 785-296-7360
Email: reitz@senate.state.ks.us

R - Nick Jordan - Co-Chair, Shawnee
Capitol Office
Room: 221E
Phone: 785-296-7362
Email: jordan@senate.state.ks.us

D - Laura Kelly – Member, Topeka
Capitol Office
Room: 401S
Phone: 785-296-7365
Email: kelly@senate.state.ks.us

R - Ruth Teichman – Member, Stafford
Capitol Office
Room: 241E
Phone: 785-296-7394
Email: teichman@senate.state.ks.us

R - Susan Wagle – Member, Wichita
Capitol Office
Room: 221E
Phone: 785-296-7386
Email: wagle@senate.state.ks.us

R - Jean Kurtis Schodorf – Member, Wichita
Capitol Office
Room: 241E
Phone: 785-296-7391
Email: schodorf@senate.state.ks.us

R - Jay Scott Emler – Member, Lindsborg
Capitol Office
Room: 449N
Phone: 785-296-7354
Email: emler@senate.state.ks.us

D - Jim Barone - Ranking Minority, Frontenac
Capitol Office
Room: 181E
Phone: 785-296-7370
Email: barone@senate.state.ks.us