Most of my advocacy work has focused on the Kansas Legislature and our Kansas Congressional delegation. I’ve provided technical assistance to groups working in Missouri and done some direct lobbying there as well, and I’ve worked on several national campaigns that gave me an opportunity to analyze other states’ congressional delegations and work directly with congressional committees and other members of Congress, but the elected officials I really know are those that make up the Kansas Legislature. Many of the public policy issues I follow are in Kansas as well, given that I live here, teach here, and mostly work with organizations in Kansas. One of the things that I try to share with my students is some of this ‘insider’ knowledge about Kansas legislators; we travel to Topeka every spring so that I can introduce them to some of the players, help them orient themselves to the legislative process, and connect them with lobbyists, reporters, and others who are engaged in some of the same pursuits. This is a handout that I use to give a quick overview of the Kansas Legislature in a slightly easier format than is found on the http://www.kslegislature.org website. It’s current as of April 2009.
Materials:
Kansas Legislative Overview
Classroom to Capitol 