TOPEKA — A bipartisan panel of legislative leaders voted to rewrite policy and allow lawmakers to mail taxpayer-funded newsletters after the session is over during an election year.
In a practice known as “franking,” the Legislative Coordinating Council’s policy allows representatives to spend up to $6,000 per calendar year and senators up to $18,000 per year on printing and postage for their newsletters. The mail may be delivered to every household within the lawmaker’s district.
A longstanding rule prohibited lawmakers from using their franking privilege after the session concludes during a year in which their chamber is up for election. House members face reelection every two years, while senators are on the ballot every four years.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, requested a change in the policy that would set a May 31 deadline for sending newsletters. That could provide a window of up to two months between the end of the session – if lawmakers can finish their work as intended by late March – and the cutoff for sending newsletters.
The franking deadline is meant to prevent incumbents from gaining an upper hand with their state-funded mailings in advance of the August primary or November general election. In non-election years, there is no calendar restriction on when newsletters may be mailed. The filing deadline for candidates in this year’s election cycle is June 1.
In the past, the five Republicans and two Democrats who make up the Legislative Coordinating Council have voted to suspend the rule. During Thursday’s meeting, the council voted to make Hawkins’ request permanent.
“This came about just because every election year we have to do this and start having some folks say, ‘Why are we doing this every election year? Why don’t we just change the policy to make it work right?’ ” Hawkins said. “And so this is that work being done to make our policy correct, and not to have to come back every election year and redo this or make an exception to this policy.”
The seven members of the LCC approved the change without objection.
Several of them are seeking election to statewide office and could benefit from the change. Hawkins and Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, are running for insurance commissioner. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, is seeking the GOP nomination for governor.
