Around 300 Kansans met in Wichita on Saturday, January 10 to kick of the 2009 Legislative session with AFP’s Defending the American Dream Summit, held at the Beech Activity Center. Our second statewide summit was just two days prior to the start of the 2009 Kansas Legislature. Our goal with this event was to help our members prepare for the 2009 session, and to demonstrate to legislators and elected officials that their constituents will be paying attention to what happens in Topeka the next few months.

It’s often said that a legislator’s most important vote is the first one – the vote cast for leadership in the chamber in which the legislator was elected.

It’s so important because leadership sets and controls the agenda, picks committee chairs and committee assignments. Leadership has the bully pulpit when it comes to the press and opinion leaders across that state.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is laying the groundwork for a new 10-year highway plan for the state. Before the Legislature promises billions of a dollars for a new plan, we've taken a look at current transportation spending and past trends.

Kansas has some of the best roads in the nation, and we've spent billions of dollars on transportation over the years. But do these investments really spur the economy?

 In light of Election Day, coverage of the latest budget numbers for the state of Kansas fell by the wayside.