Each week during the 2023 Kansas legislative session, we will provide Shawnee Mission area lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state captiol.

Below is this week’s submission from Democratic Sen. Ethan Corson of Kansas Senate District 7, covering the northeast corner of Johnson County.

Democratic Rep. Jo Ella Hoye and Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater were also given a chance to submit columns this week.

The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker.

Last week, I introduced a series of bills to raise the minimum wage, outlaw gerrymandering, restore trust in government, increase diversity among elected officials and help veterans.

Here are more details about each:

• SB 70, known as the “Making Work Pay Act,” would raise Kansas’s minimum wage to $10/hour on January 1, 2024 and then by $2 more per year until it reaches $16/hour on January 1, 2027. The bill also addresses tipped workers. It’s a matter of basic dignity: no one who works full-time should be living in poverty or forced to rely on government assistance. We can and must do better by our fellow Kansans. The evidence is overwhelming. For example, child poverty rates are the highest in states, like Kansas, that have not raised the minimum wage above the federal $7.25/hour standard. By comparison, on Jan. 1, Missouri’s minimum wage became $12/hour, increasing wages for 677,000 Missourians.
• SB 69 bans gerrymandering and mandates a redistricting...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vc2hhd25lZW1pc3Npb...