Kansas House speaker says he restricted press access to give staff better seats

TOPEKA — House Speaker Dan Hawkins for the first time Thursday provided a public explanation for his decision to remove journalists from the House floor except to take photos from the back and side walls of the chamber.

Hawkins broke from decades of precedent before the start of the session by banning reporters from a press box area where they could take notes and photos, interact with staff and write their stories. When his aide informed Statehouse reporters of the new press restrictions, she described them as “significant changes.”

But Hawkins and his staff have downplayed the new restrictions, emphasizing that journalists can still take photos while ignoring the impact the restrictions have on reporting.

During debate Thursday over an array of new House rules, Hawkins said he implemented the new restrictions to give his staff a better place to sit. Previously, staff sat on a bench in front of the press box. He gestured to the former press box areas, which was filled with staff after being mostly empty for the first week of the session.

He also gestured to two journalists, including the author of this story, who were taking photos from the back of the chamber.

“Never did I ban the press from the body,” Hawkins said. “Matter of fact, we got two right back taking pictures of me right now. One right over there, and one right over there. So if they’ve been banned from the House floor, what are they doing on the floor? Why are they here?”

Hawkins said he had replied to inquiries about the rule change with a photo of this author that he took during a session last week.

“If I banned the press, what is that man doing on my floor?” Hawkins said.

Hawkins’ remarks were in response to an amendment proposed by Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, that would have restored longstanding press access to the House rules.

“I got a deal for you,” Haskins said. “You add nine words, we’re going to save millions of dollars for the state of Kansas.”

Haskins referenced the 2023 raid on the Marion County Record newspaper and said it was time to to stop raiding the free press. He argued that reporters can better inform the public with full access to the House floor and urged legislators to embrace transparency.

“We can’t forget that the state is only as strong as the individuals that we represent,” Haskins said. “I give you this opportunity to add nine words so we could save millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars when we get sued, because we are violating the First Amendment. This should not be something that we even debate.”

The First Amendment prohibits the government from making content-based decisions. A legal challenge to the rules would draw a correlation between the new restrictions and Hawkins’ prolific record of disparaging the press.

Republicans defeated the amendment with a thunderous “no” on a voice vote, and by a recorded 87-35 vote.

Republicans also rejected amendments brought by two of their own — Hutchinson Republican Rep. Paul Waggoner, who asked that Kansas join 48 other states in recording committee votes, and Paola Republican Rep. Samantha Poetter Parshall, who tried to reinstate a rule that bans the House from debating legislation between midnight and 8 a.m.

GOP leaders in both the Senate and House typically wait until the final days of the session to pass a torrent of legislation under maximum pressure, often working late into the night as the try to force holdouts to vote in favor of unvetted bundles of bills. The House installed the “midnight rule” to prohibit late-night debates after former Rep. Bob Bethell, a Republican from Alden, died while driving on his way home in the early morning hours in 2012.

In recent years, the House routinely voted to suspend the “midnight rule” in the final days of the session. The rule was eliminated from this year’s rule package.

Poetter Parshall said she is typically up at midnight working on dishes or laundry because she has children ages 1, 2 and 9. But she said debating bills after midnight is more complicated.

“I did a little research,” Poetter Parshall said. “After midnight, people have impaired brain function, increased risk of disease, a weakened immune system, mental health issues, and an increased appetite. And most importantly, no meaningful debate on legislation tends to occur after midnight.”

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, said it was irresponsible to conduct business after midnight. Most constituents would fire legislators if they realized how impaired they are late at night at the end of the session.

Carmichael said he angered his wife several years ago when he inadvertently cast the wrong vote after a late-night debate.

“I attribute it to lack of sleep, fatigue, and get-out-of-here-itis,” Carmichael said.

The House rejected Poetter Parshall’s amendment on an 82-41 vote.

The House rejected Waggoner’s attempt to record committee votes by a 73-49 margin.