Kansans have until May 9 to express views on validity of reapportioned legislative districts

TOPEKA—Kansans who want to exercise their constitutional option to express views regarding the validity of reapportioned state senatorial and state representative districts must act soon.

The Kansas Supreme Court is accepting written statements from interested persons until 5 p.m. Monday, May 9.

The reapportioned legislative districts are described in Substitute for Senate Bill 563 passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

Kansas Constitution gives 30-day time limit 

The Kansas Constitution requires the Supreme Court to determine the validity of reapportioned state senatorial and representative districts within 30 days from the date the attorney general files the petition making the request.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed the petition last Monday, after which the Supreme Court released a detailed scheduling order giving filing deadlines and scheduling the case for oral argument.  

The scheduling order included requirements and a deadline for submitting written statements from any interested person.

Submit a written statement

The Kansas Constitution allows for any interested person to express their views on the reapportioned state senatorial and representative districts in Substitute for Senate Bill 563.

The court will accept written statements on paper and by electronic mail.  

All written statements should include:

• a title line that states: “View of interested person in case number 125,083”;

• the name of the person or entity submitting a written statement;

• a sentence that makes clear whether the statement is about state senatorial districts, state representative districts, or both; and   

• the reason for the person or entity’s interest in Substitute for Senate Bill 563, an impact statement, or any data the court should consider.

Written statements on paper

The Supreme Court will receive written statements on paper by mail or delivery. 

Written statements must be on 8-1/2” x 11” paper delivered to:

Clerk of the Appellate Courts
Kansas Judicial Center
301 SW 10th Ave., Room 107
Topeka, KS 66612

Written statements by email

As an alternative to written statements on paper, the Supreme Court will also accept statements by electronic email to: 

reapportionmentviews@kscourts.org 

The appellate court email system will reject emailed statements that include attachments or hyperlinks. 
If an interested party wants to include an attachment or a web address for an online resource with their statement, they should submit their statement on paper. 

Written statement part of public record

The clerk of the appellate courts will file written statements in the case record. Any personally identifiable information--including email address, home address, or phone number--will become part of the public case record. 

Anyone who submits a written statement certifies their statement is proper for the intended purpose to the best of their knowledge, information, and belief.  

Parties to the case may file responses to any written statement no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, May 12. A response may refer to multiple written statements. A party is not required to file separate responses to each written statement. 

Written statements on state legislative districts only

The congressional map the Legislature adopted in Substitute for Senate Bill 355 is not at issue in this case. That map relates to districts for U.S. Congress, which are federal offices. 

State board of education maps were included in Substitute for Senate Bill Substitute for Senate Bill 563 but they were excluded from the attorney general's petition, so they are also not before the court.

Oral argument

The court will hear oral argument on the attorney general’s petition at 9 a.m. Monday, May 16, in the Kansas Supreme Court courtroom. The court will permit only the Office of the Attorney General and any intervenors to present oral argument. 

The court will livestream oral argument on its YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/KansasSupremeCourt. 

Case information page

The case created by the attorney general’s petition is No. 125,083: Petition of Derek Schmidt, attorney general, to determine validity of Substitute for Senate Bill 563 provisions reapportioning state legislative districts.

A case information page has been set up on the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org/125083/Reapportionment to give public access to court orders and party filings. 

Written statements submitted by interested persons will not be available on the case information page, but they may be accessed using public access terminals in the Kansas Judicial Center.