This will be remembered as the session that “could have been.” We started the year with a large reserve balance. Both the House and the Senate wanted to be able to show accomplishments going into the Fall elections. Cooperation ended because of egos, politics and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We face a fractured legislature with limited willingness to work withGovernor Kelly, an economy that is on life support, and a budget forecast for the state that will require massive cuts.

I remain resolute: We must reach across party lines, across economic, social and racial divides to create a new future. The strength of Kansas is in our people who get up and go to work every day, and are willing to help out a neighbor when misfortune happens. And it has for thousands of Kansans.

I am committed to funding publiceducation and recreating an economy that empowers everyone with the tools and the opportunities to succeed.I hope you join me in that effort.

Respectfully yours, Henry Helgerson