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Table of Contents

• LetterSwarm: Raising Legislative Accountability

  • Next Steps with LetterSwarm

• Dangerous drumbeat to Article V convention

• This Week in Topeka

LetterSwarm: Raising Legislative Accountability

Whether we like it or not, politics today is a complicated, expensive, high-stakes game. Most of the time, powers much larger than the average citizen (and with much greater resources) dominate the process of proposing, writing, and passing new laws. We have rare moments where something needs to be ratified by the voters, such as the August 2022 attempt to ban abortions at the constitutional level; the rest of the time, we’ve delegated those decisions to senators and representatives.

From the very beginning of the Capitol Bee, we’ve always had three goals:

1. To help inform Kansans on the actual goings-on in state and local politics, so we can all better understand the impact of our vote.

2. To simplify the complex language of bills and the legislative process into clear, factual, and unbiased summaries that can make us all better citizens.

3. To enable everyone to take action on bills, issues, and causes they care about, with as little friction as possible.

This weekend we soft-launched LetterSwarm, the “third leg of the stool.” This newsletter highlights key issues to know about; BillBee.ai distills the detailed information from the Kansas legislature into searchable and easily understood formats; and LetterSwarm make it fast to communicate to elected officials about these issues.

The process is simple:

1. Register an account on LetterSwarm. (It’s an independent system for now, but we’re working on connecting it to BillBee and Capitol Bee so you can bounce between them.)

2. Enter your name and address. We use this information to look up the names and addresses for your state and federal legislators.

3. Browse the Campaigns list for any active campaigns you might want to join.

4. Join the campaign, select which legislator you want to communicate to, and click a button to let AI draft your letter.

5. Edit or refine your letter as you like, although most of the time it’s ready-to-go without any fuss.

6. Preview and download your PDF.

7. If you have a paid account, you’ll have a monthly allotment of credits depending on the tier; you can use these credits to pay for printing and postage. Just confirm you’d like to use a credit and your letter will be delivered in a few days.

Letters are mailed with your return address; they are your voice. We’ve worked hard to ensure full compliance with state ethics and lobbying guidelines, so there is no accounting or reporting requirement for you.

Next Steps with LetterSwarm

This week is our first public test run with the platform, so please forgive any bugs or confusing bits. We can’t wait to see what you can do with it! If you have any questions, just email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to assist.

If you’re with an organization that would like to run a sponsored campaign, please reach out and we can help configure and optimize campaigns to meet your goals.

Dangerous drumbeat to Article V convention

Last week, Senator TJ Rose published an editorial in the Johnson County Post advocating for Kansas Senate Concurrent Resolution 1604 and a Convention of States under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. (I happened to have written about this exact issue in a Topeka Buzz update last week.) Rose paints a misleading picture of what such a convention would entail; while he claims it would be a controlled and narrowly focused process, history and legal experts tell us otherwise. An Article V convention is an unprecedented and highly risky step that could fundamentally alter our Constitution in ways that Kansans—and Americans—cannot predict or control.

The senator points to the Founding Fathers’ inclusion of Article V as evidence that they anticipated a need for a state-led convention. Yet, the only historical precedent we have is the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which was not limited to its intended purpose. Delegates were originally tasked only with amending the Articles of Confederation, but they far exceeded that mandate and instead created an entirely new system of government. Nothing in the Constitution guarantees that another convention today would not follow the same path. There is no enforceable mechanism to limit what a modern convention could propose. Even if it were called with a specific agenda, once convened, delegates could introduce and debate changes to any part of our governing framework.

This raises serious concerns about unintended consequences. The senator assures us that an Article V convention would only consider amendments on fiscal restraints, limiting federal power, and term limits. However, legal experts from across the political spectrum warn that once a convention is called, nothing in the Constitution prevents it from expanding its scope. Every constitutional right—including those protected by the Bill of Rights—could be up for debate. Depending on political pressures, delegates could propose changes to fundamental freedoms such as free speech, gun rights, or due process. Given today’s polarized climate, should Kansans really trust an unpredictable, high-stakes convention with the integrity of our founding document?

Another major problem is the influence of special interests. The push for a Convention of States is not a grassroots movement but a well-financed national effort driven by powerful lobbying groups. Organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have spent years promoting Article V convention resolutions in state legislatures. If a convention were convened, these same wealthy factions would have enormous influence over delegate selection and the amendment proposals brought forward. Without clear constitutional rules governing the process, there would be nothing stopping outside money from dictating changes to our nation’s highest laws.

Even leading conservative legal minds have warned against the risks of a Convention of States. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger stated unequivocally that there is “no way to effectively limit or muzzle the actions of a constitutional convention.” The late Justice Antonin Scalia also opposed the idea, warning in 2014, “I certainly would not want a constitutional convention. Whoa! Who knows what would come out of it?” If even constitutional scholars who dedicated their careers to interpreting and defending the Constitution believe an Article V convention is too dangerous, why should Kansas gamble on such an uncertain and irreversible process?

Instead of taking this reckless leap, lawmakers should focus on addressing federal concerns through existing legislative and constitutional processes. The amendment process already allows Congress to propose changes, and if reform is truly needed, targeted amendments can be pursued without the dangers of an unrestrained convention.

This Week in Topeka

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Senate:

• Considering SCR 1611, which abolishes the state Supreme Court nominating process and replaces it with partisan elections.

• Approaching a vote on SB 48, which significantly complicates the ongoing accreditation process for public school districts.

• Government Efficiency committee holds a hearing on Thursday for SB 256, which requires full-time state employees to work in-office.

• Federal and State Affairs committee considering SB 177, which doubles campaign contribution limits. TESTIMONY DUE 10:30AM TODAY