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Stephen Morris
From Ballotpedia
| Stephen Morris | ||
 | ||
| Kansas State Senate District 39 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 1993 - present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 14, 2013 | ||
| Years in position | 19 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $88.50/day | |
| Per diem | $123/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 4, 2008 | |
| First elected | 1992 | |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Kansas State University (1969) | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | United States Air Force Reserve | |
| Years of service | 1974 – 1991 | |
| Service branch | United States Air Force | |
| Years of service | 1969 – 1974 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | January 4, 1946 | |
| Place of birth | Garden City, Kansas | |
| Profession | Owner/Operator, S and B Farms | |
| Religion | Methodists | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Stephen Morris is a Republican member of the Kansas State Senate, representing the 39th District since 1993. He has been the President of the Senate since 2004. Previously, from 1977 to 1993, he was the President and Vice-President of the Unified School District 210 Board of Education.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Morris has been appointed to these committees:
- Agriculture
- Federal and State Affairs
- Interstate Cooperation, Chair
- KPERS Select, Chair
- Joint Committee on Legislative Coordinating Council, Vice Chair
- Natural Resources
- Organization, Calendar and Rules, Chair
- Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments and Benefits, Vice Chair
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Morris served on these committees:
- Interstate Cooperation (Chair)
- Organization, Calendar and Rules (Chair)
- Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments and Benefits (Chair)
- Joint Committee on Legislative Coordinating Council (Vice Chair)
- Agriculture
- Federal and State Affairs
- Natural Resources
Issues
Sen. Morris does not list his issue positions on his website.
See: Stephen Morris's issue positions from Project Vote Smart
Recent legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Sen. Morris includes:[1]
- An amendment to create a budget stabilization fund[2]
Political positions
Debt negotiations
Morris is one of the members of a bipartisan group organized by the National Conference of Legislatures called the Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction (TFFDR). Consisting of 23 state lawmakers from 17 states,[3] the group went to Capitol Hill on September 21, 2011 to urge the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to cut the nation's debt but not impose severe budget cuts on the states.
TFFDR urged the Committee to consider new revenue as a possibility, instead of just focusing on budget cuts as House Speaker John Boehner has proposed. The group specifically proposed passage of the "Main Street Fairness Act," which would allow states to tax online retailers.[4]
Education spending
Morris said one of the few options for legislators is to start cutting services that in the past had been off limits. In Kansas, about 85 percent of the state’s general fund budget is spent on education and Medicaid and another 6 percent goes to fund public employee pensions.
Morris said everything else is funded with the remaining 9 percent and many of those other functions, such as prisons, have very little flexibility.
Some cuts have been made in programs, including * Education, but deeper cuts are inevitable, Morris said.
“At least in the near term, we will see reduced levels of services in most states and most programs,” Morris said. “The economy is improving, but it hasn’t improved to the point where there’s very much difference.”[5]
Elections
2012
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012
Targeted
Morris is one of eight Republican incumbents that the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee has targeted for defeat in 2012. It sees the eight incumbents as being impediments to private sector job creation and has made $1,000 donations and in-kind contributions to the Republican challengers.[6]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Morris was re-elected to the 39th District Seat in the Kansas State Senate with no opposition. [7] He raised $184,420 for his campaign. [8]
| Kansas State Senate, District 39 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Stephen Morris (R)
| 18,215 | 100% | ||
Campaign donors
In 2008 Morris collected $184,420 in donations.[9]
Four of his largest contributors were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| AT&T | $2,250 |
| Kansans for Quality Mental Health Services | $2,000 |
| High Plains Telecommunications | $2,000 |
| Kansas Association of Realtors | $2,000 |
Scorecards
Kansas Economic Freedom Index
The Kansas Economic Freedom Index is a project of Bob Weeks, creator of the blog Voice For Liberty in Wichita. The purpose of the Index "is to identify Kansas legislators who vote in favor of economic freedom — and those who don’t."[10] Legislators receive a rating from 0-100 percent based on their votes on bills promoting economic freedom.
2010
Stephen Morris received a rating of 7% on the 2010 Kansas Economic Freedom Index.[11]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Stephen + Morris + Kansas + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
External links
- Sen. Morris's website
- Kansas State Senate Website
- Project Vote Smart Bio
- Project Vote Smart Legislative Profile
- Campaign contributions: 2004, 2006, 2008
References
- ↑ Legislation
- ↑ Bill 1614
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction," accessed September 26, 2011
- ↑ Stateline, "State legislators want revenue on table in debt talks," September 22, 2011
- ↑ "Kansas Senate Pres. Morris: Deeper Cuts Necessary, Including * Education," Kansas Watchdog, December 10, 2010
- ↑ Lawrence Journal World, "Business lobby, aided by $36,000 from Koch Industries, targets eight Republican incumbents in state Senate for defeat," January 10, 2012
- ↑ 2008 Kansas Election Results
- ↑ Kansas State Senate, 2008 Money Raised
- ↑ Stephen Morris, 2008 campaign contributions
- ↑ Kansas Economic Freedom Index, "Homepage," accessed January 13, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Economic Freedom Index, "2010 Kansas Economic Freedom Index," May 18, 2010
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by '' | Kansas Senate District 39 1993–present | Succeeded by NA |
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