Kansas Senate Lacks A Lawyer

For the first time since since 1861, Kansas’ 40-member legislative body does not have a single lawyer – though an obscure state statute requires one. Specifically, the statute says a statewide committee that hears certain claims against the state must include at least one senator who is a lawyer. “We will no doubt have to introduce legislation to repeal it,” Rep. Sen. Jeff Longbine told the Wall Street Journal. According to annual surveys, fewer than 40 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives is made up of lawyers, down from about 60 percent during World War II. “You don’t need them all to be lawyers,” former Rep. Sen. Forrest Knox said, “but it’s certainly going to handicap the Senate.”