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Sen. Janis Lee appointed to court of tax appeals staff
Published on -11/16/2010, 4:00 PM
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kconner@dailynews.net
Longtime Kansas Sen. Janis Lee was appointed by Gov. Mark Parkinson to a staff position on the Kansas State Court of Tax Appeals today.
If the appointment is approved, Lee, D-Kensington, will resign from her District 36 Senate seat.
“I’m very honored that the governor had the confidence to appoint me to such a position,” Lee said late this morning. “I believe that my 20 years on the Senate assessment and taxation committee and the other experience I’ve had over the years makes me qualified to hold the position.”
A legislative confirmation committee can meet outside of session to act on the appointments, or the entire Senate will vote on the issue when the Legislature reconvenes in January, Lee said.
Lee was appointed to the position of the court’s chief hearing officer.
She has held her Senate seat for nearly 23 years, and her current term is set to expire in two years.
The Senate’s 36th district includes Ellis, Hodgeman, Mitchell, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Rush, Russell and Smith counties, as well as part of Jewell County. The state’s House of Representatives and Senate districts are set to be reapportioned in 2012.
If the appointment is approved, a new senator will be elected by the district’s Democratic precinct chairs, said Darrell Hamlin, chairman of the Ellis County Democratic Party.
Those individuals will be given a time limit in which to gather and vote on a successor. Interested individuals would be required to file with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, he said.
“There’s a lot of politics going on here. The thing that matters more than anything right now is whether or not this appointment is confirmed,” Hamlin said. “Because if it’s not, it doesn’t change anything. If it is confirmed, then we go to the next step, which would be the legal process.”
Lee is the only Democrat representing western Kansas in the state Senate, he said.
Lee serves as the assistant minority leader and also serves on nine Senate committees, including Ways and Means, Agriculture and the Special Committee on Assessment and Taxation.
Lee said she has enjoyed serving as a Kansas senator but is looking forward to a new challenge.
“Serving as a senator for 22 years has been the most rewarding experience of my life,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to serve the people of our area of the state, and I’m very grateful that the people had the confidence to elect me all those times that they elected me.”
