The Kansas Policy Institute is a conservative-leaning think tank that promotes free-market policies in Kansas state government. Founded in 1996, the group previously has been known as the Kansas Public Policy Institute and the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. ¹

Kansas Policy Institute is a member of the State Policy Network, a national coalition of state-level free-market policy organizations. ²

Background

The Kansas Policy Institute is a conservative-leaning think tank advocating for free-market policy in Kansas state government. Established in 1996, it is based in Wichita and in 2012, set up a second location in Overland Park. ³

Before settling on the name Kansas Policy Institute, the group began as the Kansas Public Policy Institute, then later became the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. ⁴

The KPI has four main policy focuses: what it calls “consumer driven” education that promotes school choice and monitors student achievement in K-12; “consumer driven” health care that pushes for Medicaid reforms and more health care competition; fiscal policy to promote free-market policies; and property tax reform to scale back what it calls “skyrocketing” rates. ⁵

Leadership

Dave Trabert is the CEO of the Kansas Policy Institute. He is the lead author of the tax policy book What Was Really the Matter with the Kansas Tax Plan. Trabert is the co-chairman of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council. Trabert has written op-eds for national outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Times and the Washington Examiner. He has also written for local media, such as the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal and the Manhattan Free Press. ⁶

James Franko is the president of Kansas Policy Institute. He has served in several roles for the institute since 2010. Previously he worked on Capitol Hill. ⁷

David Gibson is the chairman of the board of trustees for the Kansas Policy Institute. He has been a member of multiple other boards including the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Chicago Board of Trade, as well as chairman of the board of directors of The Welcome House in Kansas City, Missouri. ⁸

Michael Austin is the director of the Sandlian Center for Entrepreneurial Government at the Kansas Policy Institute. Previously, he was an adviser to former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R). He was also the former chief economist for the Kansas Department of Revenue. ⁹

Ellen Hathaway is the communications director at Kansas Policy Institute. Previously, she led the marketing strategies for iVoterGuide. She also worked for The Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia. ¹⁰

Transparency Initiatives

The organization sponsors KansasVotes.org that provides information about legislation in the Kansas legislature. It also sponsors KansasOpenGov, which tracks how tax dollars are spent. ¹¹

The institute also tracks and makes available to the public state employees’ salaries and pension plan payouts. It also monitors property tax collections by county and school district revenue, spending, and carryover cash balance. ¹²

Advocacy During COVID

Trabert in 2020 called for schools to be reopened and accused Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) and Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman of “fear-mongering and manipulating data to scare Kansans into submission.” ¹³

Trabert testified to a legislative committee in November 2020, that other states with less restrictive lock down policies than Kansas have weathered the pandemic more successfully. ¹⁴

The Kansas Justice Institute, which is an arm of the Kansas Policy Institute, represented businesses owners in a federal lawsuit filed in July 2020 opposing the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. ¹⁵

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3. Vision, Mission and History. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/about/
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6. Staff. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/staff/
7. Staff. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/staff/
8. Board of Trustees and Officers. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/board-of-trustees-officers/
9. Staff. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/staff/
10. Staff. Kansas Policy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://kansaspolicy.org/staff/                   
11. Kansas Policy Institute. Ballotpedia. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Kansas_Policy_Institute
12. Kansas Policy Institute. 990. Cause IQ. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/view_990/237047821/65614b93b7e88c1d6a29c58362c770d9
13. Trabert, Dave. “Kelly administration trying to scare Kansans.” The Topeka Capital Journal. October 17, 2020. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.cjonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2020/10/17/dave-trabert-kelly-administration-trying-to-scare-kansans/114817664/
14. Gartner, Alec. “Lawmakers discuss economic recovery, effects of lockdown.” KSN. November 16, 2020. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.ksn.com/news/capitol-bureau/lawmakers-discuss-economic-recovery-effects-of-lockdown/.
15. Hanna, John. “State, local coronavirus orders face challenges in Kansas.” Associated Press. May 11, 2020. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.kshb.com/news/coronavirus/state-local-coronavirus-orders-face-challenges-in-kansas