TOPEKA
Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop will be paid nearly $500 every two weeks he remains in leadership, even after saying he turned over the bulk of his formal duties.
At the same time, the Wichita Republican continues to hold powers that can’t be delegated, ensuring he remains influential in the Capitol even as he fights a felony case that will result in him being barred from office if convicted.
Suellentrop, 69, was charged Friday with felony eluding and fleeing from police and also faces misdemeanor charges of drunk and reckless driving after allegedly driving the wrong way on Topeka highways on March 16. Prosecutors allege he drove around a tire-deflation device in a post-midnight incident that prompted panicked 911 calls.
He has given no indication he plans to resign or give up his prestigious leadership position. Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican and business partner of Suellentrop, has made clear he doesn’t plan to pressure the senator to step down in the remaining weeks of the legislative session.
“There’s still due process and we’re gonna move from there so nothing’s really changed from where we’ve been,” Masterson said Monday.
Suellentrop stands to financially benefit each day he retains the title of majority leader. He will earn at least $1,948 if he holds on to the position until his first court date on June 3.
As majority leader, Suellentrop receives an allowance of $487. 14 every two weeks during his term of office. The sum is in addition to up to about $200 a day in pay and allowances lawmakers receive during session.
The allowance and the amount is required by state law and provides Suellentrop with an additional source of income at a time when, by his own account, he has stopped doing most of his job as majority leader. State law says the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate “shall each receive” the allowance, appearing to give officials little leeway in whether to pay Suellentrop.
According to the statute, the allowance is compensation “for additional services performed in connection with discharging the duties assigned to the respective positions.” But Masterson said Monday that Assistant Majority Leader Larry Alley, a Winfield Republican, is “doing all the work.”
Suellentrop’s chief of staff, Eric Rucker, didn’t respond to questions on Tuesday, including whether the senator is still accepting compensation paid to the majority leader. Suellentrop himself was absent from the Senate on Monday.
Suellentrop’s only public statement so far came nearly two weeks ago when he said was turning over most of his formal duties to Assistant Majority Leader Larry Alley, a Winfield Republican, “until matters that I am currently dealing with are resolved.”
Republican support for Suellentrop is declining, with at least two senators — Sen. Dennis Pyle of Hiawatha and Sen. Rob Olson of Olathe — saying he should consider at least stepping down as majority leader. But many GOP senators have remained tight-lipped in public.
“I will leave that between myself and the majority leader,” Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican, said when asked if Suellentrop should resign.
Still others have expressed concern about his continued role in leadership while not explicitly calling on him to step down.
Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Sedgwick Republican, said the caucus would eventually decide whether it was appropriate for Suellentrop to maintain the privileges of majority leader but said senators should focus first on getting their work finished and going home for Holy Week.
“I believe in due process and I think everyone deserves their due process,” said Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican. “As far as majority leader position, I believe that position has been compromised a bit and so I would expect the senator would be looking into that.”
Masterson, who has both a political and business relationship with Suellentrop, told reporters he anticipates Suellentrop’s status won’t change before his next court date in June, which will likely be after the end of session. Both men co-own through a company a small, two-story commercial building north of the Capitol. The building is appraised at $195,700.
Masterson spokesman Mike Pirner said last week the bottom floor is available for lease. The top floor contains two apartments that are currently occupied, he said.
Anthony Hensley, a former Democratic senator who served as minority leader, said he had never heard of a Senate president and majority leader being in business together in Kansas. Hensley said he couldn’t conceive how Suellentrop remains in his leadership post.
“I mean, in the past we’ve had legislators who have been picked up for DUI offenses. The serious offense is eluding law enforcement and driving 90 miles an hour the wrong way down an interstate highway,” Hensley said. “Those are very serious offenses.”
The majority leader’s key powers include managing the floor schedule, which includes what bills are brought up for debate. The leader is also tasked with more mundane duties, such as making announcements and working with the Senate president to accomplish parliamentary formalities.
But some of his authority can’t be transferred unless he resigns the position, either by law or because of Senate rules.
Suellentrop remains on the Legislature’s internal governing body, called the Legislative Coordinating Council, and the State Finance Council. Both councils have played significant roles during the pandemic, including reviewing Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive orders.
The LCC is expected to take a major vote this week to reject a new mask mandate in Kansas after Kelly plans to re-issue her statewide order on Thursday because of a new state law going into effect.
The LCC vote comes as health officials are racing to vaccinate Kansans to head off any possible new wave of COVID-19 cases. But Suellentrop and other Republicans have been skeptical of mask mandates in the past.
While Masterson has referred to Alley as the “acting majority leader,” the title only applies in a very limited instance, according to Senate rules.
When a vacancy occurs in the majority leader position and the Legislature is adjourned for more than 30 days, the Senate president must appoint an acting majority leader to serve until the next session. That isn’t the case now since the Legislature is in session and Suellentrop hasn’t resigned the position.
But if Suellentrop does ultimately resign or step down as majority leader after session ends, Masterson will have the power to install a temporary majority leader. The caucus would presumably vote on a new, permanent leader before the next session in January.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 3:25 PM.
