State ex rel. Schmidt v. City of Wichita

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nuss, C.J.:

This is an original action in quo warranto brought by the State on relation of the Attorney General for a writ declaring an ordinance of the City of Wichita (City) to be null and void. Relying upon the Kansas initiative and referendum statute, K.S.A. 12-3013, the city council had submitted a general description of the proposed ordinance as a ballot question, which was approved by city electors during the April 2015 general election.

At the ordinance’s core is a provision appearing to reduce the severity level of a first-offense conviction for…