Proposed by Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson during the 2022 legislative session, SCR 1621 would amend sections 5 and 15 of article 3 of the Kansas Constitution, which relate to the state's selection of supreme court justices. The proposed amendment would abolish the current bar-privileging selection process of justices and adopt a federal model of selection in which the Kansas Senate would confirm appointments made by the governor.
Under the current system, a person cannot join the Kansas Supreme Court without being being one of the three favorites of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission, a nine-member panel largely selected by members of the Kansas Bar. While a handful of other states center supreme court selection on a nominating commission, Kansas is the only state that allows its bar to elect most members of the commission. This undemocratic status quo would be fixed by SCR 1621.
Stephen Ware's testimony is here:
http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/committees/ctte_s_jud_1/misc_documents/download_testimony