Jeremy Ryan Claeys (born February 13, 1978) is a member of the

Kansas Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members ...

and a former member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

. Claeys was raised in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

. He graduated from

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

where he studied media and

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

where he studied public administration.

Career

J.R. Claeys is the State Senator for the 24th District including all of Saline County and most of

Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Dickinson County, Iowa * Dickinson County, Kansas * Dickinson County, Michigan See also * Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonw ...

and the former State Representative for West Salina and Northwest Saline County, and was elected to the 69th District. He has worked as the president and CEO of the National Association of Government Contractors and as communications director of the National Small Business Association. He was the campaign manager for the 2018 campaign of

Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General of Kansas. He previously served as the 31st Secretary of State of Kansas. A former Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, Kobach came ...

for Kansas governor and

Wink Hartman A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional ...

for Kansas lieutenant governor. Kobach defeated Gov.

Jeff Colyer Jeffrey William Colyer (born June 3, 1960) is an American surgeon and politician who served as the 47th governor of Kansas from January 31, 2018, to January 14, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of Kans ...

in the Republican primary and lost to Democratic state Sen.

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

in the general election.

2010 Kansas Secretary of State campaign

He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

Secretary of State of Kansas The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...

in 2010. Claeys finished third in the primary behind former Kansas Republican Party Chairman

and Shawnee County Elections Commissioner Libby Ensley. Results *Kris Kobach: 156,462 *Libby Ensley: 83,275 *J.R. Claeys: 64,493

2020 Kansas Senate campaign

On June 1, 2020, Representative Claeys announced that he was running for the

in the 24th district, challenging Sen. Randall Hardy in the Republican primary. Representative Claeys dropped his bid for a fifth term in the House of Representatives in order to run for the Senate. Claeys defeated Senator Hardy in the Aug. 4, 2020 Republican primary. No Democrat has filed to run in the 2020 general election. Results *J.R. Claeys: 7,728 *Randall Hardy: 4,350

Kansas Legislature

As a state legislator, he has been focused on issues relating to unmanned aerial systems and

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

, including pushing for the state to adopt rules to allow for UAS integration into commercial airspace and the creation of a state UAS director post. This included pushing the

to pass a resolution supporting the state of Kansas' work on UAS issues. He also pushed for a 2013 drone privacy bill to be drafted in a way to protect the Kansas drone economy. In March 2019, he amended the state budget to include funds for Kansas State Polytechnic University to receive $500,000 to hire more instructors for the pilot education program. He has also introduced legislation to create an aviation tax credit program for students studying engineering and aviation in the state and want to work in the Kansas aviation industry. The bill passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 106-18 in March 2019. He has been active in working with state panels focused on unmanned aerial systems and a pilot program granted to the state by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. During a September 2019 meeting of the Kansas Capitol Preservation Committee he questioned why a new plaque including the names of former governors involved in the

Kansas Capitol The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the Governor of Kansas, executive and Kansas Legislature, legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in the city of Topeka, which ...

renovation project did not include former legislative leaders involved in the planning. In 2013, he teamed with Reps.

Diana Dierks Diana Dierks (born January 13, 1944) is an American politician. She served as a Republican member for the 71st district in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. She was defeated for reelection in 2020 by Steven Howe and she was ...

and Steven C. Johnson to donate 100 gallons of milk to a Salina charity for safe exchange between parents in custody disputes, which was matched by

Dillons Dillons is a grocery supermarket chain based in Hutchinson, Kansas, and is a division of Kroger. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in Missouri and Baker's in Omaha, Nebraska. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout Ka ...

Supermarkets. He was a member of a legislative task force in 2018 that researched and make a series of recommendations for the next Kansas transportation plan. In 2018 and 2020 Representative Claeys was elected vice chairman of the Kansas Legislature's Joint Committee on State Building Construction and he was elected chairman of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction in 2019. The chairmanship and the vice chairmanship of the building committee alternates annually between the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the two leaders are elected by the committee rather than being appointed by legislative leaders. His 2018 election as vice chairman came after a nomination by then Republican House Speaker Pro Temp

Scott Schwab Scott Joseph Schwab (born July 9, 1972) is an American politician serving as the 32nd Secretary of State of Kansas. He served as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 49th district, from 2009 to 2019. He also served as ...

, now the Kansas Secretary of State, with a second by Democratic state Sen.

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

, now the

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Legislative committee assignments

Kansas Senate committees 2021-2022 *Vice Chairman of Ways and Means **Chairman of Governmental Subcommittee **Corrections and Public Safety Subcommittee **Labor Subcommittee *Vice Chairman of Transportation *Utilities *Assessment and Taxation *Joint Committee on State Building Construction Kansas House committees 2019-2020 *Chairman of General Government Budget *Chairman of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction (2019) *Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction (2020) *Appropriations *Transportation *2019 Special Committee on Natural Resources Kansas House committees 2017-2018 *Chairman of Transportation and Public Safety Budget *Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction (2018) *Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force *Appropriations *Commerce, Labor and Economic Development *2017 Special Committee on Commerce *Member of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction (2017) Kansas House committees 2015-2016 *Chairman of Transportation and Public Safety Budget *Vice Chairman of 2016 Special Committee on Larned and Osawatomie State Hospitals *Appropriations *Commerce, Labor and Economic Development *Joint Committee on Information Technology Kansas House committees 2013-2014 *Federal and State Affairs *Commerce, Labor and Economic Development *Taxation 2019

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

committees *Natural Resources and Infrastructure *Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce

Electoral history

Controversy

Claeys was involved in fraudulent activity through the selling of the "Certified Tested Green" label for products. These certifications were sold for between $189.95 to $549.95. According to a

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

complaint, Claeys and his company Tested Green never tested any of the products certified and would certify anyway for simply paying. Part of the purported fraud includes using the claims that the Tested Green certification was endorsed by the National Green Business Association and National Association of Government Contractors. These associations were both owned and operated by Claeys and were in no way independent endorsements. The FTC approved this complaint unanimously at a vote of 5-0. This led to 20 year sanctions on Claeys and his company. Another aspect of fraud in this case was the misrepresentation of the number of clients tested green had certified. Tested Green claimed to be the "nation's leading certification program with over 45,000 certifications in the United States." In reality, the FTC found that only 129 companies had ever been certified. The place of residence for Claeys has also come into question. While seeking his second term for the Kansas House of Representatives, it was reported that Claeys had filed to run for office under his sister's address. During the controversy, he claimed to live with his sister, her husband, and their three children for personal reasons. When confronted by a reporter to see that he actually had a living space within his sister's home, he declined to let the reporter enter, stating "I'm not going to be held to a different level of scrutiny than everybody else is," and "It's nobody's business." The listed address was controversial for many reasons, most of which revolved around a property owned by Claeys in Lawrence, Kansas. The property was a condominium valued at $433,400 for tax purposes. A resident who lives in the same complex in Lawrence was quoted as saying "J.R. has a two-car garage and a stall for his boat," and "He votes on issues that come up in the Bella Sera Homeowners Association." Claeys defended having the property stating that was the residence he used while the Kansas House of Representatives was in session. He also defended the price valuation by saying that the apartment was one of several locations he bought out of foreclosure. On September 6, 2017, Claeys tweeted that he would "rather give money to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

than to public radio".

References

External links

Vote Smart J.R. Claeys
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claeys, J. R. Politicians from Salina, Kansas Republican Party Kansas state senators Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Kansas State University alumni George Washington University alumni Living people Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century American politicians 1978 births