Insider Index: This week in Salem by the numbers

A story in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reports that for the first time ever, at least since 1861, there are no lawyers in the Kansas Senate.

Not having a lawyer in the 40-member Senate must not have seemed to the voters to be a problem, but it turns out it’s a bit of a legal pickle.

The Kansas Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State, made up of members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, hears, obviously, certain claims against the state. Kansas law requires at least one member from each chamber be an attorney.

A bill repealing the requirement is being prepared to repeal the requirement.

While there’s no dearth of lawyers in the Oregon Senate, they aren’t as plentiful as many might imagine.

Three of the 30 members of the Oregon Senate, all Democrats, are law school graduates — Senate President Peter Courtney, Betsy Johnson and Floyd Prozanski.