About Marci

Senator Marci Francisco was first elected to the Kansas Senate in 2004, where she represents the state’s 2nd District. Since that time, she has become one of the state’s leading advocates on women’s issues, the environment, and education.

During the 2006 legislative session, Senator Francisco supported passage of a three-year public school finance plan. And in 2008 she helped extend the plan for a fourth year. “The school plan approved by the legislature addresses the unique funding needs of Lawrence and Lecompton public schools and will help make deferred maintenance improvements to KU. This historic investment already has improved the quality of education for hundreds of students in our community,” she said.

As Ranking Member of the Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Interim Committee, Senator Francisco played a key role in crafting environmental legislation. “In the last several years, the legislature has had a real opportunity to make energy conservation improvements as we continued to work on deferred maintenance issues at Kansas University and other Regents schools,” said Senator Francisco. “By studying the action plans of other states, I hope the legislature can continue to make solid recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of our state buildings.”

In 2008, she was appointed to the KEEP Advisory Group, an organization tasked with reducing pollution while fostering economic growth.

Three years later, in 2011, she was appointed to the 911 Coordinating Council, where she works with emergency operators and state leaders to maintain access to emergency services for phone users, ensuring that local call centers can meet new technology demands from text users and quickly respond to emergency situations.

Francisco is involved in several local organizations as well, including the Headquarters Counseling Center, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, the East Lawrence and Oread Neighborhood Associations and the University of Kansas Student Housing Association.

In April 2008, she was awarded the Helen Fluker Open and Accessible Government Award by the Lawrence-Douglas County League of Women Voters, an organization of which she is also a member.

As a two-term Mayor of Lawrence and former City Commissioner, Senator Francisco led efforts to protect the downtown, plan for new and existing neighborhoods and start the city’s recycling program. When she is not serving the Kansas Legislature, Senator Francisco works as an analyst at the KU Center for Sustainability.

She and her husband, Joe Bickford, reside in Lawrence.

Committees

Standing Committees:
Local Government (Ranking member)
Utilities (Ranking member)
Transparency and Ethics
Agriculture and Natural Resources

Special/Joint Committees:
Joint Committee on State Building Construction

Connect with Marci

In Topeka
Room: 134-E
Phone: 785-296-7364
Email: Marci.Francisco@senate.ks.gov

At Home
1101 Ohio
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone: 785-842-6402