Marti Crow
District 41 Kansas State Representative
Blog
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TWELTH WEEK, 2006 SESSION
Posted Apr 03 at 5 PM
This Week at the Statehouse
After 12 weeks, today is First Adjournment and the completion of the 2009 regular session. We will now break for three weeks and return for Veto/Wrap Up Session on April 29th. The Legislature main things that the Legislature will take up then will be the Budget Reconciliation bill that takes into consideration revenue estimates made on April 17 and any veto made by the Governor. There are other items of unfinished business, conference reports and such but those will often have to wait for next session. During April, the Governor will review bills that have reached her desk for signature or veto.
Many House members are leaving today frustrated with the lack of productivity in the House this session. We got off to a slow start, have had a significant number of “pro forma” Fridays (meaning we did not meet), and legislative leaders have been reluctant to allow bills to be heard in committees or debated by the House. Much productive policy was never considered at all.
At the end, conference committees are cramming Senate bills together with House bills that have languished into mega-conference committee reports on a similar subject. One normal way for a legislator to get a bill debated without the Speaker’s blessing is to amend a Senate bill. That outlet has been stymied. Instead bad proposals have been folded toggther with good bills, and the House is expected to swallow the whole thing. This is not the way the legislative process yields good policy.Civics 101: The Omnibus Bill
One of the primary tasks of the Wrap Up Session is to approve the Omnibus Bill. I call it the “ominous” Bill because it is so huge that items can easily be hidden and overlooked, and it is scary to try to balance the entire state budget for the next fiscal year. It normally contains three basic items: technical adjustments to previous appropriations bills, financing for Governor’s budget amendments which were not considered as part of regular appropriations bills and considering Governor line item vetoes, and financing of substantive legislation that passed the Legislature earlier in the session.
You have heard a lot about “earmarks” in Congress. The Omnibus bill has been known to include various items of interest to individual legislators or lobbyists, some offered as amendments during either Appropriations/Ways and Means Committees or Committee of the Whole deliberations, some sneaked in during late night conference meetings. The Omnibus Bill is usually the last bills passed each session.FY 2010 BUDGET
The House and Senate FY 2010 Mega Budget Bill was officially approved by both chambers this week. I opposed the bill. The $13 billion budget, as passed, includes $58.3 more in spending than Governor Sebelius proposed, while cutting public education- one of our most important state investments that I have worked to protect all session. And the cuts put our state at risk to lose all or part of the federal stimulus funding for public schools. As you know, the state economy is weakening. This budget has been created using a financial forecast made in November 2008. The next forecast, on April 17, two weeks after the end of the regular session, will probably show a continuing drop in revenue. If tax collections continue to fall short of estimates, the mega budget approved this week will not balance, and we must revise it during the veto session. The mega bill will provide a blueprint to be adjusted to create a balanced budget by the last day of this session in late May. Once the session adjourns in May, the Governor can make allotments and cuts during the interim to prevent the state from operating in the red or a special session can be called.
K-12 Education
Although K12 education cuts are being portrayed as a mere .7% reduction, the actual cuts are more like 2.7%. According to the three year funding plan approved in the school finance lawsuit, schools should be receiving $4433 per pupil this school year. That was cut in the recission bill but the Governor’s line item veto confined the cut to $33. Last session, the legislature added a fourth year to the funding plan. Schools would have received $4,492 budget per pupil for 2010 fiscal year under that “Keeping Education Promises” provision. So, school districts will actually see a $125 per pupil cut next year, along with a cut to special education funding and a failure to fund the promised increases based on the inflation CPIU.
I oppose the cuts to schools for several reasons. These cuts are unnecessary. There is currently $50 million available to Kansas by virtue of casino proposals in Wyandotte County and in South Central Kansas ($25 million each) which the leaders refused to factor into the budget. Including these revenues would have allowed full funding for public schools next year.
The federal stimulus bill clearly dictates that the state must “maintain effort” at a certain level. If the state has decreased school funding from 2006 to 2009, the maintenance must be at the 2006 level. If funding has increased, the funding must be maintained at the highest of the 2008 or 2009 level. The mega bill funding is below both of those years. Our stimulus funds are certainly in jeopardy.
Vulnerable Kansans
The Mega Budget bill has no money to fund new developmental disability waivers. The federal government allows us to use federal matching funds to provide home and community based services (HCBS) to allow disabled Kansans to stay at home rather than a nursing home, which is much more expensive. The House voted to include $2.5 million in the bill, which would draw down over $7 million federal dollars and reduce number of disabled folks that have been on waiting lists for services for years. The conference committee omitted that funding.
The bill does provide $4 million to fund physical disability waivers, which will draw down over $9 million in federal matching funds. The House had approved $8 Million to reduce PD waiting lists.
Earlier this year SRS placed a freeze on HCBS servicesdue to 2009 revenues shortfalls. Nursing home admissions jumped by 303 persons in January 2009 so a freeze and a lengthening waiting list does not save costs for Kansas taxpayers. HCBS services could have helped more than 600 persons for the cost of the 303 that were forced into nursing homes because of the freeze.
State Employees
State employees get a phantom 1% salary increase and longevity bonus payments which must be self-funded by each of the agencies. Since most agencies are getting a 5 to 10% cut in funding, most employees won’t see an increase. And, ironically, those who work for general fund agencies, Aging, SRS, Corrections, which are most crucial in hard economic times are the least likely to see salary increases. Funding is provided in the bill for the next step in the new pay plan designed to make state salaries and benefits competitive with similar private sector jobs.
Corrections
Public safety was cut $17.6 million, or 6.4%, and eliminates 500 beds in our prison system, closes drug and alcohol programs, discontinues day reporting programs, and shuts down community correction beds in Johnson and Sedgwick County.
Unnecessary Expenditures
At the same time, this budget continues unnecessary bureaucratic fluff, Kansas, Inc. and Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) remain separate state agencies, rather than merging into the Department of Commerce, as proposed by the Governor. Placing the duplicative eco-devo work under one agency would have saved the state about $5 million annually.
When the economy is strong, it is not so crucial to be efficient, but in a year when we are not funding schools, public safety and services to the most vulnerable of our neighbors,s, we should no continue to fund different agencies to do overlapping work. In the Mega bill, KTEC not only remains a free standing state agency but it receives a budget of about $12.1 million for fiscal 2010, an increase of funding over the funding provided in 2009.
A 2006 audit showed that the CEO of KTEC had a base salary of $150,000 and was awarded a $60,000 bonus and a $52,000 payment and KTEC paid its employees more than $550,000 in additional compensation from 2004 to 2006, including nearly $333,000 in annual bonuses and up to $224,000 in supplemental payments. Parts of the 2006 bonuses paid to three KTEC employees appear to have been contrary to State law because the bonuses were based on work done for a subsidiary of KTEC which is prohibited. And the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center, a KTEC subsidiary, also paid about $437,500 in bonuses to its employees. The salaries at KTEC and Kansas, Inc. are set by their board of directors, not by the state legislature. A more recent audit could not document actual economic benefits from the eco-devo activities of these expensive agencies.
Cities and Counties
Cities and counties will split up to $5 million in the Special City County Highway Fund, but they will receive no revenue sharing money from the state in the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund. The slider, that was passed in order to help local governments adapt to the loss of property tax revenue when the legislature eliminated all tax on business machinery and equipment, will be paid in June of this year but The 2010 slider payments will not be made as promised.
Children's Health Insurance
Both Houses voted to add $1.2 million for expanding the state SCHIP/HealthWave health insurance program to include children whose families' income is up to 250% of poverty. The funding comes from the Children's Initiative Fund which was created from the tobacco settlement funds.DRIVING AGE RAISED
Gov. Sebelius signed a bill last Friday which will raise the minimum age for obtaining an unrestricted driver’s license to 17 and impose more limits on the state’s least experienced drivers. Kansas becomes the 49th state to adopt a graduated license program, leaving North Dakota as the lone state out of step. The bill applies to teens who enter the Kansas licensing system after Jan. 1, 2010 and prohibits teen drivers' use of cell telephones while driving until after completion of a six-month probationary period featuring restrictions on late-night driving and vehicle occupancy unless the teen is reporting an emergency.
Privileges under these licenses will be limited during the first six months. During this probationary period, no more than one non-sibling passenger under 18 can ride with the teen driver and the teens can drive only to or from work and school from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. In most cases, a full, unrestricted license would only be available to teens after turning 17, although, for practical purposes, full privileges might be achieved as early as the age of 16 1/2 if the driver satisfactory completes all requirements.
The existing restricted driver’s license statute in Kansas is not changed by HB 2143. By completing a driver’s education course, a teen aged 15 can get a restricted license. Holders of a restricted license can drive unsupervised to and from work or school. These teens can transport siblings and adult passengers, but not non-siblings under age 18. A learner’s permit is still available at age 14, and a learner/driver still will have to be accompanied by someone 18 years of age or older when driving. The new law requires a learner to drive with the permit for 12 months before obtaining a restricted or full license.
Under the new law, teen drivers who violate license restrictions will get a 30-day suspension on the first offense, 90-day suspension for the second infraction and one-year suspension on the third offense.
The Governor said that the legislation will make our roads safer and our teen drivers more prepared. Parents can, hopefully, feel a little bit better about handing over the keys to their offspring. The bill was endorsed by the Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Action for Children, State Farm, Kansas Department of Transportation, Safe Kids, and Kansas Department of Health and Environment. States adopting similar graduated licensing systems have experienced 20% to 50% declines in teen vehicle accidents.SPEEDWAY MAKES NEW CASINO PROPOSAL
The partnership of the Kansas Speedway and a Baltimore-based company, Cordish, have filed a new application with the Kansas Lottery for a casino at the race track in Wyandotte County. The Speedway was on the verge of approval to build a Wyandotte County casino when it withdrew in December because of the economy, saying it planned to reapply. Speedway President Jeff Boerger said the proposal is the same the original proposal with a $680 million resort, but this time the partnership wants to build in phases rather than all at once.MARCH REVENUES DOWN
Kansas’s financial forecast continues to look grim, as reports from the Kansas Department of Revenue indicate that the state took in $57 million less in tax-only revenues in March than previously estimated. Several factors played into the report, including individual income taxes which came in nearly $50 million below the $190 million estimate, a nearly 25% loss. To date, Kansas is down $135 million in tax revenue from the November 2008 estimates.FEDERAL STIMULUS FOR UNEMPLOYED
In March, the Kansas Department of Labor announced that our state unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 25 years. Legislation passed this week to take a first of two steps necessary to access federal stimulus funds for helping unemployed workers and their families. The first provision that will draw down $23 million from stimulus modifies the method of determining a worker’s base wage period and increases the number of workers eligible for unemployment benefits. Under HB 2374 a worker's most recent wages in a completed quarter will be used to determine eligibility for jobless benefits. State officials presently leave out the most recent quarter when examining whether employees have earned enough over the last five quarters to receive unemployment aid.
Unlike many states, Kansas has a substantial reserve in its unemployment pool. The state started the year with $510 million in that fund and is projected to have $400 million at year's end. On the other hand, Kansas had a January jobless rate statewide of 6.4% (11% in Leavenworth), up from 4.9% in December and 4.3% in January 2008. About 48,000 Kansans are already receiving jobless benefits.
The KCCI (state chamber) has opposed the changes to our law, worrying that expanding benefit eligibility could indirectly to higher premiums for businesses. The Labor Dept. says that the changes could lead to some businesses with high employee turnover paying slightly more in unemployment premiums, but that would not happen until years from now.
The plan signed by President Obama in February adds $25 per week to the unemployment benefits being paid out to individuals through the rest of the year. Those on unemployment can receive up to $423 a week, depending on their wages while employed, labor officials said. Individuals receiving their maximum 26 weeks of unemployment benefits would also be allowed to apply for an additional 20 weeks of help through Dec. 26. The deadline for applying for extended benefits had been set to run out by March 31. In addition, the federal package suspends federal income tax on the first $2,400 received in unemployment benefits.
The second piece, the remaining portion of the original bill - worth some $46 million in stimulus funds - will be considered during the Legislature’s wrap-up session in late April. It proposes a change to provide that individuals are not disqualified from applying for unemployment benefits when they return to the labor market after having left work to care for a sick or disabled immediate family member. They would not receive unemployment while they do the caretaking, but they would be qualified for unemployment when they began actively looking for employment again.REBUILDING GREENSBURG
To help Greensburg businesses rebuild after the May 4, 2007 tornado disaster, the House overwhelmingly passed HB 2388 this week, which will extend the deadlines associated with the Business Restoration Assistance Program. Businesses in Greensburg have already been pre-approved to receive benefits from this program, but they need more time to use the money wisely. This bill extends the time when a pre-approved business would be required to complete repair, replace, or rebuild its facility using the benefits from this program.
$5 million was provided for business assistance in Kiowa County and businesses are eligible for payments of up to of the investments made by June 30, 2008 to rebuild and up to $3,500 for each full-time employee rehired by that date. The Businesses now have until June 30, 2010.CREDIT FREEZE
A bill that does what I have worked for three years to accomplished passed this week. HB 2292 will increase a consumer’s ability to place a security freeze on credit reports. Currently, you can get a freeze only after you have been a victim of identity theft and you must show a police report to prove it. This legislation will provide all consumers with the option to place a security freeze on their credit report. The bill deletes the requirement for a police report.
You may request a security freeze by mail, through a consumer reporting agency’s secure website, or by telephone. The agency may charge a fee of $5 or less for placing, temporarily lifting or removing a freeze. No fee can be charged to you if you are a documented identity theft victim.
The best part is that now consumers who suspect that the confidentiality of their financial or personal identification information has been breached to file a police report and get a credit freeze before someone steals their identity. The police where you live are required to send their report to another jurisdiction if that’s where the breech occurred.
The freeze will prohibit credit reporting agencies from releasing the credit report or credit score of the consumer, so individuals can take control over who is allowed access to the personal and financial information. Each agency must place a security freeze on a consumer report no later than five business days after receiving your request. They must lift a freeze within three days if requested by mail and within 15 minutes when requested electronically. Within 10 days of placing a freeze, the agency must issue you a personal identification number to use like a password if you choose to remove the security freeze or authorize the temporary release of your credit report for a specific person or period after the security freeze is in place. -
ELEVENTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Apr 02 at 6 PM
This Week at the Statehouse
We had a short week of long days in Topeka this week. With Drop Dead Day approaching on March 27, we were on the floor from morning to evening Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday trying to push through important (and some not so crucial) nonexempt bills. We took final action votes on 67 bills. The House adjourned Wednesday evening to give conference committees a chance to meet Thursday and Friday. Next week conference committees will be busy meeting all week to iron out differences between House and Senate versions of bills.FY 2010 Budget Update:
The most significant piece of legislation passed this week was HB 2373, also known as the FY 2010 mega budget bill. We devoted all day Monday to the budget, debating over 30 amendments. After 10 hours of debate, the bill passed by a 70-54 vote. Tuesday, the Senate took up its version of the budget, which passed 26-14. Although we made some positive amendments, I have a number of concerns with the House budget proposal. However, be aware that the budget debate is far from over. A conference committee has already begun to meet on this bill, and there are a number of differences between the House and Senate versions. This means there still could be a number of changes once the two bills are reconciled. And we will come back in late April, after receiving updated revenue estimates, and work a final budget.Some highlights:
K12 Education
Providing excellent public education is always a top priority for me. The House bill, unfortunately, cuts state funding for K-12 education by $26 million which would reduce the budget an additional $33 per pupil and cut special education aid $4.5 million in FY 2010. Although this is being billed as a minor cut, it is actually a 2.7% cut of what was passed last session and promised to the schools for next year and takes school funding back to below the funding in 2007-08. And it could jeopardize our opportunity to receive federal stimulus dollars for our school kids. The budget does not take into consideration millions of dollars that are or will be available in gaming revenues. Using some of these funds would render a cut to school funding completely unnecessary. The Senate bill does not cut K12 education, so there is hope that these cuts will be reversed in conference.Waivers for developmentally and physically disabled Kansans
An amendment to the House budget adds about $13 million in spending to home and community based services for developmentally and physically disabled Kansans. The goal is to avoid placing these folks on waiting lists for services that can keep them at home rather than in more expensive nursing home care. The amendment passed 66-54.State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
Both House and Senate bills include funding for expansion of low-cost health coverage for Kansas children. These are families that earn up to 250% over the poverty rate, too much to qualify for Medicaid, but they often cannot afford private insurance. The federal government pays the majority of the costs and these new families would also pay premiums. The House voted 75-48 to provide $1.2 million to the program, making Kansas eligible to draw up $6 million from the federal government. Providing health coverage for these kids is not only the right thing to do, it’s a good business decision.Other House-approved budget cuts
An across-the-board cut of most Kansas state agencies by 10%.
A 9% cut to public safety spending
A 3.6% cut to state higher education institutions
A 10% cut to state legislators’payHouse measure requires drug testing to receive state assistance
On Tuesday the House debated HB 2275 that would require random drug testing of all public assistance recipients in Kansas. The bill was approved at a vote of 99-26, after extended and heated debate. Nearly 14,000 Kansans receiving public assistance SRS would be subject to testing and those who tested positive for illegal drugs would be required to complete a treatment program. Public assistance would be terminated if a person fails the drug testing three times or does not complete treatment.
Proponents argued that welfare recipients may use state dollars to buy illegal drugs rather than for legal and appropriate purposes. Additionally, proponents argued that this will help protect children under the care of drug abusers because the state would be better able to identify those individuals.
Opponents took issue with an assumption that people who apply for public assistance are more likely to use drugs simply because they are poor. They also pointed out that the “random” testing was set up in the bill with ten days notice prior to testing. A similar law was struck down in Michigan as an unconstitutional search. The better, less expensive way, opponents said was to require drug testing and treatment when there is evidence of drug use. They also objected to the failure to provide any funding for testing or treatment.Kelsey’s Law passes Senate
In 2007, Kelsey Smith was abducted from a Johnson County Target store parking lot, raped and murdered. Her family has pushed for legislation that would require telecommunications companies to release GPS information on the cell phones in certain cases when a person is missing. The legislation is responding to the unfortunate fact that it took days to find Kelsey’s body because the cell phone company would or could not immediately release GPS information associated with Kelsey’s cell phone. Once authorities received the information, after four days, her body was found within 45 minutes.
HB 2126 would clarify that Kansas allows the disclosure of location information to law enforcement agencies and would require the KBI to collect and distribute contact information for cell phone carriers. Cell phone carriers could establish their own protocols for disclosing call location information.
This new law would not have saved Kelsey’s life, but its proponents contend that missing victims of crime may be found more quickly in the future. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday. The House passed its version, 118-1 on February 20. The bill specifies that location information may be released in cases where there is danger of death or serious injury. It also prohibits a cause of action against a cell-phone provider who complies with this act.
If signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebilius, the Kelsey Smith Act would make Kansas the first state in the nation to pass such a law. -
NINTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Mar 19 at 11 AM
Conference Committees are beginning to meet and I worry that the Legislature will do way too much lawmaking in conference reports this year because the regular session has been shortened, the House has not met many Fridays and the back up of bills is building.
The Coal Bill
Since the Senate passed HB 2014, the coal plant bill, last week, a joint House/Senate conference committee has been meeting to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The bill allows for the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Holcomb; overturns a KDHE decision to deny the permits necessary for the project to be built; and strips the KDHE environmental agency of its authority to regulate pollution by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
There are a few differences between what each house passed, but nothing is expected to prevent a hasty agreement by the majority of the conference committee. Once that happens, the bill will go to both chambers for an up or down vote on the conference report. If approved, the bill will go to Governor Sebelius who has promised to veto this bill as she vetoed three similar proposals last session.
FY 2010 Budget
This week the House Appropriations Committee reviewed components of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the federal stimulus money. There was debate in the committee and budget subcommittees about the Governor’s budget amendments proposing how to utilize the stimulus dollars. The process is not close to being completed, but here is an update on what has been considered to date:
• Higher Education
Monday, Republicans on the Committee voted to reject federal stimulus money for Kansas colleges and universities. The stimulus money for higher education would provide tuition stabilization and affordability during these hard economic times for many Kansas students and their families. The money for higher is includes increases in the higher education tax credit; an increase in the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to a maximum of $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010; and the addition of $200 million to the College Work-Study program that allows students to work their way through school. Also, the money would provide funding for several deferred maintenance projects to address crumbling infrastructure at our state colleges and universities.
Kansas is facing a $1 billion budget gap for 2010. Our Legislature cannot afford to turn down help from the federal government. Our higher education system and students are a vital piece of restarting and sustaining economic vitality. Turning down financial help for our universities and students makes no sense. Other states will gladly take our share.
My concern is that rejecting these funds will most adversely affect the very Kansans this money was allocated to help: parents who are experiencing unemployment or loss of savings at the time their kids are in college, students struggling to pay for their education, and our state business community relying on an educated workforce to help build our economy. Ironically, we have spent the first six weeks of the session trying to figure out how to deal with a shrunken revenue stream to finance this year without raising taxes or cutting programs that a crucial to our state citizens’ security and quality of life. Turning down federal dollars is like rejecting a life raft when your boat is taking on water.
In a recent study, the Docking Institute of Public Affairs noted that every dollar spent on university deferred maintenance projects, generate over $2 in increased economic output of goods and services. It also increases state earnings creates good new jobs. If the entire $439.7 million in “shovel-ready” campus infrastructure projects were addressed, they would produce an immediate and profound statewide impact, increasing the economic output of goods and services by $967.3 million, increasing earnings by $283.4 million and creating 8,254 new jobs statewide.
• K-12 Education
An estimated $367 million is available to our state to maintain the present level of state support for local school districts and higher education. To receive the federal money, Kansas must maintain state funding for higher education and K-12 schools at the FY 2008 or FY 2009 level, whichever is greater. The House Education Budget Committee voted to accept the Governor’s recommendations for application of federal stimulus money in 2010. Per pupil funding must remain at $4400 for the next two school years in order to maintain eligibility for federal recovery funds. The Senate Ways and Means Education Subcommittee also voted to accept the Governor’s budget recommendations. Accepting the federal funding allows our state to avoid placing an added burden on local taxpayers or fording school districts to making deep cuts to staff and programs important to our kids.
• Medicaid
Through nine quarters, October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010, the federal government will increase its share of Medicaid will increase by 6.2%. As a result, it is estimated that Kansas will receive an additional $103 million in FY2009, $200 million in FY 2010 and $102 million in FY 2011 for Medicaid costs. To receive the additional funding, Kansas must maintain current eligibility standards. The federal funding directly offsets spending that the state would have to make from the State General Fund, freeing up some money for other reneges.
I was disappointed to hear that on Thursday, the House Social Services Budget Committee voted not to accept the Governor’s recommendation that would use that money to enable Kansas to take advantage of the recent federal reauthorization of the SCHIP childrens’ health insurance program. The Governor proposed to expand eligibility for Kansas children whose families earn up to 250% of the federal poverty level. Rejecting the proposal denies health insurance for 8,000 additional Kansas children. The action not to fund SCHIP is deeply disappointing. I joined most of the Legislature last year in voting to support a bill that provided for this expansion of Kansas HealthWave if the federal Congress and President approved the reauthorization of SCHIP. No it is not only reauthorized but we have the funding for it without raising taxes and at a time when more families are unable to cover their kids with health insurance. I hope when the rest of the legislature considers this, the majority will not choose to renege on their commitment last session to uninsured children.
Smoking Ban
SB 25 is known as the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act because it bans smoking in all public places, including taxicabs, restrooms, lobbies, hallways, and common areas in public and private buildings across the entire state of Kansas. The House Health and Human Services Committee held hearings on the bill this week. The bill includes several exemptions, including private clubs and the gambling floor of state-owned casinos.
Last year, in response to legislation ordering a study of health reform, the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) unveiled recommendations. A statewide smoking ban was one component of the recommendations, a cost-effective, preventative policy to protect nonsmokers and encourage those who do smoke to quit or cut back. That recommendation also included a proposal to increase taxes on cigarettes to fund expansion of health insurance availability.
Supporters of SB 25 argue that research has repeatedly shown that both smoking and secondhand smoke lead to illness, poorer quality of life, higher health care costs, and premature death. Since 80% of Kansans do not smoke, legislation is seen as crucial to protect against exposure to secondhand smoke in public places. Statistics show that about 300 Kansans die each year from exposure to smoking. Supporters contend that public health should take precedence over business interest in allowing smoking and that there is insufficient evidence that adverse economic impact results from smoking bans. They testified that the state and private sector health costs reflect the damages of smoking and second-hand smoke.
One argument by opponents of the bill that a state-wide smoking ban would adversely affect some businesses. A small business owner testified that 85% of her tavern’s customers are smokers, and that the proposed ban would force her out of business. Business owners who had already been affected by city smoking bans testified that their establishments had lost up to 50 % of business. Some businesses argued that as difficult economic times already endanger businesses, an additional obstacle is untimely. Others argued that decisions regarding whether a business, particularly a restaurant, should ban smoking should be left to that business itself.
Local control emerged as a key reason for opposing this legislation. Another rationale for opposition is free market, that the market alone should drive business decisions. If consumers want a smoke free environment, they can choose where they eat and drink. Tobacco products generate a lot of tax revenue, and a smoking ban would significantly lower that revenue.
Higher unemployment numbers underscore need for federal stimulus money
This week the Kansas Department of Labor released information that reflected a 6.9% unemployment rate in our state, up from 4.9% last month and up from 4.3% last year. This is a strong sign that Kansas is beginning to feel the national and world-wide recession. According to January 2009 estimates, Kansas businesses lost 3,900 jobs in the last year, a 0.3% decrease for workers seeking employment. Although the unemployment increase is partially due to seasonal employment declines, it reflects the economic slowdown with Kansas employers eliminating jobs as a result.
On the local front, the Kansas City area has a 8% unemployment rate; Leavenworth County’s is 8.6% and Leavenworth city is a depressing 11.2%. The number of unemployed people in Kansas is nearly 96,000, the highest since June 1983, our city shows 1700 folks out of work. This is the highest unemployment rate in nearly 26 years and the state’s biggest month-to-month increase in seven years. January’s unemployment rate was 31% higher than what was reported in December 2007. To see the report go to: http://www.dol.ks.gov/LMIS/newsrel/pr0902/pr0902.html
These numbers are troubling for everyone in Kansas. The entire state has felt the burden of the economic downturn, with some of the state’s largest employers significantly scaling back personnel. Throughout the last few months we have seen mass layoffs at Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Boeing in Wichita, Goodyear in Topeka, and General Motors in Kansas City. Our area is also affected by layoffs in western Missouri.
The stimulus package offers an important opportunity to expand unemployment benefits to our neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet during a, hopefully short, jobless period. In order to qualify for $69 million in federal unemployment stimulus money, Kansas must make minor modifications to the method of determining a worker's base wage period. HB 2374 would lengthen the period of employment that can be considered in deciding whether a laid-off worker is eligible for benefits and would allow workers to receive unemployment benefits if they leave their jobs to care for a sick or disabled family member. The bill will increase the number of workers eligible for unemployment benefits, but unemployment benefits help the local and state economy because unemployed folks can continue to pay their mortgage or rent and other necessities.
Transportation Committee
• Prohibition on driving in passing lane
This week, the House Committee on Transportation held a hearing on SB 145, which would amend state traffic laws and make it illegal to drive in the passing lane on a highway located outside the city limits with two lanes of traffic proceeding in the same direction. A driver may only use the left lane when passing another vehicle, when preparing to make a left turn, or when directed by official traffic-control devices or another provision of the law. If the highway outside of city limits is divided into three or more lanes, the far left lane would be governed by the passing lane law. The passing lane rule would not apply to emergency vehicles, law enforcement officers, and KTA or KDOT official vehicles.
Although this proposal would have no fiscal effect on agency operations, the bill would require funding from the State Highway Fund for signs to educate drivers about the change in law. Motorists would not receive fines for violating the law until after July 2010, but then violators would be charged a $60 fine.
Supporters of the proposal testified that the legislation will lead to more orderly traffic and prevent road rage when drivers are frustrated by vehicles lingering in the passing lane.
• Tax exemptions on leased motor vehicles
The Committee also held a hearing this week on SB 288, which would provide a property tax exemption on motor vehicles with at least a one year lease if the vehicle is being used exclusively by the state or any municipality or political subdivision of the state. The bill would also provide the same exemption for vehicles used exclusively for literary, educational, scientific, religious, benevolent, or charitable purposes. A new tax exemption would reduce revenue to the State but because it is uncertain how many leased cars fit these guidelines, an accurate fiscal effect is unavailable, although it is probably insignificant.
Proponents testified that vehicles purchased by entities that are normally exempt from property taxes should be allowed to lease vehicles under the same exemption. Currently, because vehicles being leased by these organizations are taxable, there is a disincentive to lease a car – an increasingly growing trend in the current unstable economic condition. It was argued that the measure would facilitate business and expand customer choice for exempt entities.
There were no opponents to the bill which would take effect on the first day of the tax year for 2010.
VOTER I.D.
The House Elections Committee amended SB 3 this week, replacing it with language from HB 2077, which requires every voter to provide identification at every election, revises acceptable identification documents, allows voters without identification to provide a signed statement, and provides a form of identification to those who qualify based on federal standards.
We must balance concerns about protecting the integrity of our state voting system with concerns that an identification requirement at the voting booth will discourage voter turnout. Disabled, elderly, poor and minority voters are likely to be impacted by the requirement for identification. Studies have shown that people earning less than $35,000 per year are less likely to have photo identification than those who earn more. If you cannot afford a car, you don’t need a drivers’ license. Many elderly and disabled voters do not drive. Advance voting has made voting more convenient and increased participation but an identification requirement will make voting by mail in advance more difficult and suppress voting Kansans unable to easily reach their voting place.
The Secretary of State’s office confirmed there have been no cases of voter fraud in Kansas that would have been prevented by showing photo identification. In my view, this law only places an unnecessary burden on our constitutional right to vote, crucial to our democracy. I cannot justify a law to expand government authority and limit constitutional rights when the state’s top election officer has confirmed that the bill’s provisions fail to address the issue of concern.
House Taxation
HB 2325 clarifies the existing limitations on a county's authority to raise taxes, but makes no statutory changes. The county tax rate currently rises in fixed increments of .05% and cannot exceed a cumulative 1% for general purposes, and 2% for special purposes. Any attempt to raise taxes more must be approved by the Legislature prior to a vote of the population. Committee members questioned of the validity of this policy, because the people in a city should be able to make their wishes clear about a tax increase before the Legislature gets involved in a local tax issue. And, a majority vote in favor of a tax increase helps a county's position when they come to ask the Legislature for approval. The bill will have no fiscal impact.
HB 2353 adds disabled veterans and their surviving spouses to the list of folks eligibiley for the Homestead Property Tax Refund. Under this proposal, a veteran must be 50% disabled, as calculated by federal standards in order to qualify. A surviving spouse is eligible if the military personnel was killed in the line of duty. This bill will have an estimated negative fiscal impact of $215,000 in 2010. The Department of Revenue estimates that there are currently approximately 7,147 disabled veterans with a disability rating of 50% or greater. It is estimated that most disabled veterans already qualify for the Homestead Property Tax Refund under the current qualifications. The Department of Revenue estimates that this bill would allow an additional 10%, or 715, of the disabled veterans to qualify for an average tax refund of $300. The current Homestead program requires participants to meet both an income and a demographic test. The household income can be not more than $29,700 or at least one person in the household must be age 55 or above; a dependent under age 18; blind; or otherwise disabled. This bill adds to the definition of disability under current law, which generally requires that the applicant be unable to engage in gainful employment by reason of physical or mental impairment. Homeowners with a residence valued at $350,000 or more may not participate in the program. Renters are eligible based on a statutory assumption that 15% of their rent is equivalent to property taxes paid.
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EIGHTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Mar 10 at 4 PM
This Week at the Statehouse
We are now two-thirds of the way through the 2009 legislative session, with only four weeks remaining in the regular session. Because last week was such a slow week, I expected the pace to increase for week 8. Unfortunately, little work was done this week on the House floor. A handful of bills were debated early in the week, there was no legislative action on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. At this point in the session several bills should be worked on the floor every day. I am very concerned that legislation which has passed by committees are being held “hostage” in order to be used for political collateral on other, more controversial issues.Civics 101: Understanding the legislative calendar
The Kansas Legislature meets from early January until early May. We work under a stringent time frame each year. Once the Legislature convenes each January, it has 90 taxpayer-paid days to complete its work for the year. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House control the calendar and decide what bills are debated or not. The committee chairpersons decide which bills have hearings and are voted upon. Legislators are paid a daily salary during the session (under $100 per day) and per diem and one trip from home each week. I am concerned about efficiency because each day the Legislature meets over 90 days increases the cost to taxpayers.
February 21, two weeks ago, was the halfway point of the session, known as “turnaround,” the deadline for non-exempt bills to be passed out of the house of origin. Now House committees are considering Senate bills and vice versa. “Drop dead day,” March 28, is the next legislative deadline when all bills from either chamber must be passed both houses or they are essentially “dead” for the year. Some bills are considered “exempt” and are alive until the end of the session.
The Legislature will conclude the 2009 regular session on April 4, I think, referred to as “First Adjournment.” Between drop dead day and first adjournment, we will consider exempt bills, conference reports and the budget for fiscal year 2010. Then, the Legislature recesses for approximately three weeks and all bills passed by both the House and Senate go to the Governor for signature or veto. The last week in April, the Legislature reconvenes for what is referred to as the “Wrap-Up” or “Veto Session.” During this session we must balance the budget for 2010, reconciling the fiscal costs of newly passed law and the revenue estimate made in mid-April. The length of Veto Session varies, lasting from a few days to a few weeks. The longest veto session in history was 17 days in 2002, after the budget drop due to 9/11. The Legislature will convene once more for a ceremonial adjournment called “Sine Die.” Sine Die usually occurs near the end of the May, and marks the final meeting of the Legislature until 2010.
This is the first year of a two year legislative meeting. So far, the House has only recorded 98 final action votes this year. To allow for comparison, after eight weeks in 2007, 142 final action votes had been recorded. Though Veto Session and Sine Die offer opportunities to meet later in the spring, most of the Legislature’s work must be complete by the beginning of April, leaving only a few more weeks to pass meaningful legislation.Commerce Committee hearing on Minimum Wage
In February, the Kansas Senate voted overwhelmingly, 33-7, to raise Kansas’ minimum wage to $7.25 beginning January 1, 2010. This week, the House Commerce and Labor Committee held a hearing on the proposal, SB 160.
Currently, our state minimum wage is $2.65 per hour, by far the lowest in the nation. The last minimum wage increase was approved more than 20 years ago in 1988. SB 160 is the result of a bipartisan compromise in the Senate. The raise in minimum wage would not apply to workers receiving tips and gratuities (such as servers and bartenders). The law would apply to employees of businesses that are not a part of interstate commerce regulated by the federal minimum. This includes workers in about 20 job classifications, including workers on small farms, in small industries, child care facilities, and in companion care. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 Kansans work in jobs governed by the state minimum wage. A worker working 40 hours a week at our state minimum wage is stuck well below the poverty line.
Proponents argue that a minimum wage increase will lead to several benefits, including more self-sufficient citizens, consumers with greater purchasing power, a more motivated and productive workforce, added cash flow in the local economy, a healthier tax base and new jobs and new businesses through a multiplier effect. The state would receive an estimated $3.6 million in revenue in FY 2010. The current low minimum wage as it currently tends to perpetuate a state economy with 12.4% of the population living in poverty, leading to family instability, a strain on social services, higher cost of doing business due to turnover and absenteeism, and an inadequate tax base.
Opponents contend that no one in Kansas except teenagers actually earns $2.65 per hour so increasing the minimum wage is unnecessary. The Kansas Department of Labor, however, estimates that most Kansans earning less than the federal minimum wage are not teenagers, but heads of households and are disproportionately women. The labor statistics are calculated using the data trusted by economists and government officials to calculate other labor statistics like state unemployment.
In uncertain economic times, it is essential to keep our state economy headed in the right direction. Taking care of the base of the economic pyramid, the workers, assists in that effort. The Kansas Legislature has supported over $1.2 billion in tax relief targeted at business and employers over the past four years to encourage business investment. It’s now time for us all to broaden that focus and invest in the folks who need help most: the Kansas working for $2.65 an hour. To me, this is not a political issue. I think the Kansas minimum wage is shameful and reflects badly on our progressive state, forcing hard working employees to struggle to provide basic food and shelter for their families. Kansans has always been a place that honors hard work and independence. Our state should insist on a wage that dignifies work and commitment to families. In the past few years, other minimum wage proposals have never even received a committee hearing. It is time for the House to follow the lead of the Senate and see this issue through to the finish line.Energy and Utilities Committee
• Energy storage opportunities
This week, the House Energy and Utilities Committee began discussions on House Resolution 6011, which requests that the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) convene a group of stakeholders to study energy storage as a cost-effective way to stabilize renewable energy generation, address transmission congestion costs, increase system reliability, enhance the potential for distributive generation, and other energy storage issues. The main form of storage discussed was compressed-air energy storage (CAES), which is the most cost-effective electricity storage. CAES stores energy made by wind turbines by compressing it and storing it underground to be used as needed. There are some startup costs to running CAES, but it is extremely efficient.. Kansas has many underground resources which can be a valuable resource for CAES. HR 6011 helps position the program serve and get paid by more than one client, which is essential for its success.House Taxation Committee
• Eliminate tax exemptions on renewable energy resources
This week, the House Taxation Committee held hearings on HB 2196, which would eliminate property tax exemptions for renewable energy resources and technologies during the 2009 taxable year. “Renewable energy resources or technologies” include wind, solar, photovoltaic, biomass, hydropower, geothermal, and landfill gas resources or technologies. The Kansas Department of Revenue testified that delaying the tax breaks would increase property tax revenues by approximately $225,000 and increase state aid to school districts and revenues to local governments that levy property tax.
Proponents of the bill include the Kansas Legislative Policy Group, an association of thirty western Kansas counties. The group believes the incentive to bring wind farms to Kansas aren’t needed because our state is such a valuable wind resource, (the third windiest in the nation) and counties should be able to tax the developers of wind resources. Opponents include Wind Coalition, Clipper Windpower, Wind Capital Group, Gamesa, Tradewinds, Iberdrola, Empire Electric, Sierra Club, and the American Institute of Architects. These groups argued that it is necessary to maintain the incentive to keep Kansas competitive with other states. The Kansas Rural Center was neutral on the bill but believes there is a production tax may work better than the property tax.
• Sales Tax Holiday
The House Taxation Committee held hearings on HB 2328. If passed, which would expand the state’s sales numerous tax exemptions to include a sales tax holiday for the purchasing of school supplies on the first Thursday in August at 12:01 A.M. until midnight on the following Sunday.
Proponents say Kansas businesses are losing revenue to Missouri and Oklahoma, who currently have tax holidays. Instead of shopping in Kansas, consumers who live on the border of neighboring states cross state lines during the holidays to purchase the tax-free goods, and while they are there they spend their money on items that are not tax-free, sending unnecessary Kansas dollars to other states.
Opponents pointed out a number of problems with the bill. The KNEA testified that, although the bill is defended as assistance for low income families, it actually may not help them because low income families are the least able to save up for a tax holiday and are the least able to make these often expensive purchases in a short time frame; while upper income families who can easily afford to pay taxes on school supplies would have the greatest ability to take advantage of a holiday period.
My concern, as I have expressed to you in the past, is that we need to reform Kansas’ method of issuing tax exemptions. Instead of constantly adding more tax exemptions on a case by case basis with no set standard for qualification, the state should set a reasonable standard to judge when an exemption is in the public interest, and then reduce exemptions that do not meet the standard. We would broaden the tax base and allow lower rates for all taxpayers while creating more stable revenue. The continual shifting of the tax burden to a smaller and smaller base results raising other tax rates, such as property tax.The Kansas League of Municipalities provided testimony in on the issue. Referring to a study published in 2005 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy called “Talking Taxes,” KLM pointed out that there is evidence suggesting there has been a fair amount of abuse of tax holidays. The study, part of which took place in Florida, observed that while the tax holiday was in effect, some retailers simply raised the price of the items in question, effectively negating up to 20% of the potential benefits from the sales tax holiday to consumers.
See http://www.talkingtaxes.org/House Appropriations Committee
On February 3, 2009, the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony on HB 2095 which would allow school districts to levy up to two mills in property taxes for the next two years to pay for insurance and utility costs. The bill amends the previous law by doubling the amount that can be taxed to pay for municipal bonds issued by cities and allowing for payment not just of municipal bonds but for insurance and utility costs. Opponents argue the tax authority would be unequally advantageous to districts with a higher assessed valuation per pupil. Proponents support the intention of the proposed changes in the bill but admitted it needs work.Kansas Board of Regents to study opportunities to increase efficiency in technical education
The Legislature has been taking steps for a couple of sessions to improve technical education across the state. I think it is one method to help for expedite Kansas’ economic recovery. Technical education should merge the best of the private and public sectors. The new Technical Education Authority (TEA) brings together stakeholders in both education and business to make technical education more efficient and responsive to the needs of business and industry. TEA will allow technical education institutions to receive direct input from the business world, enhancing technical education curriculum to include real world issues and needs.
At the direction of the Legislature, the higher education institutions and leaders report that they are taking steps to get all institutions in Kansas to a “per credit hour” funding formula. This formula will help provide the technical education institutions (and also the institutions that have combined with technical education schools) more balanced funding and help streamline federal funding for technical education. The work is beginning to gain momentum. The Kansas Board of Regents has been requested to study the issue further and report back to the Legislature the best methods for implementing a new formula and the strategy to complete the multi-year process of standardization of technical education programs. Kansas has an opportunity to capitalize on providing quality statewide technical education that can help pull us out of this recession and lead this country into a bright future with a highly skilled workforce.
Kansas House continues to look at gaming legislation as a means of economic growth
As the national and international economic downturn begins to effect our state, the Governor and state legislature are looking outside of Kansas to see what other states are doing to stabilize and improve their economic vitality. Several states are attempting to attract large projects aimed at drawing in tourism and providing jobs. Building a new casino resort in Kansas remains of great interest to some communities as a method to create jobs and stimulate the economy.
There is still a gaming license to build a casino resort in Ford County, which requires a $5.5 million privilege fee and an investment of over $45 million. The House is currently considering a bill that would lower the investment amounts for the construction of a resort casino in southern Kansas to the same amounts required in Ford County. The hope is that lowering the investment up front could act as an incentive for developers to invest in a casino despite the tough economy and help to establish jobs.
Opponents of the bill oppose casino gambling in Kansas. They contended that even resort casinos will not provide a stable source of income for the state and that gambling facilities bring a greater propensity for crime and illicit activities. Supporters argued that the project could provide the state with an additionally $200 million in revenue which would go a long way to helping that state budget’s short fall. And they pointed out that a resort casino is more than a gambling house; it is intended to be a destination for tourists with lodging, restaurants, shopping and other amenities. Resort casinos tend to provide much more sustained growth by offering a wider variety of opportunities for economic development.
President Obama selects Governor Sebelius for Secretary of Health & Human Services
This was a proud and exciting week for Kansas. President Obama’s announced that Governor Kathleen Sebelius is his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Although I am saddened to lose our talented and accomplished leader, I know that Kansas and the entire nation will benefit to have Governor Sebelius guiding health reform.
I do not expect the Governor to depart immediately. The Cabinet confirmation process is very in-depth. While the Governor is currently preparing for confirmation hearings before the United States Senate, she has made clear that her main priority will continue to be Kansas and the legislative process, including balancing the state budget. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson and her Cabinet are preparing to continue her work when she is confirmed. -
SEVENTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Mar 03 at 11 AM
This Week at the Statehouse
We had an abbreviated week at the Statehouse this week. The Senate and House debated and passed a large number of bills last week prior to the “Turnaround” deadline for bills to pass the house of origin. We took a long weekend and the legislative staff worked on getting the bills over to the other house. The House only considered one piece of legislation all week, but it was a big one, the highly controversial coal bill that dominated most of the 2008 legislative session. Activity will to pick up again next week as the House committees begin to consider Senate bills and vice versa.
House Sub for Bill 2014: The Holcomb Bill of 2009
House Sub for 2014 was debated on the House floor on Thursday and officially approved by a final action vote of 79-44 on Friday. As you may remember, the question of whether to approve legislation that would allow the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Holcomb dominated the 2008 legislative session. I remain committed to further investing in renewable energy, providing for the base load energy needs of the state, and protecting the Kansas ratepayer and environment as much as possible. I will support legislation that meets these standards.
Ultimately, I hope that the politics of the Holcomb debate do not prevent the Legislature from working together to make progress developing a balanced budget and creating a comprehensive energy plan for the state by the end of this session. We have all felt the volatility of the world energy market throughout the last year which has affected everyone’s pocketbook due to our dependence on foreign oil. This volatility, combined with our weakened economy, makes a long-term progressive energy plan crucial for
Basics of the Bill
HB 2014 is a massive piece of legislation, combining 14 different bills into one. Energy and utility legislation is quite complicated, but here are the basics:
• It limits the power of Kansas Dept of Health & Environment (KDHE) to regulate energy providers, negating a 2007 KDHE decision to deny air quality permits to Sunflower.
• It provides regulations for increasing energy efficiency in government-owned property.
• It proposes to move Kansas in the direction of renewable energy through processes like net metering but only takes baby steps.
Concerns
• Lack of oversight for energy providers. The bill significantly decreases the ability of the KCC and KDHE to regulate certain utility companies. If enacted, utility cooperatives with more than 50,000 members will have authority to raise utility rates without KCC oversight, leaving the government powerless to protect Kansas ratepayers. While some argued that deregulation could help the Kansas economy, others raised the point that deregulation has resulted in severe damage to our national economic security. The effects of deregulation on Wall Street prove that it dangerous to take an economic risk of this magnitude. Additionally, the bill circumvents regulatory authority of KDHE in the permitting process. The bill not only reverses KDHE’s decision to deny two air quality permits to Sunflower Electric for two coal-fired power, it strips KDHE’s regulatory oversight. The Legislative branch is usurping the task delegated to the state environmental agency, which sets a dangerous precedent and disrupts important checks and balances.
• Coal is being replaced by new sources of energy. The Obama Administration has assured the country that there will be stricter regulation of carbon emissions while the emphasis nationally will be to advance green energy initiatives. 83 coal plant projects across the country have been canceled, put on hold, or shut down, anticipating higher standards and, therefore, costs. Currently, $45 billion in federal dollars is available to states for energy purposes in the form of application-only grants. Moving forward with a project that would almost certainly be shut down under new federal standards would relegate Kansas to the end of the line for new federal energy funds. Kansas, as the third windiest state in the nation, is best served by showing that our state is poised to lead the nation in clean energy technology.
The other side of the story: Proponents of the bill insist that the Obama administration’s energy plan provides no penalty for using coal and the new President talked about “clean coal” during the campaign. The administration acknowledges that we still need coal; the challenge is to make it cleaner.
• Lack of incentives for consumers. Net metering is an initiative that is a renewable energy investment. Simply put, net metering allows Kansans to generate their own electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar power. A critical facet of net metering, however, is that consumers be allowed to effectively sell back the extra electricity they produce or be credited by the utility company for energy they add to the grid. The bill, as currently written, provides no incentive for consumers to use net metering because savings are passed on monthly to the utilities rather than to ratepayers themselves. A proposed amendment to allow net metering savings to be passed on to the consumer at the end of each year (rather than be returned to the utility companies) was rejected. Proponents argued that consumers will save money because utilities are assisted in covering their costs, which should restrain price increases as utilities pass on their savings to rate payers.
Proposed Amendments
• An amendment was added to expand the benefits of net metering to urban areas by preventing cities and counties from prohibiting residents from putting solar panels on their roofs. Currently, many municipalities restrict what can be placed on houses for aesthetic purposes. A similar amendment regarding wind turbines did not pass.
• An amendment failed that addressed renewable portfolio standards. It stated that if an energy provider builds a plant in Kansas and sells power outside the state, it is still subject to the in-state RPS. There was disagreement over whether this would help or hinder state economic development.
• An amendment failed that would have required any new coal plant to purchase at least 5% of coal requirements from Kansas mined coal. The idea is to take advantage of in-state resources and provide new jobs in Kansas. Opponents expressed uncertainty about the quantity of coal that could be produced and how costly it would be to mine.
The Governor’s Proposal
Governor Sebelius and Lt Governor Parkinson announced a proposed comprehensive energy plan in January; their recommendations have been largely ignored. Their plan was also proposed as a replacement for the coal bill.
The plan’s components include:
• Allowing Kansans to generate their own electricity through Net Metering and effectively sell back the extra electricity they produce.
• Codification of Kansas’ existing voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard.
• Requiring state owned and leased real property meet energy efficiency standards.
• A modification of last year’s Cessna legislation to attract and expand wind related manufacturing investment and jobs to Kansas.
The Proponent Position
The Holcomb coal-fired plant proposals are the best way to provide adequate, reliable, affordable, long-term energy for Kansas. Kansas should not become the first state in the nation to impose limits and controls on carbon dioxide emissions. Until federal standards are set, the Kansas executive branch should not be responsible for deciding what carbon emission levels are safe on a case by case basis, with no approved criteria for that determination. The two coal-fired plants in Holcomb, using the most up-to-date technology, will help reduce dependency on Kansas’ existing coal-fired power plants, which have much higher carbon emission rates. Additionally, in this weak economy we are in no position to turn down any opportunities for new jobs, which will be provided through the construction of the plants. Ultimately, there is a growing need to provide reliable, reasonably priced power to Kansans across the state. Due to the volatility in energy markets and lack of proven technology, coal-fired generation will help Kansas supplement the state’s energy needs while a statewide comprehensive energy plan is developed- which will include a mix of renewable energy technology.
The Opponent Position
HB 2014 is similar to the energy bills put before the Legislature in 2008 which were all vetoed by the governor. Though certain special interests have masked the bill as a “jobs” or “renewable energy” bill, this is still just a coal bill. The bill’s only true purpose is to sidestep the administrative and judicial process and solve a commercial problem with legislation. No matter what jobs may be created or what renewable energy incentives might be included in the legislation, the bill is written specifically to overturn an executive branch decision, strip an agency of regulatory oversight, and put large utilities with lots of lobbyists ahead of Kansas ratepayers. The Legislature has already wasted one legislative session on this fight – lets move to enact comprehensive energy legislation that moves Kansas into the 21st century and toward energy independence. There are too many other issues of critical importance this year to spend taxpayer time and money on the same old game of political tug-of-war.
In conclusion
Either way you stand on this issue, Kansas must not lose sight our unique opportunity to become a national leader in the production of biofuels and wind energy in the United States. Increased renewable energy production will not only help our country become more energy independent, it will boost our state’s economy, provide new markets for agricultural products new high tech jobs and make Kansas a better place to live and do business. The need for clean and reliable energy will not go away. I will continue to keep my mind open to new ideas and work across party lines to find solutions, as I have throughout my legislative career. Good policy is not a question of Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, east or west. Good policy is measured by how well it serves public interest. This is what has guided me through this debate as I worked to best balance the needs and beliefs of the XX House District with the interests of the entire state.
FEDERAL STIMULUS GOOD FOR KANSAS
There has been a great deal of focus on the Federal Stimulus Bill (ARRA) recently signed into law by President Obama. This bill will offer a great deal of assistance to Kansas, which will be helpful in a year when we face a $1 billion budget shortfall. Below is a description of some aid our state is set to receive, as provided by the newly launched web site for information on the American recovery act as it pertains to Kansas:
• Tax Cuts
This act provides a tax cut of up to $800 for working Kansans and their families. It also expands the child tax credit and provides a new tax credit for families. It helps first-time home buyers and strengthens the housing market by enhancing the current credit for first-time home purchases. It provides incentives to buy new cars by creating a tax deduction for state and local sales taxes made on the purchase. It helps business by allowing quick recovery of costs of new capital investments and includes a cut in the capital gains tax for certain small businesses. It also creates new jobs with tax credits for hiring veterans and certain youth.
• Transportation
Kansas will receive an estimated $350 million under the ARRA for highway construction projects that will create or sustain thousands of jobs and make important improvements to the state’s transportation system. In addition, Kansas will receive an estimated $27 million to be spent on transit projects throughout the state. Soon, the department of transportation will have a list of new projects as a result of the stimulus package.
• Education
Kansas will receive $367 million from a State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, distributed in part to local school districts using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes, as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education, and to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education. The stimulus provides increased funding for Early Head Start and Head Start, which provide comprehensive development services to low-income infants and preschool children, and increases funding for the Kansas Child Care Development Block Grant to provide child care services to additional children in low-income families while their parents go to work. More Kansans will be able to afford college with increases in the higher education tax credit; an increase in the maximum Pell Grant by $500, for a maximum of $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010; and the addition of $200 million to the vital College Work-Study program. Dale Dennis from the Kansas Department of Education testified to the Senate Education Committee that the federal stimulus package may have as much as $563 million for Kansas schools, if the state meets “maintenance of effort” standards set by the federal government. There is a similar “maintenance of effort” standard to be eligible for higher education funding.
• Health Care
$71.5 million in new federal Medicaid money has already arrived in Kansas this week. The money represents the first installment of new federal Medicaid funds provided under the federal stimulus bill. Overall, KHPA estimates Kansas will receive $440 million in additional Medicaid money from the stimulus package. The stimulus package increases the federal government’s share of the cost of Medicaid. The share has been 60% federal to 40% state. The federal share is to increase to about 66%, which means the state can spend less while still maintaining the Medicaid services. In addition, the additional stimulus money is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2008, which means the federal government is paying additional reimbursement for costs already incurred. That should provide direct, immediate fiscal relief for the state of Kansas.
• Energy
The economic recovery bill provides a total of $30 billion for such initiatives as a new, smart power grid, advanced battery technology, and energy efficiency measures, which will create nearly 500,000 jobs across the country and funds the Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity grid to make it more efficient and reliable. The legislation also provides tax incentives to spur energy savings and green jobs, including $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency over the next 10 years, a three-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for electricity derived from wind (through 2012) and for electricity derived from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy, and marine facilities (through 2013). $5 billion has been provided to improve the energy efficiency of more than 1 million modest-income homes through weatherization across the country. This will save modest-income families on average $350 per year on their heating and air conditioning bills. The bill also provides funding for increasing energy efficiency in federally-supported housing programs. -
SIXTH WEEK
Posted Feb 26 at 1 PM
This Week at the Statehouse
We have had an extremely eventful week in
Civics 101: Turnaround Time
“Turnaround” is the deadline for most bills to clear their house of origin. Non-exempt bills not passed by this point “die,” receiving no action for the remainder of the legislative session. The deadline applies to most bills, excepting bills which have originated or been assigned to exempt committees. Tax, Fed & State Affairs, Appropriations/Ways & Means, and Calendar & Printing are committees that are exempt from the deadlines and bills touched by those committees are “blessed” and remain in play despite the deadline. In addition, there will be opportunities to amend bills into other pieces of legislation, so “dead” House bills may show up as an amendment on a Senate bill or exempt House bill. We often joke that “nothing dies under the Dome.” “Dead” bills can also reappear in conference reports or as provisos in appropriations bills. Beginning next week, the House of Representatives will begin to consider legislation approved by the Senate, while the Senate will begin to consider bills approved in the House of Representatives.
FY 2009 Budget Update
The FY 2009 budget, approved by the House late last week, reached the Governor’s desk on Tuesday, February 17. The Governor signed the bill into law less than 5 hours after she received it, and she used her authority to issue line item vetoes. Final cuts in the FY 2009 budget totaled approximately $300 million and will satisfactorily fill the budget gap we face in the current fiscal year.
The governor issued the following line item vetoes:
Reductions to Kansas Schools: The Governor vetoed the $66 cut to base state aid per pupil (BSAPP), and instead used her power of allotment to cut BSAPP by $33. That is the amount originally agreed upon by a bipartisan majority of the. She also vetoed a cut of $4.5 million in special education money because the state must show a maintenance of funding effort to receive federal stimulus money for special ed. As I have been reporting the last few weeks, a $66 base state aid per pupil reduction would have a devastating impact on
KPERS: Restructuring the KPERS bonds must be approved by the State Finance Council, which had not happened at the time the bill was presented to the Governor so she was forced to veto that proposed transfer.
WCGME: The Governor had already included $2.5 million in additional funding for Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education in the revised fiscal year 2009 budget. The governor vetoed the additional $2.5 million added by the Legislature.
Transfer limitations: The Governor’s original budget limited the transfer of money to the Health Care Stabilization Fund and the Kansas Bioscience Authority in order to preserve the State General Fund balance and cover cash flow this fiscal year. Both agencies have confirmed earlier this year that they can operate under the proposed transfer limitation so the Governor vetoed the Legislature’s restoring those transfers to the two agencies.
Now that the 2009 budget rescission debate has been completed, the Legislature should swiftly begin working through the 2010 fiscal year budget. This process has been delayed because the 2009 rescission bill took over five weeks of legislative time, mostly in the House.
State Finance Council dispute
This week a number of
The Kansas State Finance Council, chaired by the governor and composed of legislative leaders in the House and Senate, is delegated the authority to make certain financial decisions without the approval of the entire legislature. Because the legislature meets only three months a year and is slow to act usually, the Council exists as a means of addressing certain operational issues of state government in a swift manner. For example, the Finance Council authorized state aid to
Similar to a normal household budget, the State General Fund endures financial peaks and valleys throughout the year. Some months bring in high amounts of revenue while others are traditionally much tighter. This normal ebb and flow of the fiscal calendar is exacerbated in years of economic hardship and can result in a serious cash flow problem for the state. To address this, the state has the ability to shift money from one account to another, essentially “borrowing” money from itself for operational expenses (such as state payroll, tax refunds, school district payments) until revenues recover, which is usually after folks file and pay income taxes in April. A certificate of indebtedness is a common cash management tool that allows for this “shifting of money,” a tool which has been utilized 12 times in the last 9 years. The money has always been repaid to the proper account before the end of the fiscal year.
The State Finance Council was scheduled to meet on Monday, February 16 to issue a routine certificate of indebtedness. Instead, the meeting was canceled abruptly and followed by a press conference where Republican leaders announced that they would not support issuing the certificate until the Governor signed the budget rescission bill. The Republican leaders contended that, without an approved state budget plan, it is unlawful to issue a certificate of indebtedness because there is no way to assure that the money could be repaid.
State Budget Director Duane Goossen told members of leadership that certificates of indebtedness have nothing to do with the revised FY 2009 budget bill. The budget director has the authority to verify that the certificates will be paid, and that verification makes it lawful to issue them. The Governor signed the budget bill as quickly as she could on Tuesday in an effort to bring legislative leaders back to the table so that a fiscal crisis could be prevented.
The certificates had to be approved by Wednesday in order to allow the state to meet payroll on Friday, Feb. 20, payday, so the Governor called a second meeting of the State Finance Council on Wednesday afternoon, at which time legislative leaders at last approved the certificates. I received many calls and e-mails from state employees and taxpayers in
Several Higher Education bills approved by House
Several bills affecting
HB 2007, which allows the Board of Regents to administer certain scholarships and fellowships and also to waive certain fees and tuition to undergraduate students, was also passed by the House. The current statute provides only that graduate students may be awarded fellowships and makes no mention of tuition waivers and fees. This bill, approved 109-16, would allow our state institutions to be more competitive in the region and enables the Regents to make sound business decisions for
HB 2003 was approved by the House 125-0; and would update language in our postsecondary technical education statute. The bill amends references to institutions, changing terminology from “vocational” education to “career and technical” education and changed some technical terms to align
New web site on economic stimulus
Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson, at a meeting of the Governor’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Advisory Group, announced a new website to help Kansans take advantage of the federal stimulus package. You can use the site to educate yourself about what the stimulus package offers to ease the burden for our state and citizens in these difficult economic times, including tax credits, construction jobs and unemployment benefits.The website, www.governor.ks.gov/recovery , currently focuses on five specific areas:
- Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs: More than 35 percent of the package will provide direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers and spur investment and job growth for American businesses.
- Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways:
- Education for the 21st Century:
- Lower Health Care Costs and Ensure Broader Coverage: The stimulus bill will support our state’s efforts to accelerate adoption of Health Information Technology systems by doctors and hospitals, in order to modernize the health care system, save billions of dollars, reduce medical errors and improve quality.
- Clean, Efficient, American Energy: The economic recovery bill provides a total of $30 billion for such initiatives as a new, smart power grid, advanced battery technology, and energy efficiency measures, which will create nearly 500,000 jobs across the country.
Melanie Meier carries her first bills just before leaving for Iraq
Representative Melanie Meier was elected in 2008 to represent District 40 in
HB 2308, a bill introduced by Melanie, makes a change to the current law in response to a revision of federal guidelines. The Attorney General’s Office would be required to assign a unique identification number for active duty military stationed in
The second bill, HB 2267, requires Senate confirmation appointees to the Kansas Commission on Veteran’s Affairs. Appointees must also show proof of their honorable discharge from military service, aclarification of the current statute that only says that an appointee must have served in the
Changes proposed to graduated drivers licensing process
For the last several legislative sessions, the Transportation Committees in both houses have proposed stricter requirements for granting driver’s licenses to teenagers in
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and the National Safety Council has found that graduated driver’s license programs reduce teen crashes by as much as 33%. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, forty-six states and D.C. have a graduated driver license system. It finds that adopting this system would lead to a substantial decrease of crashes for 16 and 17 year olds—from 20% to 50%. Statistics also show that one-third of fatal crashes involving teens occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., even though only 15% of miles driven by teens are between those hours. Several studies have found that passenger restrictions also reduce crashes because distractions for inexperienced drivers are reduced.
In the past, opponents of stricter requirements have argued that the state should not infringe on parental rights. Opponents advocated for teen drivers that have written permission from a parent should be allowed to opt-out of a graduated driving program. HB 2143 works to find a compromise between the concerns for parental control and concerns that
HB 2143 modifies drivers license requirements for all drivers under 17. The following amendments to current statute were included:
- Instruction Permits:
To obtain an instructional permit, a licensed adult at least 21 years old, with at least one year of driving experience, must accompany the driver.
- Farm Permits:
A farm permit would be available from age 14 until age 17. The bill would also allow permit holders who are 16 or older to drive at any time from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and while going to or from authorized school activities.
- Restricted License:
To obtain a restricted license, the driver must have held an instructional permit for at least one year. If the driver is under 16, the applicant must have completed driver’s education. A 16-year-old applicant would have to have completed at least 50 hours supervised driving, with 10 hours being at night. The bill would allow drivers 16 or older to drive at any time from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. while driving in connection with any job, employment or farm related work; and while going to or from authorized school activities.
- Full License:
To obtain a fully unrestricted license the applicant must be at least 17 years old, increased from the current 16-year-old requirement. Any applicant younger than 18 must have completed at least 50 hours of supervised driving, with 10 of those hours at night.
Other proposed changes: Teens would continue to be prohibited from driving with non-sibling minor passengers if the restricted licensee or farm permit holder is younger than 16. A restricted licensee or farm permit driver who is at least 16 may have one passenger younger than 18 who is not a member of the driver’s immediate family. Drivers with permits and restricted licenses would be prohibited to operate wireless communication devices while driving except to report illegal activity or to call for emergency help. Restrictions such as limits on non-sibling passengers and time of day when driving would be waived on holders of farm permits and restricted licenses who at least 16 years old and who have not violated any of the restrictions for at least 6 months. A restricted license or farm permit would also be suspended and could not be reinstated for one year if the driver is responsible for two or more accidents. A holder of a farm permit or restricted license who is 16 and is convicted of two or more moving violations committed on separate occasions may not receive a full driver’s license until age 18. Suspensions of driving privileges would be required for those guilty of violating permit or license restrictions: 30 days for first convictions, 90 days for a second conviction, and one year for a third or subsequent conviction.
Bill helps school districts with Military Students
The House approved HB 2002 at a vote of 98-25. The bill would extend the second count for districts with more than 1% or 25 military students in the district’s population transferring in mid-year. The original law was passed in 2005 as part of the Military Bill of Rights to assist military families while they are stationed in
Since the law first passed, the impact and stress on our military families- I call them our “heroes at home”- has intensified exponentially. Two wars and repeated deployments to
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FIFTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Feb 15 at 10 AM
This Week at the Statehouse
I am happy to report that we picked up the pace this week, at least a little. Most committees had a full schedule of hearings and some bills are getting debated in committee and “worked.” That ideally means that the committee uses the information provided by conferees at the hearings to craft bills that address real problems being felt by real Kansans. The budget rescissions for this fiscal year passed both houses yesterday. Although our state financial situation remains precarious, I am hopeful that the legislature will pass some productive policy this year despite our fiscal limitations. Not all policy changes cost money.
The halfway point of the session is next week; February 21 is the deadline for non-exempt bills to be passed out of the house of origin. In fact, in addition to the already accelerated deadlines for consideration of bills, the GOP leadership acted this week to shorten the regular session by two additional days. I am not sure whether their rush is intended to cut down on legislative action or to “bank” days for use during what I expect will be a long and difficult wrap-up session in late April and May. I, for one, am not making plans for May that cannot be cancelled. The last time we had a revenue shortfall near this size was in the 2002 session shortly after 9/11, and we had a record 17 day wrap up session.FY 2009 Budget Rescission Bill Update
As I outlined last week, both the House and Senate passed versions of the FY 2009 Rescission Bill, SB23, cutting over $300 million from this fiscal year. A Coalition of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate passed the first version of the bill two weeks ago, but it was heavily amended by Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee to cut public school state funding more deeply and restore funding for two quasi-governmental economic development agencies that the Governor had proposed to absorb into the Kansas Department of Commerce, KTEC and Kansas, Inc. After the bill passed the House, conference committee negotiations began last Friday and then stalled for most of this week because the conferees disagreed about how much to cut state funding home and community based services for the disabled.
The infighting between the House and Senate majority leadership on the appropriations conference committee stalled and poisoned a very serious task. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House got involved and a compromise was finally reached on Wednesday evening that includes a 4.2% across-the-board cut in all state general fund agencies except K-12 education. Instead, public education takes what amounts to cut of $66 base state aid per pupil along with the weightings that the formula allows for districts with a higher cost per pupil. That amounts to a total cut of $27.8 million for schools with little left of the school year. The bill also reduces funding by $4.5 million for the federally mandated special education programs.
There is no question that our budget is in crisis, but I could not support a bill that drastically slashes public school budgets so late in the school year. This is the only time our children will receive the instruction they need. They cannot wait for better economic times to get the important learning provided in second grade or whatever level or class they are attending this spring. Our students are our most important investment and providing for their education is the state’s best opportunity to heal and grow our struggling economy. There were other places to trim the State General Fund and protect our most vulnerable citizens, but the majority of legislators in the House and Senate were unwilling to consider those options because it is easier politically to cut where there are not highly paid lobbyists and powerful stakeholders. SB 23 emerged from the Senate as a reasonable, bipartisan compromise that took $33 base state aid per pupil, a more equitable and affordable amount which would have given schools time to plan for deeper cuts, and protected the most vulnerable folks in our communities and our public safety. This road map was blatantly rejected in the House. A road map to deeper financial pain for Kansas communities was sent this week to the Governor.
It is also critical to remember that due to the school finance formula, a “$66 base state aid per pupil” reduction fails to accurately reflect the actual cut many school districts will suffer. Due to weighting for at-risk students and small districts, most districts will suffer reductions well over $100 per pupil, with some districts even forced to cut over $200 per pupil. Under this proposal, 48 school districts statewide will be operating in the red by July 1. Cuts were also make to revenue sharing with cities and counties so taxpayers are likely to see curtailed local services or increased local property taxes.
The Governor’s spokesman has said the bill will get her careful consideration. Sebelius will probably make a decision early next week whether use her line-item veto. Ultimately, the FY 2009 budget must be completed as soon as possible so the legislature can begin the daunting task of tackling the FY 2010 budget. As we reach the halfway point in this session, so far a deficit in leadership, vision, and compromise has prevented the Legislature from even beginning to address the overwhelming challenges that await us in 2010.Civics 101: Conference Committees
Because the legislative process can be a bit confusing, I thought it would be helpful to include a little more information about what happens to legislation after it passes both chambers. Once a bill has passed both the houses, it goes to a conference committee composed of three members from each chamber (usually the chairman, vice chairman and ranking Democrat) who work to negotiate an agreement that will be acceptable to both houses. Conference committees are supposed to consider just matters which have been included in the bill being conferenced and sometimes they add in the contents of a bill or bills which have been passed in one or both houses. By the time we get to the latter stages of the session, a conference committee report may contain lots of stuff, some of which I like and some I hate . . . and sometimes hidden stuff that the majority does not know is there. I call it “legislation by ambush.”
A conference committee is unable to reach agreement usually reports that impasse to the house of origin. A new conference committee must be appointed or the bill is deemed “killed.” A member or members of a conference committee may also refuse to sign the conference report. In that case, an “agree to disagree” motion must pass both houses in order to bring the report to the floor without all conferees’ signatures. When a conference report is brought to the floor, only up or down votes are permitted- the bill cannot be amended further in either chamber.House Tax Committee considers sales tax exemptions
You may find this hard to believe, but the House Tax Committee kept busy this week considering a number of requests from various organizations to receive tax exemptions. Some organizations before the committee this week included the All American Beef Battalion, Kansas State Firefighters Association, the Stephanie Waterman Tennis Foundation, the Golden Belt Community Concert Association and the Steve King Foundation. Each year the legislature hears from a variety of noble and worthy organizations to request sales tax exemptions. Former Rep. Kenny Wilk tried to craft a policy for the granting of state sales tax exemptions, i.e. all organizations that qualify as non-profit organizations under state and federal law. Right now Kansas has over 8,500 tax exempt entities with no uniformity, making it difficult for retailers to determine when a purchaser is legitimately entitled to a sales tax ememption. Also, the tax principle that a low tax rate depends upon a broad tax base, the extent of tax base erosion is especially worrisome in a recession.In 1995, a Governor’s Tax Equity Task Force found that Kansas has had, “a tendency to grant exemptions from a uniform or general treatment, and once granted they are hard to remove. It is poor public policy to erode the underlying tax base by granting unwarranted, gratuitous exemptions or exclusions. It is important to remove items from taxability, including but not limited to economic development incentives, only upon meeting rational, economically meritorious criteria. Further, all exemptions and exclusions should have a specified life, instead of an indefinite period
In a year when prisons, public schools and services for the physically and developmentally disabled are on the chopping block, however, I am reluctant to support any further erosion of our state tax base. I hope we can, instead, enact criteria for all exemptions and sunset those on the books that do not meet that criteria. For example, one exemption request this week would decrease state revenues by $4,000 and local revenues by $1,000. We simply cannot afford it.
For your information, there are currently 24,000 nonprofit organizations in Kansas; 14,000 of which have not applied for tax exempt status.
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FOURTH WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Feb 14 at 9 PM
THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR
The fourth week of the 2009 legislative session brought much needed action to the House floor. On Wednesday, the House spent over five hours debating House Substitute for SB 23, also known as the rescission bill, which will revise the FY 2009 budget. The legislation formally passed on Thursday with a 74-48 vote. Essentially the bill cuts $305 million from the current fiscal year budget and includes at 1% across-the-board cut throughout state government. Now that the House has voted on the bill, which was considered by the Senate the week before last, and changed the bill quite a bit, the legislation will go to conference committee.Conference committees include the chairman, vice chairman and ranking Democrat on each house committee, so three Senators, three House members or four Republicans and two Democrats. I am hopeful a productive compromise will take shape. The conference committee will negotiate compromises to merge the House and Senate proposals. Once an agreement is reached, the bill will return to both chambers for an up or down vote, maybe this week. Once it is approved, the bill will go to the Governor for her signature or veto. Since this is an appropriations bill, she can veto line-items in the bill.
ANNEXATION LEGISLATION IS BACK
This week the House Local Government Committee held a hearing for HB 2029, which addresses annexation and deannexation procedures for cities. The bill was introduced by a Special Committee on Eminent
Domain in Condemnation of Water Rights and focuses on land owner rights. Two major amendments were offered to the proposed bill. The first would require a city to provide the board of county commissioners with a copy of the plan for extension of services when an annexation takes place. The second would change when the county must call a hearing to consider whether the city has complied with all services it has
promised. Current law requires the county to hold the hearing in five years, the bill would accelerate it to three years.
Opponents expressed concern that annexation takes homeowner and property rights. They also said annexation could increase city costs and raise the mil levy, and cities could take on more services than they can manage. Conferees also worried that the content of the bill will be changed when it is debated by the House. Proponents, on the other hand, testified that the bill provides protection to citizens and that
requiring a city to submit service plans to the county commissioners would be provide a helpful tool for them.
HOUSE APPROVES GUANTANAMO JOINT RESOLUTION
This week the House approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 1606 to oppose placing war/terrorist detainees at Fort Leavenworth. I wrote the Resolution to outline reasons why the Leavenworth community is not appropriate for this serious duty. The House approved the resolution unanimously. To view the resolution in its entirety, go here.
HIGHER ED COMMITTEE CONSIDERS LEGACY DISCOUNTS
The House Higher Ed committee was again very busy this week. Last Tuesday they heard testimony from a panel of KU officials, representing the Kansas Board of Regents Universities. HB 2007 would grant the
Regents the authority to offer discounts or waivers to out-of-state students whose parents are graduates of our Kansas universities. All of our neighboring states and many in the region have "legacy" programs. In Iowa, the state pays the entire difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition for legacy students HB 2007 does not go that far; it allows the Regents to offer a discount. Proponents testified the bill is extremely important to future success of our state universities. Within the next ten years, it is projected that the number of Kansas high school graduates will decrease significantly. State universities need programs that not only keeps our best and brightest graduates in Kansas but also encourages some of the best minds in the country to pursue higher education in our state. The KU officials argued the program will be revenue neutral because many more of the 90,000 alumni currently residing out of state will send their children to Kansas for college and the increased enrollment numbers will offset any cost to the state by offering the initial discount. -
THIRD WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Feb 14 at 8 PM
"It is not the light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake." Frederick Douglass
And this year in the Legislature, it looks like we will have all of those things!GUANTANAMO RESOLUTION PASSES HOUSE
This morning, as Mayor Lisa Weakley, City Manager Scott Miller, and County Administrator Heather Morgan watching on the House floor, the House unanimously passed SCR 1606 resolution opposing placing detainees from Gitmo at Fort Leavenworth. If you want to read the resolution, go HERE.BUDGET CUTS FOR THIS YEAR CONSIDERED IN THE HOUSE
Today, February 4, is the day that the House bill adjusting the 2009 budget is being debated on the floor. The bill, as it came out of the House Appropriations Committee, cuts $323 million in the budget for the remaining five months of this fiscal year. Funding for public schools is a key issue for House members. The bill that emerged from committee cut state aid for education by $88 per pupil. The Governor recommended a $22 cut this year and the Senate-passed bill cut an additional $11. School districts and other school people are in the Capitol today telling legislators that deep cuts this semester will be difficult to absorb without hurting students. Only non-certified staff (maintenance, clerical, food service, etc.) are not on contract and these are the folks in every corner of the state who are least able to survive if laid off right now. The public education proposed cuts are a $48 million reduction in state aid to public schools.
The chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Kevin Yoder, R-Overland Park, amended the bill to lower the cuts to public schools to $66. He admitted that $88 is too much of a cut, but argued that the legislature must make over $300 million in cuts this year and the "pain" must be "shared." Then, the next amendment was proposed by Lana Gordon, R-Topeka. Her amendment added back into state spending this year funding for KTEC and Kansas, Inc., quasi private economic development agencies that the Governor advised to cut. The Governor recommended that Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. and Kansas, Inc. be shut down and their functions be absorbed by the Kansas Department of Commerce. Sebelius’ Budget Director Duane Goossen said the recommendation was made to make government more efficient and save money. He said that their expectation would be that the Commerce Dept. would absorb the operations within its current budget. With the state facing a $186 million budget deficit, and a potential $1 billion shortfall in the coming fiscal year, streamlining government is a good idea.
However, the heads of KTEC and Kansas Inc. are fighting the governor’s proposal, and no wonder. KTEC is the larger of the two agencies, with a nearly $14 million budget. It was formed by the Legislature in 1986 and charged with promoting and investing in technology-based economic development. The KTEC president and chief executive officer says the agency’s mission is critical during the current financial crisis, when, he says, there needs to be a focus on technology and entrepreneurship. to lead us out of this economic recession. Some legislators, however, have complained about Taylor’s salary, which is over $300,000 per year. Kansas Inc. is a smaller shop with expenditures of $774,321 in the last fiscal year and three employees. Stan Ahlerich, president of Kansas Inc., said the agency was created to “take some of the politics out of eco-devo decisions.” If Kansas Inc. were abolished, all economic strategic planning would be conducted by the Commerce Department, which is headed by a Cabinet secretary appointed by the governor. Neither the Governor nor the Secretary of Commerce makes anywhere near $300,000. Many of the management positions in the Dept. of Commerce are funded with federal funds and fee funds. An audit in 2007 showed that KTEC paid its employees more than $550,000 in additional compensation from 2004 to 2006, including nearly $333,000 in annual bonuses and up to $224,000 in supplemental payments for work done for the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
There are five State agencies whose primary mission includes economic development—Kansas Department of Commerce; KTEC, Kansas, Inc.; Kansas Bioscience Authority; and the Kansas Small Business Development Center. I think that economic development is important but not in a year when we are laying off school personnel and closing prisons. For the past five fiscal years, Kansas agencies reported paying companies about $110 million directly to help spur economic development. $860 million in tax revenue for state and local government was forgone from 2003 to 2007. The estimated cost of economic development in Kansas for fiscal years 2003 through 2007 was at least $1.3 billion. During that time, Leavenworth County was on the bottom tier of recipients of state economic development monies, under $100 per capita, while more than half of the eco-devo monies went into three urban counties.But Gordon's amendment passed on party lines, refunding the two eco-devo agencies. You may recall, if you have been on my newsletter list awhile, that last year the Legislative Division of Post Audit studied the impact of economic development spending on the state economy and found economic development spending has had a small but statistically measurable relationship with job and business growth in recent years. However, other factors had a far larger impact on job growth. To read the August report go here or here.
Another audit may be of interest to you as well. Over the past three years, districts have received a cumulative total of $2.3 billion in new funding, including $1.6 billion from the State. Virtually all the increase in State funding was in four areas: general State aid, State equalization aid, special education categorical aid, and KPERS. In general, districts that received the most new funding per student had more poverty. District spending from the 2004-05 to 2006-07 school years, the most recent year for which spending information is available, increased by almost $630 million. More than 70% of that increased spending was for student instruction, mostly for salaries and benefits to hire additional teachers and paraprofessionals, or to increase teacher salaries. School districts also increased their spending for support services, administration, operations and maintenance, and transportation. The audit found that student outcome data shows that student performance generally is improving, although larger and high-poverty districts continue to lag behind. That audit can be read here .
Knowing all that, I will leave it to you to balance the wisdom of cutting deeply into school funding this year while keeping KTEC fully funded. The six districts in Leavenworth must cut over $1.3 million in their budgets that they will not get from the state between now and June 30 with a $66 cut to the base.
Midday we spent quite awhile waiting for amendments. We had lunch on the floor at our desks but did no business from about noon until That gave me time to give you some more information about the budget. So here are some particulars that might interest you: Rep. Yoder said that he opposed the Governor's use of accounting tactics and such in her budget proposal. In this bill, a little less than half the adjustments are actual spending cuts and Yoder refers to them as "adjustments." The rest of the House substitute for Senate Bill 23 budget balancing comes from accounting changes and refinancing state bonds, exactly what the Governor suggested.
Proponents of the bill say that if protecting schools from cuts will require bigger reductions in other parts of the budget, including social services. Some legislators question whether so many adjustments need to be made to the budget to close the deficit. The Governor and her budget director believe the state can stay in the black for the rest of this year with about $280 million in cuts. And, I wonder whether deep cuts in what are the largest employers in most communities, the schools, will actually exacerbate an already struggling state economy.
At about 1:45 this afternoon, we began the debate again. An amendment was proposed by Rep. Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett, to limit the cuts to about $280 million. Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, argued in favor of the proposal by stating that the budget must be based on our joint values, family and opportunity. He emphasized that a family makes budget cuts by identifying priorities first as does business. The bill we are debating cuts across the board by about 4% including corrections, corrections facilities. In state spending, priorities like public education, community safety, jobs, services to the elderly and disabled. This amendment would cut schools about $25 million, $33 on the base, instead of $66, and restore some of the 4% funding cuts for corrections and human services. It is balanced by sacrifice on the economic development funding and delay the "slider" which helps local governments, primarily KCK and Wichita. Ward argued that doing the deep cuts right now is like telling a patient who has a bad foot, "We don't need to do it today, and we aren't sure we will ever need to do it, but we are going to cut off your whole foot today so we won't have to come back later and deal with you." Of course, since the big challenge is the 2010 fiscal year budget, it's likely we may need to cut off the leg next. This amendment lost 49 to 76, party lines.
Next, Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, my seatmate, brought an amendment which adjusted the Senate bill some, included cuts of $316.2 million with $33 on the base for schools. It failed with only Democrats voting for it. Then Melody Miller, D-Wichita, brought an amendment to restore some of the money cut from the Children's Trust Fund which funds early childhood programs in communities across the state from tobacco settlement funds. It also failed.
The debate ended about 4:00 p.m., after 5 straight hours on the floor of the House.
Know that this cut to schools does not fall equally on every school district. Leavenworth loses $120 per pupil with the $66 cut. Easton loses over $130 per pupil and Lansing loses about $102 per pupil. Districts with lots of at risk kids and ones that are relatively small lose the most. The discrepancy is going to be true of all the proposals because the formula provides weightings for pupils based upon their special needs and the special conditions in the district. The formula isn't perfect for providing state funding, but it is draconian for providing cuts because the schools with the costliest challenges. In other words, the cuts done this way is the most constitutionally questionable way to do cuts.LOCAL TAXES?
The base state aid per pupil (BSAPP), by law, sets a school district's authority to levy local property taxes for schools (LOB). When the BSAPP is cut, that budget authority also would decrease. Some lawmakers have a plan to ensure school districts facing state funding cuts also don't lose local taxing authority. Districts currently can use local taxes to augment state funding and, since the Montoy lawsuit, the state "equalizes" the districts' taxes by adding state money for districts with lower property valuation per pupil, like Leavenworth USD 453. When state funding goes down, you would assume that local taxes will also decrease. Maybe not.
Legislation in both the House and Senate would allow school districts to base their local taxes on the prior school years' funding levels. For example, the House budget proposal would cut state funding for the Shawnee Mission school district by $3.5 million this school year. Unless the law is changed, the district would lose another $1 million in local revenue. So Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, who sponsored the Senate bill, has crafted what he calls,"a hold-harmless provision." Keep in mind that this provision does not hold local taxpayers unharmed. For the Legislature to cut state support and at the same time urge local property taxes for schools is irresponsible and inequitable. And we'll end up back in court. -
Unemployment Insurance Claims
Posted Jan 25 at 9 AM
INFORMATION ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FOR LAID OFF WORKERS
Losing your job is a stressful event that is hitting many Kansans. The November unemployment rate was 4.8%, up from 4.4% in October and up from 3.8% last year. Kansas’ unemployment rate continues to remain below the national average, which increased to 6.5% in November 2008. Many states are facing shortfalls as layoffs cause the number of unemployment claims to rise while payroll tax revenue falls. The U.S. Labor Dept. reported on Dec. 24 that filings for jobless benefits jumped to a 26-year high, 586,000, for the week ending Dec. 20. That was the highest weekly figure since November 1982.
The Kansas state Department of Labor unemployment offices aren't equipped to handle the deluge of applicants the recession has suddenly created. The legislature cut funding for unemployment offices when the unemployment rate was low. Now the department personnel are working to handle in-person and telephone queues that last hours. Secretary Garner told the House Democrat caucus on Thursday that the department is quickly hiring and training temporary workers and moving staff from other offices to assist with unemployment claims and doing everything possible under existing budget constraints to handle the increased workload. He urged Kansans to utilize the on-line application process if possible.
Filing for unemployment insurance on-line is possible by going to https://www.uibenefits.dol.ks.gov/ You must be unemployed at the time you fill out and submit an application for unemployment insurance, so if you are still working full-time, but expect to be unemployed soon, you must wait until you are no longer working before you can file an unemployment claim. An application may also be submitted by phone. Click here to get Call Center contact information. Each week that a worker is unemployed, a new claim must be filed. Workers can use the web site above to get information about the status of a weekly claim, the date payment was issued, and the amount of the three last payments.
The Kansas Employment Security Law requires employers to pay all eligible unemployment benefits. The unemployment system is a financial partnership between the federal and state government. The unemployment fund is intended to be counter-cyclical, to accumulate and hold significant funds during good economic times, pay out benefits during bad economic times. This provides some financial security for working families and simultaneously stimulates a stagnant economy. The federal government levies an unemployment tax, under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), primarily to finance administrative costs of the system, fund loans to states and cover extended benefits. State governments levy payroll taxes on employers to pay for unemployment insurance benefits. These taxes are deposited into the federal Unemployment Trust Fund. Each state has its own account within the Trust Fund. Besides state unemployment-insurance taxes, employers pay a separate tax called FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) of $56 per worker annually for program administration. But funds from this tax, which has remained the same since 1987, are now also being used to pay for unemployment-insurance benefits extensions. That leaves states with less money to staff unemployment claims offices. Some people argue that FUTA funds should not be used to extend benefits but rather to help states administer unemployment programs. As a result of the argued misuse of funds, the critics say, employers have been overtaxed, and states have been underfunded.
In November, a federal law was passed and signed by President Bush to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 7 weeks. An earlier extension passed last June allowed for benefits for 13 weeks once a worker exhausted the standard 26 weeks of benefits. The stimulus package proposed in Congress would provide another 7 weeks of unemployement payments. Workers who have not found employment must file an application for each extension of benefits.
For most employers, unemployment insurance taxes are experience-based meaning that, in general, firms that discharge a large number of employees will pay higher tax rates than employers who have fewer layoffs or dismissals. The Kansas unemployment tax system is designed to reduce tax collections as the Trust Fund balance improves. The Employment Security Advisory Council, chaired by Secretary of Labor Jim Garner, monitors the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to ensure that adequate funds exist to pay benefits to all eligible claimants. And, while many states are experiencing threatened insolvency in their state trust fund, the Kansas fund is strong. In 1995, because the trust fund in our state was very flush, the Legislature imposed a moratorium on unemployment tax for positive pay employers and renewed it for a five-year period through 1999. Estimates show that employers throughout the state saved approximately $800 million in unpaid unemployment taxes. Many of the employers invested the savings in their business for expansion and update of equipment. In 2000, the tax was restored and brought back at approximately 45% of the rate that it was at the beginning of the moratorium. -
SECOND WEEK, 2009 SESSION
Posted Jan 25 at 9 AM
SLOW START
This is the slowest start in a legislative session that I have seen. Ordinarily the first year of the Legislature's two year cycle starts relatively slow because there are few prefiled bills and not much for committees to do except get acquainted. However, normally by the beginning of the third week, committees are getting busy. This year, looking at today's House Calendar, most of the committees do not have a single bill, so no hearings are scheduled. Some committees are having informational meetings. For instance, the House k-12 Education committee had the Kansas Teacher of the Year and nominees in for a visit and heard from the Commissioner of Education.
I have a few projects in the works. Melanie and I are working with Representative Lee Taffinelli on a resolution to say that the Kansas Legislature opposes any plan to move detainees from Gitmo to Kansas. Connie O'Brien and Senator Kultala met with representative from the Lt. Governor's office and the Governor's Military Advisory Council in Leavenworth on Friday, and we all toured the Fort and met with civilian and military folks prior to the session starting. Kelly Kultala plans to introduce the same resolution in the Senate, possibly working with Senator Emler. Our plan is to make a bi-partisan statement by the entire Legislature in opposition. We will introduce our resolution in the Veterans, Military and Homeland Security committee tomorrow afternoon.
Another project is to reintroduce the bill that I have sponsored the past couple of sessions to allow all Kansans the right to a credit freeze if your financial information is compromised. I started trying to do this after the laptop fiasco when the V.A. feared that veterans and active duty military personnel's personal information had been compromised. This year the Attorney General's office is on board, so maybe I'll get a hearing.
I am also working on a constitutional amendment to stop doing the "Kansas Uncount." Back in the late 80s, the Legislature passed a Kansas Census law, which takes the results of the federal census and then uncounts all military service members on our military installations and all students living on campuses. The claim is that the military and students should be counted by our state in their home of record, not their temporary college or post home. But what is really accomplished? Well, the communities of Manhattan, Junction City, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Emporia, Hays . . . places with military and students ... tend to have more Democrats. And if you uncount there, you get less Democrats in the legislature. Now maybe that isn't why the uncount is done, but I am suspicious. What makes the uncount not pass the smell test is that, on Fort Leavenworth for example, we do not count all the prisoners at the D.B., while we uncount soldiers and their families. In town, we do not worry enough about their real residency to uncount all the federal prisoners, the prisoners at CCA, the LCF prisoners. And this is not just about politics and fair representation, it is about economic development. We look, in the Kansas census, as if we have less population. We do not get credit for the people who we host in our community while they are at the Fort. And, we insult our military neighbors by asking them to submit to being uncounted. Anyway, I am bringing it up now because the next census is just a short time away and I want to at least try and fix it.2010 COMMISSION
I have been appointed to the Kansas 2010 Commission. The 2006 Legislature created the 2010 Commission, which is composed of eleven members, nine voting and two serving as ex officio nonvoting members. The commission was created in response to the Montoy lawsuit where the courts found that the Legislature was not adequately and equitably funding the public schools, especially school districts like ours, Dodge City, Emporia, Garden City, Turner, KCK. The plan was to avoid getting into trouble again by having a commission provide oversight of the funding of our schools.
The statutory duties of the Commission include monitoring the school finance formula after each session and the state's quality performance accreditation system (QPA), to ensure that the Kansas system is efficient and effective. See duties outlined in the Commission's 2008 Report to the Legislature, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/2007CommRpts/2010.pdf The Commission conducts hearings to receive and consider suggestions from teachers, parents, the Department of Education, the State Board of Education, other governmental officers and agencies and the general public concerning suggested improvements in and financing of the educational system.
Each year, the Commission makes a report to the Legislature in January and makes any recommendations it deems is necessary to guide the Legislature to fulfill goals established by the Legislature in meeting its constitutional duties "to provide for intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement in public schools and make suitable provision for the finance of the educational interests of the state" (that's constitutional language). The commission is also tasked with looking at the availability of revenues to ensure adequate funding of elementary and secondary education in the state, which may be a real challenge this session. The Commission will sunset on December 31, 2010.SENATE COMMITTEE FIGHTS OVER SCHOOL FUNDING CUTS
The Senate Ways & Means committee stalled Tuesday over disagreements about potential cuts in public school funding as the Senators worked toward a plan for eliminating a projected $186 million deficit in the state's current fiscal year budget. The committee is tasked with recommending to the entire Senate how much state aid public schools will lose by June 30 and how those cuts should be distributed among Kansas' 295 school districts.
The debate could revive long-standing tensions between urban and rural legislators and between those representing suburban and inner-city districts. Gov. Sebelius' plan to eliminate the shortfall avoids a decrease in overall education funding, though it would result in some redistribution of funding among districts. Many Republicans contend that the Governor's proposal would hit other parts of the state budget too hard, but the Senate committee (which has 10 Republicans and 3 Demopcrats) is divided about what to do. The committee has rewritten part of the Governor's plan, but failed Tuesday to take additional action on a bill addressing the deficit. The panel was expected to resume its discussions Thursday, frustrating Republican leaders' hopes of having the Senate debate the bill this week.
The House Appropriations Committee is slow to begin working on its own deficit bill, instead spending some time schooling new committee memberts about the complicated appropriations committee process. Many of the Republican members of the House committee are relatively inexperienced in appropriations.
The governor proposed targeted cuts and accounting changes to close the gap in the current budget between previously approved spending and anticipated revenues. The Senate committee rejected some of Sebelius' accounting changes so they had to consider alternatives. Committee members reviewed a proposal Tuesday to cut school aid by $27 million by June 30, costing districts $47 per student in base state aid this year, as well as funding dedicated to other programs, such as special education, at risk, and bilingual. Senators differed over whether cuts in education funding should be confined to base state aid or include special programs. Some, like Sen. Janis Lee, a Democrat who represents a number of small rural districts, spoke in favor of cutting just general aid. But Sen. John Vratil, a Leawood Republican, argued that it is more fair to cut everything, an approach that is likely to shift the burden of the cuts for some suburban school districts, such as Blue Valley in Johnson County which receives relatively little weighting for students with special needs. Lee and Vratil are new to the Ways and Means Committee, but they're veterans of past school finance debates — and they have sparred frequently.
The current budget provides nearly $3.78 billion in aid to Kansas' public schools, aabout half of the state's general tax revenues. Senate Democrats have worried that GOP leaders will push cuts in education funding through hastily and they welcomed the delay in committee action. "It gives us time to be a little more deliberate in the process and make sure that the end product gets us where we need to go, inflicting as little pain as possible," said Sen. Laura Kelly, of Topeka, the committee's ranking Democrat.
Republican leaders are saying they prefer across-the-board spending cuts. Sebelius opposes that approach and I agree. When our families experience a downturn in income, we do not cut our vacation budget and food budget the same percentage. The same is true of government. Some programs are crucial for the life and health of people they serve, while others can be suspended in times of hardship. We need to cut with a scalpel, not a hatchet.
GOVERNOR SEBELIUS CREATES TASK FORCE FOR STIMULUS MONEY
On Friday, Gov. Sebelius formed a group to plan for the use in Kansas of federal economic recovery funds in legislation that is being worked on in Congress. The Governor cautioned that our state cannot rely on federal help to solve every challenge we face in Kansas, we must make sure our state has a "strategic and responsible approach to implementing new federal policies.” Congressional Democrats have proposed an $825 billion package of governmental investments and tax cuts called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that they have vowed to pass by mid-February. A preliminary analysis of the proposal by the National Conference of State Legislatures indicates Kansas could receive nearly $1.7 billion in funding over the next two years under certain areas of the proposal. And not all funding levels have been identified.
Sebelius said that, although the timeline for enactment of the stimulus package is unclear, it is crucial for our state to begin planning for implementation now to ensure funds directed to Kansas can be used efficiently and effectively within the framework of the legislation. Much of the proposal’s spending is expected to be targeted to infrastructure improvements and increasing aid to states to pay for health care for the poor. Because of the national recession, Kansas faces an immediate budget shortfall of $186 million that could increase to $1 billion next fiscal year. State lawmakers are cautiously watching developments in Washington. Meanwhile, lawmakers are cautious about depending on getting federal fiscal assistance. Although state legislators hope the state will get some federal funding under a recovery program, there is no guarantee.
The panel formed by Sebelius will be led by Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, and include Cabinet members, Kansas Education Commissioner Alexa Posny, Kansas Board of Regents President and Chief Executive Officer Reginald Robinson, State Treasurer Dennis McKinney and several other high-ranking officials. Sebelius has also asked legislative leaders to appoint members to the task force. The panel will communicate with Congress about how parts of the plan would affect Kansas, and advise state officials on implementing the package. The proposal introduced by House Democrats in Congress includes $550 billion in government spending and $275 billion in tax cuts. It includes increased federal dollars for Medicaid, unemployment insurance, infrastructure investments, such as highways, and general assistance to states to help them avoid harmful budget cuts.SEBELIUS VOWS TO VETO SENATE BUDGET CUTTING PROPOSAL
The Senate Republican leadership proposal to do $300 million in across-the-board cuts from the state budget for the rest of this fiscal year emerged from the Ways & Means Committee yesterday and is due to be
debated on the floor of the Senate tomorrow. As the House Appropriations Committee leaders set out to use the Senate Ways & Means bill as their model, Gov. Sebelius said today, that if the bill should get to her desk in its present form, she will veto it. The measure would cut public schools and most of state government 3.4% and higher education by more
than 6%. The state's public school districts would absorb $110 million in cuts under the bill, which would be five times the cuts in the Governor's proposal. The bill also denies millions of dollars to higher education, prisons and local units of government.
At a news conference, Sebelius explained the impact of the GOP proposal. It would require the shutdown of prisons, suspension of Head Start, and result in the loss of services to Kansans with disabilities. And the cuts to public schools would renege on court-ordered school finance and invite a new lawsuit, she said, as well as force school
districts to make draconian cuts during the next four months. The Governor said the across-the-board cuts aren’t necessary and that the budget can be balanced through targeted cuts. Lawmakers face a $186 million revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year, and more than $1 billion deficit in the next fiscal year which starts July 1.
An alternative offered the Senate committee by Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, to avoid across-the-board reductions was ignored by the Republican majority on the committee. Opposition to the bill was bi-partisan. Senators. Ruth Teichman, R-Stafford, and Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, joined the three Democrats on the committee to oppose Emler's bill. "We do need to take time and see where we're going," Teichman said. "Anytime you rush into something, you're going to pay the price." Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, said she voted against the GOP plan because it would cut more deeply from districts with the most at-risk students and could trigger local property tax increases if school
districts and local units of government run out of money.
The Senate budget bill is likely to pass Wednesday, given the 31-9 GOP majority. Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder said today that the House committee will debate and vote on the House version either Thursday or Friday of this week. Yoder, an Overland Park Republican, said the timing will depend upon what the Senate does
with the $302 million plan backed by many Republicans. He said if the plan passes the Senate, the House committee will vote on it Thursday. If not, he said, the House committee will draft its own plan and vote on it Friday.INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS COMING TO THE CAPITOL
When our delegation visited the fort and took a tour, I took the opportunity to ask General Caldwell if the visit that used to take place for international officers to visit the Capitol during the session. That was a tradition until a few years ago. Lately, the officers have been coming to the Capitol in the summer when nobody is home. Anyway,
we will be so glad to entertain them.
Forty-seven military officers from 46 nations will visit Topeka on Friday,Feb. 6, to learn about state government and the state judicial system. The International Officers, who are students at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College (CGSOC), at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., come to Topeka once during their course to learn about state government. This is an amazing inter-cultural learning exercise. The state adjutant general
pointed out that many of our state emergency and military missions and training exercises are joint operations now, so this visit will our visiting international guests an unprecedented observation of how our government works. "The information they learn here helps them better understand who we are as a state and nation and how we can better work together." said Maj. Gen. Bunting.
The officers will arrive at the Memorial Hall Building, 120 SW 10th, at approximately 8 a.m. I plan to go over and visit with them there. At 8:25 a.m. Col. Joe Wheeler, the Joint Chief of Staff for the Kansas National Guard, will give a brief overview of the Kansas National Guard's history and current structure. Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh will speak to the officers at approximately 8:45 a.m. on Kansas government. The officers will then walk to the Kansas Statehouse, where they will meet with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for a photo at approximately 9:20 a.m. in her
Ceremonial Office (245-N). The media will have an opportunity to interview the officers from 9:35 a.m. to approximately 9:50 a.m. in the second floor rotunda. The officers will then be given a tour of the State Capitol building, including the State House of Representatives and State Senate.
After the tour of the Capitol the officers will walk to the Judicial Building to hear a presentation on the Kansas court system by the Honorable Lawton R. Nuss, justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. These
students represent the finest from each of their countries. Over the years, many of the International Officer students have gone on to key positions in their countries. Twenty-six have become heads of state, 309 have become ministers, ambassadors or representatives, and 2,339 have become general officers in the armies of the world, while 317 have become chiefs of staff of their armed forces. The tradition of International Officers attending the College began in 1894.
This year marks the 115th year International Officers have attended Fort Leavenworth. Since 1894, more than 7,200 officers from 153 countries have come for training. In 2008, the program celebrated its 100th birthday; the first international officer graduated in 1908. The countries represented this year are Australia, Botswana, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.KU AND KSU TEAM UP ON CANCER
Kansas University and Kansas State University signed an agreement this morning to work together to try to get National Cancer Institute designation for the KU Cancer Center. The schools signed a memorandum of understanding that commits both schools to collaborate on cancer research. Lt. Gov. Parkinson said obtaining NCI designation, which has
been granted to some 60 centers nationally, will ensure that Kansans can remain in Kansas to get the best care possible for cancer. With KSU on board, Parkinson said, that sends a message that the cancer institute designation is for all Kansans — not just one school. “It’s about the entire state, it’s about the entire region,” he said. The KU Cancer Center is on schedule to apply for NCI designation in 2011.JUST SO YOU KNOW . . .
There were 37,482 initial claims for unemployment benefits in December 2008, an increase from 18,212 claims at that time one year earlier.Melanie Meier found an article that lists and explains the possible places that could be considered for relocating detainees from Gitmo.
Click here. We introduced our resolution in the House Veterans, Military & Homeland Security Committee this afternoon . . . Melanie, Rep. Lee Tafanelli and I. -
ARMY STUDYING MOVING SGT. MAJOR ACADEMY TO FT LEAVENWORTH
Posted Jan 24 at 8 PM
From the Lawrence Journal World, November 3, 2008
A study is under way to determine the feasibility of relocating the Army’s Sergeants Major Academy — along with its full-time staff of 280 people and an annual rotation of about 650 noncommissioned officers — from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Fort Leavenworth. A spokesman for Fort Leavenworth says the idea for the move was proposed by Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and was in “very preliminary” stages. This is a pre-decisional study, a feasibility study, to bring the Sergeants Major Academy to Fort Leavenworth. The Sergeants Major Academy draws the Army’s top noncommissioned officers, master sergeants, first sergeants and sergeants major, and instructs them in leadership, resource management, training management and military operations. In addition to the nine-month annual course, the academy also conducts hundreds of shorter courses every year.
The Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth is known as the “intellectual center of the Army” with its Command and General Staff College already annually training 1,200 majors who will be the Army’s next generation of leaders.
A consulting firm will analyze whether there would be room for the academy at Fort Leavenworth, including its impact on housing and existing schools on post. It also will look at benefits of moving the academy. The study will examine whether bringing the Army’s senior noncommissioned officers to Fort Leavenworth for training could provide enhanced team-building opportunities. No actual relocation would be anticipated for at least five years, Nolan said.
Any attempt to move the academy is expected to trigger political opposition. Congressman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who represents the district that includes Fort Bliss, says, “I continue my strong support of the Army’s Sergeants Major Academy and believe that Fort Bliss remains the best location for the academy. This isn’t the first time this has come up, and now, as then, we believe there’s no justification for this to take place.” Tim Holverson, executive vice president of the Leavenworth-Lansing Area Chamber of Commerce, said relocating the academy to Fort Leavenworth would be a boon to the area on several fronts, including the civilian jobs it would bring with it. But the biggest benefit, he said, was less tangible. “It just would raise the profile of our entire community — Leavenworth, Lansing and Fort Leavenworth. … It would be a real feather in our cap,” Holverson said. -
2009 Session Starts
Posted Jan 16 at 4 PM
HOW TO FIND ME
I am back in Topeka for the next three months or so to provide you with the best representation I can during the 2009 Legislative session. My office has moved again, this time to the Docking State Office Building, across the street from the Capitol ( to the West). This year will be the most disruptive year during the renovation of our grand old Capitol and over 90 of the 125 House members are officing on the 7th floor of Docking. I am on the southeast corner and my office has a wonderful view of the Capitol (all covered in scaffolding) and the Judicial Center. Come see me. Several good things about the offices: Almost all of the Democrats are tucked in together and we enjoy each other so much. Also, there is a nice warm dry tunnel to and from the Capitol, so we will get lots more exercise and I should be really fit by next spring. Yesterday I made the trek back and forth several times.
Here is my expected day in the Capitol. Arrive in the parking garage around 7:15 a.m. Up two floors and through the tunnels to Docking, up the elevator to 7th floor. Get coffee, shed coat, get organized for the morning Democrat caucus Agenda meeting. 8:00 a.m., back down to the basement, where we will be meeting for Agenda and I will be chairing our review of upcoming bills on the floor that day, committee actions, etc. 8:45 a.m., back up to the seventh floor for House Education Committee at 9 a.m. 10:30 a.m., drop by my office to drop off Education stuff and dash over to the Capitol for House session at 11:00 a.m. Lunch somewhere if there is time. 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, Military, Veterans & Homeland Security Committee meets on 7th floor Docking. 2:30 p.m., House Democrat Leadership meeting in the Capitol. 3:30 p.m. Judiciary Committee. Catch me if you can.
Melanie Meier and Connie O'Brien are in Docking. Melanie's office is near mine and Connie's is at the other end of the building. Kelly Kultala has her office on the 4th floor in the Capitol so we may use it some when constituents come to gather and visit. Of course, I always love for you to come and see me. Please call or e-mail if you plan to be here so I can make plans to visit. My secretary is Jean Robeson and she has been my right hand "man" for ten years here. My phone number is 785-296-7643.
STATE OF THE STATE
Last evening, Governor Sebelius gave the 2009 "State of the State" address. In attendance in the House Chamber were the entire Kansas Legislature: the Kansas Subpreme Court, led by Leavenworth's own Chief Justice Bob Davis; the Governor's cabinet; the incoming and outgoing and staying Kansas Board of Education members; the Board of Regents; three retiring university chancellors from Pittsburg, K.U. and K State; Congressman Dennis Moore and assorted other citizens.
The speech is available at http://www.governor.ks.gov/news/sp-stateofstate2009.htm if you would like to read it. Highlights: She promises to propose a no-new-taxes budget. She urged the Legislature to preserve the safety net of essential services to our most vulnerable neighbors because their needs do not diminish in hard economic times. Sebelius said her budget proposal, which will be unveiled today, would “make significant reductions in most agencies,” eliminate programs, close facilities and freeze hiring of state employees.
However, she warned legislators to be careful when cutting the budget to protect investments that will pay off in the future. "In an economic downturn, decisions can have dire consequences and a lifetime impact on future generations,” Sebelius said. “No student can afford to ‘miss’ a year of quality education. No Kansan can be denied lifesaving care while waiting for the economy to improve.” In fact, the pointed out a number of initiatives on the horizon that have the potential to spur mammoth economic growth in Kansas. The state is pursuing a National Cancer Institute designation at K.U.M.C. Manhattan and Kansas will be the future home of NBAF, the National Bio & Agri Defense Facility, a $650 million scientific laboratory that will boost efforts to protect the American food supply and agriculture economy, while bringing our state jobs, stimulate the state's economy, and secure Kansas’ position as a bioscience leader. NBAF will create up to 1,500 construction jobs and 250-350 high-paying research jobs. It will generate an estimated economic impact of $3.5 billion in its first 20 years. It will be a magnet for private biotechnology companies, professionals, and support infrastructure. It also will result in collaborative opportunities for existing universities and research institutions and will help attract more top-flight researchers to the area.
Furthermore, the Governor touted her recently released energy plan which could bring thousands of “green” jobs to the state through development of wind energy. She also emphasized that, although she hopes the State will benefit from federal stimulus measures, her administration intends to strive to solve our economic challenges without depending on the feds. Of course, we aren't going to turn down federal stimulus monies; we're just getting started without waiting on them.
Republicans, who hold significant majorities in the Legislature, also promised not to increase taxes, but they say that social service and public school funding cuts may be needed to bridge the budget shortfall. Medicaid, higher ed and K-12 schools represent the greatest costs to the (70% ish) state budget, so, GOP leaders argue, both must be considered ‘on the table’ in any discussion to balance the budgets for FY 2009 and 2010.
The Governor urged the legislators to look beyond partisan politics and asked us to adopt the style of our Kansas founders, working togeter to solve real problems that our state and citizens face.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS GAIN A MEMBER
Just moments after the House members were sworn into office on the floor of our Chambers, a veteral legislator from Wichita announced that he is changing his party offiliation from Republican to Democrat. State Rep. Dale Swenson announced yesterday afternoon that he changed parties because Democrats are offering more solutions to our state and country’s problems on the economy and health care. “I believe that the Democratic Party has a more serious desire to fix some of the problems,” Swenson said on the first day of the 2009 legislative session.
House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence welcomed Swenson, saying, “Dale is doing what he feels is best for his district.” Swenson, who has served in the House for 14 years, said he started talking to Davis last week about switching parties. While running for re-election in the fall, Swenson said a lot of Republicans in his district told him that he was the only Republican that they were supporting. Recently, he said he became upset when Republican Party officeholders blamed unions and workers for troubles in the auto industry.
During his career, Swenson often voted with Democrats. He said his votes had nothing to do with partisan politics but were based on what he thought would be best for his constituents, who are working families.
Kansas Republican Party Executive Director Christian Morgan criticized Swenson. “I’m sure his constituents appreciate being lied to like this just a few weeks ago when he was running as a Republican, or just a few hours ago, when he was sworn in as a Republican,” Morgan said. Republicans still hold a significant margin in the House. With Swenson’s move, Republicans have a 76-49 advantage over House Democrats. House Republican leaders issued a statement, saying, “It is unfortunate that Representative Swenson feels he is no longer in tune with us. While we do not want to lose a Republican seat, we respect the fact that Dale is finally being honest with his constituency.”
BUDGET CRISIS
Like the nation and the world, Kansas is in a budget crisis that gets worse every day. Last summer, as the federal economy began to look weak, the Governor instructed agencies to plan to spend 1 to 2% less than the amount appropriated. In November, state budget experts projected that the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, would have a $141 million deficit. At that time, the Governor instructed agencies to plan and spend as if their budget was 3% less than appropriated last session. By the end of December, that shortfall grew to $186 million because of declining tax revenue. Seldom has the economic landscape changed so quickly. The first task for the Legislature this year will be to adjust this fiscal year budget to bring it into balance. We call that the "supplemental budget" and it comes up every year, sometimes with increases, but this year with cuts. In fact, probably what we will be doing is putting into statute what the Governor has asked of agencies, belt tightening.
The next step will be to take into account the state spending plan for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2009. Work on that will take up most of the Legislature’s time, and estimates show that, if nothing changed, the state budget could be nearly $1 billion in the red. That is not an option because Kansas law does not allow deficit spending and we cannot print money like the federal government (thank goodness). The next key date is in April when the economic estimators will get together and project the revenue for next fiscal year. Between now and then we will discuss and debate about what to cut and how much. Our Appropriations process starts in the House with budget subcommittees who hold hearings with agencies on programs and expenditures. Those budget committees then recommend budgets to the full Appropriations Committee, which eventually will fashion a budget. I predict that the budget process this session will be long and painful for all concerned.
That means there could be significant cuts to public schools, higher education and social services — the main funding priorities of state government. I am going over the the Department of Education today at 5:00 p.m. to hear a report on the Governor's recommendations for public schools. (My good friend and former fellow legislator, Sue Storm, was sworn in as a member of the State BOE from Johnson County this morning.)
Another possible avenue to balance the budget could be todelay a number of business tax cuts that have been approved in recent years and rescend the promise to assist local governments in the loss of local tax revenue due to the removal of tax on business machinery and equipment. The scenario is seen in most states around the country as legislatures grapple with the impact of the national recession. And we will strive, I hope, to position ourselves well to make use of federal stimulus money, if it comes, for state and federal programs. A good example is the state transportation plan, which is identifying shovel-ready projects.
Our caucus will receive a budget briefing on Thursday morning. But we have seen some indications of how dire the situation has become. In recent weeks, the budget office has recommended a $114.4 million cut to higher education; the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has reduced funding to some programs that will affect mental health centers and Kansans with disabilities; a juvenile correctional facility in Atchison was shut down; and the Kansas Department of Corrections is shutting down boot camp correctional facilities in Labette County. The correctional facility in Osawatomie is at risk as well. Last month, the state was forced to approve $250 million in inter-government loans in order to pay schools their monthly allotment. In 2002, after 9/11, the school payments were late as the economy precipitously nose-dived. Sebelius has said she wants to protect public school funding, but a previously approved built-in increase of $142 million for the next fiscal year is at risk.
In 2002, after a record 17 day veto session, the Legislature (without my vote) approved over $290 million in tax increases and a miriad of hand-me-downs that increased local taxes. This year Sebelius and legislative leaders have said they would oppose increasing taxes to help bridge the shortfall, because it would hurt Kansas families and seniors who are already suffering. The Governor, however, does support an increase in the cigarette tax, saying it would provide revenue for health care and deter young smokers.
When the budget looks bad, some see this as an opportunity to streamline government. About 50% of the budget is K-12 and 15% is higher education, 15% is Medicaid, and 6% is corrections. 1% is public assistance. The rest is public safety law enforcement, social services that are not Medicaid eligible, and all other government that is not fee and fed and grant funded. Much of that funding pulls down federal or other matching funds. The Legislature has ordered a slew of audits that are aimed at identifying ways to reduce spending. And when money is tight, it often forces a rethinking of how things are done and what state services are crucial and which ones are optional. One audit will look at whether state universities could provide education more efficiently, and another would determine whether there are state programs that have outlived their usefulness and could be eliminated. Among those are state economic development expenditures. It is also likely that state legislators will look at shifting programs to local governments or withhold sharing funds with locals.
So, stay tuned. Feel free to share my newsletter with anyone who wants it . . . and have them e-mail me if they want to be on the list.
