2009 SESSION BEGINS
The 2009 Legislative Session began Monday, January 12th.  The opening session was filled with formalities and procedures.  In groups of ten, all 125 members of the House (77 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 30 new members) were sworn in by Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Davis with these words, “We, and each of us, do solemnly swear or affirm, that we will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of Kansas, so help us God.”   Families and friends viewed the proceedings from the gallery.  There was a lot of applause, congratulatory handshakes, and much good will.
 
Leadership
On December 1st, House Republicans met as a caucus to elect leaders for the next two years.  Part of agenda for the first day was formally accepting the previously elected House leadership. 

Republican officers for 2009 include: 
Speaker of the House Mike O’Neal, Hutchinson
Speaker Pro Tem Arlen Siegfreid, Olathe
Majority Leader Ray Merrick, Stilwell
Assistant Majority Leader Peggy Mast, Emporia
Majority Whip Rob Olsen, Olathe
Caucus Chair Virgil Peck, Tyro
Democrat officers for 2009 include:
Minority Leader Paul Davis, Lawrence
Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward, Wichita
Minority Whip Eber Phelps, Hays
Agenda Chair Marti Crow, Leavenworth
Caucus Chair Barbara Ballard, Lawrence
Policy Chair, Cindy Neighbor, Shawnee

Party Switch
Causing quite a political stir, seven-term Republican Representative Dale Swensen, Wichita, changed his voter registration from Republican to Democrat on the first day of the session.  Unhappy with what he called “the conservative nature of the Republican leadership both at the state and national level,” Dale will get new committee assignments and change the make-up of several nine-member committees.  The number of Republicans in the House fell to 76 while Democrats boosted their numbers to 49.

State of the State
Monday night Governor Sebelius gave the State of the State.  I loved the pomp of the evening.  The address is given in the House Chamber so Senators and Justices are announced by the Sergeant of Arms and then escorted into the Chamber by selected House members.  Elected officer holders and agency heads are seated in the gallery in back of the Governor.  There are many introductions and much applause, some polite, some enthusiastic.  It feels historic.  I was humbled to be a part of it.

Short on specifics, the Governor highlighted these priorities for next year:
•    balancing the budget without raising taxes or cutting support for K-12 and social services;
•    “greening’ Kansas via wind and solar energy, transmission lines, energy efficiency programs, and net metering; and
•    supporting economic development through the National Bio-Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan and the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Jill’s Specifics:
Two of my committee assignments remain the same, Commerce & Labor which meets daily at 9:00 a.m. and Health & Human Services at 1:30 p.m.  My 3:30 committee has changed to Transportation & Public Safety Budget.  I look forward to becoming involved in the budget process especially when the next long term transportation plan is being considered. My committees got off to a slow start this week handling mostly organizational details.  Next week will see agency reports, bill introductions to committees, and budget 101 for us budget newcomers. 

My new office is still in Docking, now room L28 just next door to my previous office.  Because of continuing renovations in the Capital, significant portions of the Capital are closed.  This means that groups who usually have legislative days at the Capital with displays and lunches with legislators must now use off-site locations.  It also means that more than 50 legislators who once had offices in the Capital now have offices in Docking.  Many committee meetings, including my Commerce & Labor and Health & Human Services committees, will be in Docking.  The tunnel linking the Capital and the Docking office building will be well traveled this session.

STUDENT PAGES
The following dates are available for student pages this session:
February 9th ---four students
March 17---four students (falls over Shawnee Mission School’s spring break)
April 2--- already filled by Margaret Leligdon and Dylan Crow, two eager                students who contacted me last fall
Any student 12 years or older can be a page.  As a page, you will meet, have lunch with, and possibly attend a committee meeting with me; tour the Capital; meet and have your photo taken with the Governor; and act as a page on the House floor.  There are a limited number of opportunities so contact me as soon as possible if you are interested.

BUDGET WOES in brief
This session will be a challenging one because of the state’s financial woes.  The 2009 budget is based on revenue projections made by the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group in April ‘08.   Because of the downturn in the economy, the projected income to the state has dropped significantly since that estimate.  Without adjustments (more income or cutting expenses), the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group now projects that the state will face a $141 M deficit for 2009 and perhaps a $1B deficit for 2010.   The first order of business this session is to adjust the 2009 budget.  Discussions on how to adjust the budget range from “all things are on the table” to across the board cuts spread equally to surgical cuts to spare education and services for the most vulernable…no one is really talking about tax increases, except perhaps a cigarette tax. 

Education
While most Johnson County legislators would like to protect K-16 education from cuts, K-16 education expenses make up nearly 2/3 of the budget and holding education harmless would mean that the remaining 1/3 would take very deep cuts.  The Governor’s budget keeps K-12 education spending level (no increase or decrease from the amount budgeted last session) but does make cuts affecting higher education.   Also at risk is funding for the Kansas Math and Science Academy (KAMS), the brainchild of Don Norwood and Gerald Magliano (both District 17 residents) due to start its first class this fall.

Services
Across the board cuts would really hurt social services especially when the demand for those same services has increased due to the economic downturn.   One example is the waiting list for developmental disability waivers.  There continues to be a waiting list for those needing developmental disability services; across the state 3000 people with developmental disabilities are waiting for services and 600 of those are in Johnson County.  The House provided the funds to do away with this waiting list last year but it failed to pass the Senate.  Rather than cut these waivers, we need to find additional funds just to catch up.

Federal Stimulus Package
There is hope that the federal government will provide a stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009) which would:
•    give funds to the state to save or create 3 to 4 million jobs
•    provide $275 B in tax cuts, and
•    target $550B for investment in energy, transportation, education, health care, and aid for workers and vital services.

JILL’S ACTIVITIES November – January
Kansas Chiropractic Association Legislative Appreciation Dinner
Johnson & Wyandotte County Council of Mayors Legislative Reception and Dinner
Meeting with Jack Confer and Staff, KS Board of Healing Arts
Legislative Dinner Johnson County Court Judges
2008 State Farm Legislative Breakfast
Bioscience Innovation Tour for Legislators 2008
Meeting with Johnson County Developmental Supports Staff
Republican Caucus, Election of 2008 Republican Leadership
Orientation of New Members, Kansas Legislature
Lunch, Legislative Forum, and Tour, KS School for the Deaf
Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors Legislative Breakfast
Special Legislative Committee on New Comprehensive Transportation Program
Red Stocking Breakfast, fundraiser for Kansas Children’s Service League
League of Women Voters Holiday Gathering
Legislative Update KU Cancer Center
2008 Johnson County State Legislative Delegation Breakfast
2008 KU Legislative Holiday Party
Johnson County Community College Breakfast for Legislators
Legislative Update Lenexa City Council
Educational Forum for the Johnson County Legislative Delegation
2009 Convener Reception
Lunch with Mark Richards, Marillac Center
Kansas Cable Telecommunications Reception
Overview of Carbon Cap-and-Trade Policies, Dan Chartier, Edison Electric Institute,     Joint Committee on Energy and Environmental Policy
“Taste of Kansas” by the KS Restaurant & Hospitality Association
“Around the World” Legislative Reception, Kansas Association of Realtors
“Weathering the Storm” Breakfast, Kansas Action for Children
Leadership 2020, high school students interact with legislators
Lunch with Ashley Sherard, Lenexa Chamber of Commerce
Lunch with Beth Driessel and Clark Byron, Coalition for Independence

***I will be on the legislative panel at the first Legislative Breakfast Series (also known as Eggs and Issues) next Saturday, January 24 7:30-9 a.m. at the Ritz Charles, 9000 W. 137th Street, Overland Park. Sponsored by the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Kansas City Chamber, the Olathe Chamber and the Johnson County Public Policy Council, all tickets are advance purchase for $20 (chamber members) or $25 (non-member). Call (913) 491-3600 for how to get your ticket.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM MARTIN LUTHER KING
•    In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
•    Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
•    Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
    Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
    Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
    But conscience asks the question - is it right?
    And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe,     nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)


HOW TO CONTACT JILL:
Now through May, you can contact me by:
E-mail:  quigley@house.state.ks.us  or  jill@jillquigley.com
     Please include your home address
Phone:  Office:  785-296-7682
     Legislative hotline: 800-432-3924
Mail:    300 SW 10th Avenue
    Topeka, KS  66612
Visiting me in Topeka: 
    Office:  L28 Docking
    House floor:  seat #110
    Committees:    Commerce & Labor 9 a.m., Docking room 784
            Health & Human Services 1:30 p.m., Docking room 784
            Transportation & Public Safety 3:30 p.m., Capital N-136

Serving you,
Jill Quigley
Representative, 17th District