March 1, 2009

 

Energy Bill/Coal Plant Bill

Last week the only vote in the House was on HB 2014

, the energy/coal plant bill.  The vote was 77 – 44, enough to pass the bill but not enough to override the Governor’s promised veto.  My email and phone calls from constituents were overwhelmingly against the building of the coal-fired plants.  I voted no.

 

There are good arguments on both sides of this issue.  I voted “no” for these reasons:

• This dispute between a business and an executive branch agency will be resolved in the courts.  Rather than legislating a way around the Secretary’s decision to deny the permit, there should be a ruling as to whether Secretary Bremby overstepped his authority.
• We should not overbuild our needs at a time when federal regulations, which may dramatically increase the price of producing and providing coal-fired electricity, are imminent.
• The green measures (net metering; renewable portfolio standard; fuel economy for state vehicles; energy audits, compressed air storage) are steps in the right direction but not strong enough to justify the coal plants.  I did vote for an amendment that offered stronger net metering, Leed standards for state buildings (environmentally sustainable standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council), more stringent renewable portfolio standards and did not limit Secretary Bremby’s regulatory powers; the gut and go amendment failed.
• Regulatory changes (prohibiting local governments from imposing their own air emission standards and ordinances; amending the Secretary’s existing emergency powers for regulating air contamination; allowing large cooperatives to remove themselves from Kansas Cooperation Commission oversight) have been designed to specifically address this situation but have wider implications.
  

The bill now goes to the Senate which is working on it’s own version of the bill.

 

 

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month

Remembering my friend and neighbor, Buddy Maughn, I encourage you to talk with your doctor about being screened for colorectal cancer.  In general, both men and women at average risk of colorectal cancer should begin screening tests at age 50.  However, risk is related to your family history so talk with your doctor about the best screening plan for you... For more information about colon cancer, visit http://www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn_0.asp

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There is currently legislation, HB 2075 sponsored by Representative Kay Wolfe, Prairie Village, to require that insurance companies cover colon cancer screening as recommended by the American Cancer Society.  I am a co-sponsor of this bill.  The bill resides in the House Insurance committee awaiting a hearing.

 

 

Bleeding Kansas Bio

James Henry Lane   June 22, 1814 – July 11, 1866

James H. “The Grim Chieftain” Lane, who finished out his Kansas political career as a U.S. senator, was born in Indiana in 1814.  After studying law in his father’s office, Lane was admitted to the bar in 1840, practiced law, and served with the Indiana Volunteers during the Mexican War.  As a Democrat he also served as lieutenant governor of Indiana and as a member of Congress, during which time he cast a vote for the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.  He moved to Lawrence in 1855, where he gained the notoriety that assured him a prominent place in the history of the state and nation. 

 

Lane joined free-state forces, despite his Democratic background, and soon became one of the Free State Party’s most significant leaders.  He was never an abolitionist, and he could be ruthless; Lane shot and killed a neighbor in 1858 over a boundary dispute.  His detractors, then and now, paint him as an “unbalanced,” pugnacious jayhawker.

 

Lane served as president of the Topeka and Leavenworth constitutional conventions, was elected one of the state’s first U.S. senators.  He raised the “Frontier Guard,” recruited and commanded “Lane’s Brigade” (actually, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Kansas Volunteers), and was responsible for forming the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, the first regiment of African American troops to see action on the side of the Union during the Civil War.

 

Always controversial, Lane was a dominant force in Kansas and, to an extent, national politics, for a decade.  He was reelected to the U.S. Senate in 1865.  Shortly thereafter, he lost favor in Kansas after backing the reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson, including the president’s veto of the Civil Rights Bill.  Because of despondence as well as ill health (maybe even mental illness), Lane shot himself in the head in 1866. He was buried in Lawrence’s Oak Hill Cemetery.

 

Coming Soon

Statewide Clean Air Act

Sub for SB 25

which would enact the Clean Air Act and ban smoking in public places in Kansas, passed the Senate 26 - 13.  According to the Surgeon General, there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure.  Approximately 80% of Kansans do not smoke.  Kansas taxpayers pay $927M annually on all smoking-related health care costs in Kansas.  No peer-reviewed studies substantiate claims that restaurants and bars lose business if smoke-free.  The House Health and Human Services committee is scheduled to hold hearings on this bill March 10th at 1:30 p.m. (proponents) and March 11th at 1:30 p.m. (opponents).  If you would like to testify, send testimony electronically to Janet Grace (janet.grace@house.ks.gov), administrative assistant to Chairman Brenda Landwehr, at least 24 hours in advance.  Note whether you are a proponent or an opponent and whether your testimony will be written only or whether you would like to speak.  You should also bring 25 hard copies of your testimony.

 

Minimum Wage Adjustment

SB 160

would raise the current minimum wage from $2.65/hr to $7.25/hr  which matches the federal level.  An estimated 19,000 workers would be affected.  Most of these workers are female, white, adult workers with high school diplomas who work 30+ hour jobs and yet fall far below the poverty line.   The House Commerce & Labor committee is scheduled to hold hearings on this bill next Thursday, March 5th at 9 a.m.

 

 

Committee Activities

Health and Human Services

Presentations:

 

Presentation by Cathy Harding, Executive Director, Kansas Association for the Medially Underserved

which represents 38 safety net clinics. These clinics provided primary medical care to nearly 170,000 underserved Kansans in 2007.  Last year the legislature made $2.5M available to the safety net clinics through grants.  Every dollar allocated to these clinics results in almost $10 in additional health care services for underserved Kansans.

 

Presentation by Tina Payne, Health Ministries Clinic

, a safety net clinic in Newton, Kansas.  In 2008 HMC provided care for 2,353 patients, double the number served in 2006.  An average of 112 new patients walked through the door each month.  This increase in need is occurring when seasonal giving is down, endowments and grants are down, and state funds are being cut.

 

Presentation by Don Brada, Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education

 

 

Bills Passed out of committee:

SB 102 Emergency medical services, use of automated external defibrillator

 

Any person using an automated external defibrillator in good faith to render emergency care or treatment would be held harmless from any civil damages as a result of such care or treatment.  These are the portable devices now available in many schools, exercise facilities, and other public places that are used to shock someone whose heart has stopped.  A demonstration of the AED device was given in the committee; the machine gives voice and audio prompts that guide the user through the steps of operation.  If a heart beat is present, the device will not deliver a shock. The American Heart Association estimates that  20,000 lives could be saved annually in the U.S. by use of AEDs.  The bill was passed out of committee.

SB 82 Repealing K.S.A., sunset provision on lead poisoning prevention

 

Under current law, the Residential Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act  would be repealed effective July 1, 2010. Homes built before 1978 probably used lead-based paint.   Nearly 70% of the homes in Kansas were constructed prior to 1978.  This program has identified over 16,000 Kansas children with dangerously high blood lead levels.  The threat of lead poisoning still extends to every county, community and family in Kansas.  This bill stops the sunset and continues the program.

 

 

Transportation & Public Safety Budget

Overview of  the Kansas Department of Transportation Budget

 

The federal stimulus package offers $378M for Kansas transportation.  Most of the money  ($348M) is designated for highways with the remaining $30M for public transit.  The portion allocated to state highways ($268M) will be spent on four projects that can be letted within 90 days:

• US 69, Overland Park (interchange at 95th Street and US 69)
• I-135/47th Street, Wichita
• K-23, Gove County
• K-61, McPherson County

An additional project, K-18, Ogden-Manhattan, will receive $140M for letting in March 2010.  Requiring the largest expenditure, this project is spurred by the increased traffic due to the return of the Big Red One to Fort Riley and the building of the National Bio and Agro Defense facility in Manhattan.

 

Of the $30M allocated to public transit, a little over half will be used in the urban areas.  Johnson County should see $2.8M which could be used for hike and bike paths, bus /bus manufacturing, etc.

 

Some of the guiding principles for spending this money are to make full use of the funds; to provide new, additional work; to share about 20% of the money with the cities and counties; and to create jobs (create or sustain 10,000 to 12,000 jobs).  For more information, visit http://ktoc.net.

 

 

 

Overview of the Board of Indigents’ Defense Services Budget

This agency provides the constitutionally and statutorily required public defense to indigents accused of felony offenders, including death penalty cases. More than 80% of all felony offenders require public defense. More than twenty death penalty cases are moving forward this year; usually only 2 or 3 cases are active. Budget cuts to the agency will threaten their ability to provide this constitutionally required service. There have been hearings in the Senate Judiciary committee on SB 208, which would abolish the death penalty in Kansas. Abolishing the death penalty would save the state over $700,000 in 2010 alone.

 

 

 

Jill’s Activities Last Week

Johnson County Delegation meeting with presentations by the Spring Hill School District, the Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce, the City of Spring Hill and Embarq. The Spring Hill School District offers extensive virtual school offerings, including AP classes. A student can take a single class or an entire year on-line. The students come from across the state and are traditional students, students who have not been in school the previous year, and adults. The funding follows the student from his home school.

 

Information from the American Cancer Society regarding second hand smoke.

 

Information from Raise the Wage, Kansas! regarding raising the Kansas minimum wage.

 

Annual reception for all Legislators hosted by Governor Sebelius at Cedar Crest. There is no program. It is simply a time to mingle and tour the Governor’s residence.

 

Legislative Study Group’s* presentation on Proposition K by a representative from the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy (a proponent) and Paul Welcome, County Appraiser of Johnson County (an opponent). Simply put, Prop K is a proposal to hold assessed valuation of non-agricultural property at 2010 levels with a yearly 2% raise. Some believe the proposed system is unconstitutional because it uses two standards (and is therefore, not uniform as required by the constitution)---the 2% yearly increase is not related to market value; however appeals are reassessed based on market value, thus the two standards.

 

*The Legislative Study Group formed this year in an effort to provide balanced information from experts on topics before the legislature. It is often a chance to get both sides in the same room. Previous presentations have dealt with the 2009 budget, school finance, off-budget items, committee updates, and the energy bill.

 

Annual Legislative Breakfast by the Medical Society of Wyandotte and Johnson County discussing problems with the health care delivery system and current legislation.

 

 

 

Chat with Jill

My first Chat with Jill involved nine constituents who braved the snow to join me at HyVee. We had a spirited but good-humored discussion of energy, Prop K and Kansas Fair Tax, minimum wage, graduated drivers license, school finance, and more. The next Chats with Jill will be:

Saturday, March 28th  10 – 11 a.m. HyVee, 87th and Pflumm

Saturday, April 21st    10 – 11 a.m. HyVee, 87th and Pflumm

 

 

 

League of Women Voters Voter ID Link

I understand that the link for the League of Women Voter’s site was either not linked or difficult to navigate. Let’s give these a try:

http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5904 and http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=PAVP1&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=173&ContentID=10862.

 

 

Representing you in Topeka,

Jill Quigley
786-296-7682 (Topeka)
913-541-9645 (Home)
jill@jillquigley.com