March 23, 2009

 

As you know, the Kansas legislature is a 90-day legislature.  Today is our 71st day.  Last Friday was the last day that most committees could meet. This week legislators will be on the House floor all day and perhaps into the evening debating the many bills that have come out of committee.  We will then recess for several weeks to reconvene after the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group gives its April report. 

 

Likely House Action this Week

HB 2373 Mega Budget Bill

The first order of business scheduled for this week is consideration of the first of two budget bills, the Mega budget bill.  HB 2373 uses all the stimulus dollars offered for Medicaid, public education, and public safety.  The bill makes some cuts to education (lowers the base by $33 to $4367, cuts special ed by 1%). There is disagreement on how to interpret guidelines for use of the stimulus funds for education.  The Governor believes 2006 is the base but stimulus and state general funds must be used to raise spending to the 2008 or 2009 level.  The House appropriations committee has taken the position that there must be a good faith effort to reach the 2008/2009 level using the stimulus funds but  it is not required that funding reach the 2008/2009 level.   The Department of Education has not yet clarified this point.  Kansas is in an unusual situation because of the great discrepancy in the levels of education funding in 2006 and 2008/2009 due to the court ordered infusion of funds.

Other parts to the House budget include:

•    no agency fee sweeps,

•    liquor taxes are returned to local government,

•    the corporate franchise tax and estate tax phase out is continued,

•    the local ad valorum tax and the machinery and equipment slider are suspended and

•    SCHIP expansion is not funded.

Stimulus money to the Department of Education includes $103.7M in stabilization funds and $53.5M in special education funds.  The Department of Corrections will receive $40.5M in flexible funds.  Medicaid will distribute $108.8M between Health Policy Authority ($45.5M), SRS ($35.6M), Department of Aging ($21.1M), and the Juvenile Justice Authority ($.6M).

 

HB 160 Minimum Wage Bill

HB 160, the minimum wage bill was passed out of the House Commerce and Labor committee with a couple of amendments.  One change was to give the Department of Labor the authority to raise the minimum wage to be consistent with the federal wage, i.e. when the federal wage is increased, the Kansas minimum wage would be increased.  The other change was to add the federal provision that those less than 20 years old can be paid $4.25 for 90 days but must then be paid minimum wage.

 

SB 25 Kansas Clean Indoor Air Act now HB 2221

After two days of hearings in the House Health and Human Services Committee, the Kansas Clean Indoor Air Act, SB 25, was tabled on a 10 to 9 vote, i.e. it was killed in committee.  In a procedural move, the Senate Public Health committee did a “gut ‘n go” (removed the contents of a house bill and put the clean air act into that house bill).  This may allow the bill to be considered in the House,

 

SB 54 Brown vs. the Board of Education Mural

I was alerted to SB 54 by a Shawnee resident and have been following its progress.  This bill would authorize the painting of a Brown v.s. the Board of Education mural in the Capitol.  Passed for the second year by the Senate, the House Federal and State Committee has amended onto the bill a committee to plan the use of space both in the Capitol and the under-construction visitor’s center. 

 

SB 119   Community Investment District

This bill creates the Community Investment District Act (CID).  Designed to promote and support economic development, CIDs can finance capital improvements, infrastructure, and certain operational costs. Projects may be funded by special obligation bonds, full faith and credit bonds, or on a pay-as-you-go basis.  A city or county could create a CID after receiving a petition that is signed by either:

 

• All landowners within the proposed district who seek financing solely by assessment and not by the issuance of full faith and credit bonds.  If all landowners petition for a CID, then the city or county may proceed with its creation and assessments without notice or hearing; or

• More than 55.0 percent of the landowners within the proposed district and also signed by landowners collectively owning more than 55.0 percent of the assessed value of the land area within the proposed district.  If this second petition method is utilized, then the bill would require a city or county to adopt a resolution giving public notice of a hearing concerned with the creation and financing of a CID. 

Under the second petition method, the bill would allow funding to come from any combination of the following means:

• Special assessments, either paid in full or by installments.

• A CID sales tax, in any increment of 0.1% or 0.25%, that could not exceed 2.0%.  The Department of Revenue would collect the sales tax and remit it on at least a quarterly basis.  Revenue from this sales tax would go either for the repayment of bonds or on a pay-as-you-go basis.  If bonds are repaid, the CID sales tax would expire no later than the date the bonds matured. On a pay-as-you-go basis, the sales tax would expire 22 years after the date the sales tax is levied or when the pay-as-you-go costs have been paid.

• A city or county’s ad valorem taxing authority for the repayment of full faith and credit bonds.

• Any other funds appropriated by the governing body.

The bill would authorize the Department of Revenue to retain 2.0 percent of the sales tax revenue collected within all CIDs, up to a maximum of $60,000, to be used for the administration of this new economic development program.

 

 

Bleeding Kansas Bio

Andrew Horatio Reeder---July 12, 1807 - July 5, 1864

Andrew Horatio Reeder was commissioned the first governor of Kansas Territory in 1854. Reeder supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and was "soft" on the issue of slavery. He was described as "a simple-minded Pennsylvania Democrat," and was, in all likelihood, mainly interested in investment opportunities.

Soon after assuming his duties in the troubled territory, however, he began exhibiting a streak of independence, antagonizing pro-slavery Kansans and their Missouri allies. The governor became identified with the free-state cause, describing himself as a "Douglas Democrat" and seeking to give popular sovereignty a fair trial in Kansas. When the pro-slavery men in Kansas and Missouri perpetrated blatant electoral fraud, Reeder refused to certify the results and called a new election to fill the vacancies. He designated the town site of Pawnee, in which he had a financial interest, as the meeting place for the first territorial legislature. After only four days, and over the governor's veto, legislators adjourned to reconvene at Shawnee Mission, where they adopted Missouri's harsh slave code as their own and petitioned President Franklin Pierce for Reeder's removal. The president was already moving in this direction, and he fired the Kansas governor for furthering his "private speculative interests."

Reeder remained in Kansas for a time, supporting the free-state movement. This extra-legal junta elected Reeder and Jim Lane to the U.S. Senate, positions they were to assume as soon as Kansas was admitted to the Union under the Topeka Constitution-something that never occurred. Facing an indictment for high treason issued by a pro-slave grand jury, Reeder fled the territory disguised as a woodchopper in May 1856. Soon, he returned to Pennsylvania, where he practiced law and was active in Republican Party politics until his death in 1864. 

 

Upcoming Election

Don’t forget the upcoming spring general election on April 7th.  On the ballot for the 17th District will be several city council positions, Shawnee Mission School District positions, Johnson County Community College Trustees (4 at-large positions), and water district positions.  To see a sample ballot, go to: https://voter.jocoelection.org/(iwv2gz45rvxnyz45vjtivs45)/Search.aspx

and enter your name and birth date.

 

Book Recommendation

This week legislators received a copy of a wildlife book written and illustrated by Kansas kids entitled Kansas Critters: Birds.  Published by the non-profit Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center, the book was created by kids from across Kansas who researched and then drew, painted or wrote about their favorite birds.  The book contains 238 pieces created by 223 young artists and authors.  You can order a book from their website www.gpnc.org (click on What’s New) or by calling 316-683-5499.

 

 

Jill’s Activities:

• Visit by constituent, Jean Goodman, teacher and KNEA member, to discuss school finance
• Visit by constituent, Leigh Klein who delivered petitions from constituents in favor of the Kansas: Put Prevention First campaign and discussed age appropriate comprehensive sex education.
• Visit by Jerry, a representative of the Kansas Interfaith Power and Light and Margaret Thomas, Kansas Natural Energy Council, who chatted about renewable energy and thanked me for my vote against the coal bill.
• Common Unity, a reception and awards ceremony celebrating Interhab’s 40th Anniversary serving the developmentally disabled.   Legislators who have shown an exceptional dedication to Kansas through their long-standing legislative service were honored. I visited with representatives from Johnson County Developmental Supports.
• Bioscience and Information Technology Caucus luncheon featuring two entrepreneurs:  Jim Stinehelfer from Hiper Technology in Lawrence which produces carbon fiber racing wheels (www.hiperracingwheels.com) and Gary Mason from ISI Recycling Services in Wichita which seeks to build the first commercially available carbon fiber recycling facility in the United States.
• Kansas Legislative Health Caucus luncheon marking the inaugural gathering of a new, bipartisan legislative caucus focusing on health issues.  The luncheon involved legislators and members of the Kansas Health Policy Authority board.  The caucus was formed by House and Senate leaders and will receive financial and technical assistance from the Kansas Health Institute.  We discussed the stimulus money to be used in Medicaid and Health Information Technology.
• Johnson County Delegation Luncheon sponsored by the Kansas Hospital Association.