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2010 Session PreviewDistrict 53 Constituents:
Hope you’re enjoying the great fall weather. Larry and I went on a driving vacation through New England this fall and the foliage was beautiful. We also got to visit some friends and see historic sites, so it was a fun trip. Now it’s back to work! I’m getting ready for the 2010 session that starts in January and wanted to give you a preview of some of the issues we’ll be dealing with. BUDGET OUR NUMBER ONE ISSUENo doubt the main issue we’ll tackle is the state budget. Revenues continue to come in below estimates this fall. There will most likely be a shortfall in the current fiscal year budget, which ends June 30, 2010. So our first job will be to shore up the 2010 budget before we look at the 2011 budget. The Governor has announced he will try to take care of the 2010 shortfall by making budget cuts himself and “taking the heat” for that. To help you understand the size of the problem, let’s look at the 2010 fiscal year budget. STATE GENERAL FUNDThe legislature passed a budget that spends $5.6 billion out of the State General Fund this fiscal year. (This is about $550 million less than the 2009 budget.) The State General Fund gets its revenue largely from sales and income taxes. Here is how we invested your money:
If you put education (K12 plus postsecondary), SRS case loads, Aging caseloads, and Medicaid together, they make up about 85% of the budget. Our Medicaid coverage rules are largely set by the Federal government. The Federal government covers 60% of the cost and we cover 40%. Our 40% comes out of the General Fund. This year the Federal government covered more of the cost with stimulus money. OTHER REVENUES AND EXPENSESWe do get monies from other sources outside of the General Fund. We fund highway programs from other taxes like gasoline tax. The federal government sends money for schools, Medicaid, highways, etc. We charge fees for some services provided by state agencies to cover the cost of those services. We assess a property tax for schools (the 20 mill state levy on your annual property tax statement) that is collected locally. Most funds outside of the General Fund are for dedicated programs and services. So we spend most of our time dealing with the State General Fund as it is considered more “discretionary”. WHO SPENDS THE MONEY?Most of the money in the State General Fund is spent by local entities like school districts, cities and counties. For example, the legislature develops a formula for funding a “basic” K-12 education. We collect the money and send it to local school districts to use based on the formula. $3 billion of the $5.6 billion in 2010 budget was scheduled to go to local school districts. Another $100 million went to local governments. FEDERAL STIMULUS KEEPS THE WHEELS ONThe federal stimulus package was designed to keep the wheels on operations and provide jobs, among other things. Kansas is to receive about $2 billion over two years. Nearly $600 million of that goes to education and keeps thousands of teachers in the classroom. $105 million is for justice and public safety to keep police on the street and keep the courts open. $507 million is for health care. $378 million is for transportation and infrastructure (including those “shovel ready” jobs you’ve heard about). There are a number of smaller programs, too (i.e., rural broadband internet and housing). Without that funding we would probably have had to look at tax increases or closing down our schools. It also provided tax credits to keep the economy going. HOW DOES IT LOOK RIGHT NOW?Since the 2010 fiscal year started on July 1, revenues have come in nearly $100 million under estimates. This summer the Governor took action by cutting the 2010 state budget by an additional $91 million, or about 2% more. If the revenues do not turn around by early 2010, there will be some tough decisions to make. LOOKING TO FISCAL YEAR 2011The 2011 budget will be an even bigger challenge. Numbers as large as a $500 million shortfall have been mentioned. As you can tell, it would be difficult to cut that kind of money from the General Fund without impacting K-12 education. Cutting K-12 education would be troublesome for several reasons. First, if we cut K-12 more than the nearly 5% we cut this year, we put the federal stimulus education money at risk. Second, when the state cuts education funding, it puts upward pressure on local property taxes as local school boards try to make up for the state cuts. Finally, the legislature has a constitutional obligation to fund public education and we could easily wind up back in court being sued again for not doing our job. No easy answers here. It is also time to start work on a new long-range transportation program. We are just finishing the current ten-year plan. KDOT has been working for some time on a new plan and has a proposed list of projects for the next decade. Another concern is that there will be efforts to cut services to those who are least able to care for themselves. This year we cut services to seniors, the mentally ill, and those with disabilities to the point where people were hurt. Shared sacrifice is a term we tossed around the capitol last year, but a disproportionate share of the pain went to kids, seniors, and the disabled. The State Chamber of Commerce and other groups lobbied hard to make sure that corporate interests were protected. This year we have to do better so that our Kansas priorities are in better balance. MY BILLS I filed several bills last year and two of them are now law. One I have several other bills I will continue to pursue this year. One bill requires that unilateral annexation proposals be approved by county commissions, unless both parties consent. That bill passed the House, but did not get a hearing in the Senate. I sponsored two bills related to KPERS. Our biggest KPERS challenge this year will be to address the $8 billion unfunded liability. But neither of my bills would impact the fund negatively. One allows the firefighters with the 190th at Forbes to move from KPERS to KP&F. They are the only firefighters in the state not in KP&F. Since they are paid through federal funds, this change would not impact the KPERS fund. I also sponsored a bill to increase the cap on what KPERS retirees can earn without penalty from $20,000 a year to $25,000 per year. This will also not impact the fund. These bills both passed the Senate in 2009 but were not heard in the House. COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
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K-12 Education: $3.1 billion
makes it harder for automobile thieves to get cars crushed without tracking. I also sponsored a bill to allow state troopers run for some non-partisan public offices. They currently cannot serve any public office, even school boards. 
Twenty affordable, energy-efficient single family homes will be built in Kansas City through $3.7 million in funding from Recovery Act funds. The funding will spur new home construction, provide good-paying jobs, and provide quality housing for families struggling to make ends meet. Community Housing of Wyandotte County, a non-profit community development organization, is in charge of the construction. CHWS has built over 100 homes and has a strong track record of stabilizing and revitalizing distressed neighborhoods. Tenants must be income-eligible to live in the homes. Construction is expected to be complete by late summer 2010. Good example of public-private partnerships that work!
The Kansas Bioscience Authority is working to build biosciences in Kansas. KBA investments are already helping to stimulate 1159 new jobs, $110 million in capital expenditures, $44 million in new research funding, and $29 million in equity investments. Kansas was recently ranked #9 in the nation for biotechnology. 
The Southwest Power Pool sets priorities for the construction of regional transmission lines in our part of the country. They recently removed a critical project in southwestern Kansas to carry electricity from Kansas wind farms to other states. This “V-Plan” project is a 200-mile, 765kV transmission line that will run from Spearville to Wichita and connect with another transmission line running into Oklahoma. Governor Parkinson asked the SPP Board to reinstate our project to the list of priority projects, and this week they did. Without this project, wind generation expansion would most likely have come to a standstill in Kansas. The Governor believes this project will get final approval in January.
Hold on to your hats because it’s going to be a bumpy ride this session. I value your input and would appreciate your taking the survey on this site. Just click on “click here” at the top right side of the home page and let me know your priorities.
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