 2010 SESSION WRAP-UP
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
The 2010 legislative session is over and it was my honor to serve on your behalf. This newsletter highlights some of the hundreds of proposals that became law this year. It is no secret that budget issues dominated the session again. With the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, we cut spending by over $1 billion during the 2010 fiscal year that ends on June 30. We did our best to cut expenses while keeping our Kansas priorities.
When considering our budget for the 2011 fiscal year, you asked that I work to minimize cuts to education, help our most vulnerable citizens, bring jobs to the state, and keep the public safe. I worked with a coalition of legislators to do just that. We found a better path out of the crisis. We avoided devastating cuts that would have moved our state backward. We stopped the immediate layoff of thousands of teachers, public safety officers, nurses, and other state employees who serve our families. Instead, Kansas is now positioned to take advantage of an economic turnaround. We made sure Kansas remains a great place to work, live, and play.
The most amazing thing to me is that during a session dominated by a bad economy, we found a way to pass positive policy changes. We protected Kansans from secondhand smoke in public places, protected Kansas children in home day care, kept nursing homes open, implemented insurance coverage for children with autism, and laid the groundwork for a statewide transportation plan that will put tens of thousands of Kansans to work.
The most rewarding part of the job was getting to work with you individually on issues impacting your lives – safety issues, help for families in crisis, supporting local businesses, and many more. I truly appreciate the opportunity to help solve problems. I also appreciate the contact I received from you in recent months. It made a difficult session much easier knowing that you were there for me as well.
On a personal note, Larry is finishing another year as a bus driver for the Shawnee Heights school district. We are planning some vacation and enjoying our granddaughter, Madison. She reminds us every day of what is truly important.
I wish you a safe and fun summer. I look forward to visiting with you when I am in your neighborhood.
Regards,
State Representative – District 53
THE BUDGET DEBATE
This year, Kansas continued to suffer the trickle-down effects of a national economic recession. Our revenues began to dip soon after the collapse of the sub-prime lending market in 2008. Since then, the state budget has gone to the chopping block six times. Even though we cut spending by over $1 billion in just 18 months, we were still over $500 million short for the 2011 fiscal year.
I believe a regular review and trimming of government services is both healthy and necessary. However, over $1 billion in cuts goes well past “trimming the fat.” As Governor Parkinson said in January, we were at the point of doing serious, long-term damage to our state.
It took the entire session for a budget proposal to come forward from the House Appropriations Committee. Unfortunately, that proposal demolished our most important investments and created more problems than it solved. I simply could not inflict that level of harm onto Kansas families and communities. The House Appropriations budget would have pushed more of the cost of education to local school districts, forcing higher property taxes. We had to think past this year and consider the long-term effects of our actions.
A bipartisan coalition came together to pass a more reasonable budget alternative. The coalition budget preserved critical investments that will grow and preserve jobs, keeping Kansas on the road to economic recovery. This was truly a bipartisan effort. Both Republicans and Democrats were actively involved in the budget’s development and passage. It was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 71-48. The Senate passed it without changes.
The coalition budget cut over $200 million beyond the Governor’s recommendations (on top of the previous $1 billion cut). This is a fiscally responsible budget. We only included what was necessary to keep communities safe, vulnerable citizens protected and public education institutions intact. While the final product is not perfect, it was by far the best proposal that surfaced throughout the session. Every Kansas community will benefit from the bipartisan work we accomplished in Topeka in 2010.
THE REVENUE PACKAGE 
While the House took the lead on the budget plan, the Senate crafted a revenue package to support it. Even after we carved $200 million more from the Governor’s budget, we had a $300 million hole to fill. We cut our own legislative pay and reduced staff. We approved a new tax amnesty program. We left many state jobs unfilled.
Then we looked at new revenue sources. The Senate started with the Governor’s proposal for a general sales tax and cigarette tax increase. They considered other options as well, but in the end the only revenue proposal with enough votes to pass was the sales tax.
Beginning July 1, the state sales tax goes from 5.3 cents to 6.3 cents on the dollar for three years. In July 2013, that goes back to 5.9 cents. The .4 cent that remains after 2013 will fund much of the comprehensive transportation plan, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and helping over 100,000 people working for local suppliers for the projects.
To lessen the impact of the sales tax increase on low income earners, we increased the rebate on food sales tax so that 37,000 more Kansans qualify. We also increased the earned income tax credit so that the 190,000 low wage earners who qualify get a larger tax credit.
It is interesting to note that in the three years after the sales tax increase in 2002, jobs grew by over 40,000 across the state. The 2010 revenue package along with modest spending cuts was the best path to keeping Kansas on track for recovery while protecting the investments we’ve made in a great state for the last 150 years.
Here are some things that extra penny will buy:
- Stop the cuts to education – which helps avoid local property tax increases and college tuition hikes and keeps thousands of teachers in the classroom
- Restore needed services to seniors like nursing care and Meals on Wheels
- Keep thousands of seniors and disabled Kansans in their homes, avoiding costly nursing home care
- Restore funding for services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault
- Stop the elimination of our early childhood programs
- Provide a transportation plan to create tens of thousands of jobs
- Better veterans services so Kansas would not be last in the nation in this area
- Keep state employee wages stable
- Keep neighborhoods safer by avoiding the release of state inmates
TRANSPORTATION PLAN WILL CREATE 175,000 JOBS
 Success of the 2010 session - and the long-term economic stability of Kansas - depended on the passage of a new comprehensive transportation plan. I am pleased that a new plan passed with strong bipartisan support.
The Transportation Works for Kansas Program (T-WORKS) provides the framework for a new the future for our state’s infrastructure. It is multi-faceted, with a focus on preservation, expansion, economic development, modernization (such as widening lanes or shoulders and upgrading interchanges), and assistance to cities and counties. It covers highway, rail, airport and transit investments.
T-WORKS will provide about $8.2 billion in construction and modal spending over the next ten years. Most of the funding will come from existing sources. Most importantly, T-WORKS will create or sustain an estimated 60,000 construction jobs and 175,000 total jobs (including local suppliers, construction, etc.).
More than 1,000 Kansans across the state helped KDOT develop T-WORKS, and it could not have been enacted at a better time. Kansas maintains more than 130,000 miles of local roads, 10,000 miles of highways, and 20,500 bridges. T-WORKS is critical in ensuring that Kansas can meet future demands of our population, solve long-term energy challenges, and emerge from the economic recession as quickly as possible.
STATEWIDE CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT BECOMES LAW
Governor Mark Parkinson challenged the Legislature to pass a statewide indoor smoking ban this year and we met that challenge. Effective July 1st, the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act will protect Kansans from harmful secondhand smoke by banning smoking in public places and places of employment, including restaurants and bars. Buildings exempted from the ban include: private homes, outdoor areas with ventilation, gaming floors of lottery gaming facilities, designated smoking rooms in hotels, and tobacco shops.
This is not perfect legislation and it is likely that we will need to do more work on it next year. It was important to take this opportunity now to pass a bill that will not only protect Kansans from harmful secondhand smoke, but will save our state millions of dollars at a time when we have no dollars to spare. Health benefits aside, this is simply good public policy.
NURSING HOMES WILL STAY OPEN
 Sen Sub for Sen Sub for Sub for HB 2320 provides for assessments on some nursing facilities. This bill was all about keeping nursing homes open by drawing down federal Medicaid dollars. We were on the verge of losing about 30 nursing homes that handle primarily Medicaid patients. The assessment will be applied to all nursing home beds except those in the Kansas Soldiers' Home and the Kansas Veterans' Home. The assessments go into a special fund and the federal government sends us matching dollars. The details of the bill were negotiated between homes that serve Medicaid patients and those that serve private pay patients so that private pay patients would not see increased fees. It will bring home about $56 million in taxes that Kansans have paid to keep facilities open across the state, especially in rural areas.
WIND ENERGY UPDATE
 Earlier this year I met with Kansas wind power developers. They are investing billions of dollars in wind energy in our state. It was exciting to hear how fast this industry is growing and the potential for jobs. They have already created nearly 1000 construction and permanent jobs, as well as 800 future jobs in the manufacturing plants in Hutchinson and Newton.
Kansas ranks 10th in the nation in production and 3rd in wind energy resource potential. A new study shows Kansas has the potential to generate 3.6 million gigawatt hours of electricity from wind – which is about 10 times the power used by California in a year. Kansas utilities have over 1000 megawatts of power in operation today and plan another 1000 megawatts by 2020 for in-state use.
To ensure continued growth, it was important for the Southwest Power Pool to approve transmission lines to deliver our wind-generated electricity to the rest of the state and surrounding region.
The “V-Plan” is a 200-mile, 765 kV transmission project that will run from Spearville to Wichita and connect with another line running into Oklahoma. Those lines have received approval and that sets the stage for Kansas to be an even bigger player in the wind energy market.
BIOSCIENCE AUTHORITY UPDATE
The 2004 legislature made a long-term commitment to growing bioscience in the state. It’s paying off. Since K-State/Manhattan won the $650 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, K-State has won two more significant federal research grants. The Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit is moving to Manhattan from Wyoming. ABADRU does research on diseases spread by insects into livestock. Then K-State won the $12 million Center for Emerging Excellence for Zoonotic Disease.
CEEZAD will develop and commercialize animal disease products and train a specialized workforce to defend our nation’s agriculture economy against agro-terrorism and emerging animal pathogens.
Kansas is home to every element of the bioenergy supply chain and that industry is growing here as well. The Kansas Bioscience Authority has focused on developing supply chains, driving collaboration across the industry, and fostering research that will lead to jobs in Kansas. It is also now attracting venture capital so that Kansas bioscience enterprises are successful – and that they stay in Kansas. Since 2004, the Authority has returned $7 for every $1 invested, including 1180 new jobs, $112 million in new capital investment, $47 million in new research funding, and $77 million in new wages.
This may be more information than you wanted, but I hope it’s helpful to know where your tax dollars went and that it paid off.
LEXIE’S LAW PROTECTS CHILDREN IN DAY CARE HOMES
Lexie Engelman was 13 months old when she suffered fatal injuries at a home day care in 2004. To better protect children in home day care, we approved House Bill 2356, also known as Lexie’s Law.
Currently, there are about 4,000 licensed home day care facilities. They are inspected and the providers have training requirements. There are also about 2,600 registered home day care providers in Kansas. Registered home day care facilities are only inspected upon a complaint and there are no training requirements for providers. That will change beginning July 1.
Under Lexie’s Law, registered home facilities will gradually move to licensed status, assuring annual inspections. KDHE will write rules for supervising children, including monitoring, safe-sleep practices and playground oversight. In addition, KDHE will create a way to access online information about day care providers.
As a parent and grandparent, Lexie’s Law was of particular interest to me. It puts my mind at ease to know that Madi and all Kansas children will have access to safer home day care. Although I wish no parent ever had to endure the loss of a child, I am grateful that Lexie’s parents turned their grief into activism. Their efforts will protect future generations of Kansas families who depend on day care for their children.
Our son, Cary, and granddaughter, Madison.
LEGISLATION LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR RAIL SERVICE
 Senate Bill 409 implements the Passenger Rail Service Program Act. The passenger rail service program aims to connect Amtrak service from Kansas City to Lawrence, Topeka, Oklahoma City and then finally Fort Worth, Texas. The Secretary of Transportation can now begin initiating plans with Amtrak, local counties, other states involved with the line, and rail operators.
Fifty-five communities have declared their public support of an inter-city passenger service. Trains are 18% more efficient than airlines and 24% more efficient than driving. It only makes sense to invest in a system the increases efficiency, reduces pollution, and lessens highway congestion and maintenance.
BETTER TRACKING OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
House Bill 2517 provides the tools to better track domestic violence cases. The bill was introduced in response to the 2008 murder of Lawrence resident Jana Mackey. Jana was a 25-year-old KU law student when she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. She had previously worked as a lobbyist on behalf of women who were victims of domestic violence. Jana’s parents have carried on her passion for fighting domestic violence through the creation of “Jana's Campaign to Stop Domestic Violence.”
Currently, many crimes related to an abusive relationship (such as harassment, damage to property or disorderly conduct) aren’t classified as domestic violence. House Bill 2517 allows judges to determine whether crimes are linked to domestic violence and then tag them accordingly in legal documents. This tag will connect any criminal act involving an intimate or domestic relationship. It will enable better tracking of repeat offenders. This is especially important with domestic violence cases, as most offenders repeat their crimes.
Additionally, the bill allows judges to require treatment for the offender, such as therapy. Ultimately, this legislation will help sanction domestic violence before it escalates.
NEW SAFETY TRAINING PROTECTS SOCIAL WORKERS
Social workers have difficult and important jobs. They work directly with our state’s most troubled and disadvantaged citizens. This can sometimes put social workers in dangerous situations.
H Sub for Senate Bill 25 amends the continuing education requirements for clinical social workers. Applicants for first-time licensure renewal will be required to have completed no less than six hours of social worker safety awareness training.
These new requirements were enacted in response to the murder of a Johnson County mental health worker, Terri Zenner, who was murdered during a routine stop at the home of one of her clients. There are over 6,000 social workers licensed in Kansas. It is critical that we arm these workers with the skills they need to ensure the safety of both themselves and the Kansans they are working to help.
HEALTH INSURANCE COVERS AUTISM TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN
In an effort to recognize the needs of Kansas children with autism and their families, the Kansas Legislature passed Senate Substitute for HB 2160, also known as Kate’s Law. This law requires the state health insurance plan to cover services for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for any covered patients under the age of 19.
According to the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, as many as 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with ASD. This makes autism more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. If children receive intervention treatment before the age of four, many of them go on to live productive lives comparable to those without a developmental disability. It is projected that nearly $3.2 million in social service costs per person can be saved over their lifetimes with effective early treatment.
OTHER LEGISLATION OF INTEREST:
 Here are some other new laws passed this year that you may find interesting or helpful:
- HB 2411 bans the chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana (like K-2).
- HB 2448 allows pharmacists to give flu shots to children age six or older, increasing availability.
- H Sub for SB 75 deals with cemetery corporations and protecting cemetery permanent maintenance funds and merchandise trust funds. This protects your investment in pre-purchased merchandise and ensures that the cemetery will have ongoing maintenance.
- HB 2472 sets out rules for those living in arrangements with common interest ownership (mostly homeowners associations that share services). It lays out procedures for addressing issues, open meetings, bylaws, etc.
- SB 62 provides for the routine screening of pregnant women for HIV infection. Women will be provided information about the screening and may opt out. This bill also directs the Secretary of KDHE to set out guidelines for a tuberculosis prevention and control plan for post-secondary educational institutions in Kansas. We have had an uptick in TB cases in recent years.
- Senate Sub for HB 2585 gives reporters limited privilege to protect sources of information.
- SB 531, the Radon Certification Law, requires certification of radon measurement technicians, radon mitigation technicians, and radon measurement laboratories.
- SB 544 increases the area in which the Topeka metropolitan transit authority could offer services up to 90 miles. Topeka’s TMTA was the only transit operator in the state limited to a three-mile radius.
Sometimes it’s hard to know which bills to highlight. Many of the bills we deal with are specific to a certain industry or have limited application. But they are all important to someone. For example, we authorized several counties to have a vote for sales tax increases. We worked on bringing parts of the law into the 21st century by allowing more electronic signatures. We named some highways. We tweaked sentencing rules. We allowed more work release. We improved pesticide education. We put off hiring an Appeals judge. We improved notification to crime victims on defendant status. We gave drug and cosmetic regulation to the Dept. of Agriculture. Even though our big job this year was the budget, we still had to do the day to day job of improving the way things are done in the state. I believe the body of our work met that goal.
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