TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators appear to be embracing a compromise proposal for rewriting the rules for collective bargaining between teachers’ unions and local school boards.
The House and Senate pass separate bills Thursday that have the support of teachers’ unions and school board and administrator associations. They reflect a compromise among the groups in January.
The House voted 109-14 to pass its bill, while the Senate voted 40-0 for its measure.
State law currently compels the two sides to bargain on 31 issues each negotiations cycle.
The House bill would require them to discuss only salary and work hours, but would allow each side to make five other issues mandatory topics.
The Senate bill would allow three mandatory topics in addition to salary and hours.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government report shows that two varieties of winter wheat developed by Kansas State University are the leading varieties planted in the state.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that Everest is the top hard red winter wheat variety of all wheat seeded in Kansas.
Everest accounts for 15.8 percent of planted acres for the 2015 crop, and it’s the favorite in the eastern two-thirds of the state.
It is followed in popularity by the TAM 111 variety with 9.1 percent of the acreage. Coming in third is T158, with 5.1 percent of the acreage.
Among hard white wheat varieties, Danby was the Kansas favorite, accounting for just under half of the state’s white wheat. Most of the state’s white wheat is planted in southwestern Kansas.
By JIM MCLEAN
The odds that the Kansas Legislature will pass a Medicaid expansion bill this session remain long.
But they improved Thursday, however slightly, when conservative Republican leaders agreed to allow a hearing on expansion to avoid an immediate vote on the House floor.
Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat, was attempting to amend his Medicaid expansion proposal into an unrelated bill. Uncertain how a vote might turn out, House leaders dropped their opposition to a hearing in exchange for Ward withdrawing his amendment.
Rep. John Wilson, a Lawrence Democrat, said the tactical maneuver “disrupted the plan” that GOP leaders had to block any consideration of Medicaid expansion.
“We now have a new opportunity in front of us to talk about expansion and to talk about the Kansas Hospital Association’s plan,” Wilson said.
The hospital association has been working behind the scenes with Gov. Sam Brownback and legislators to craft an expansion plan similar to those being proposed by other Republican governors. These so-called red state expansion plans use federal Medicaid funds to help low-income adults purchase private coverage. They also require recipients to share in their health care costs in ways that traditional Medicaid doesn’t.
A bill drafted by the House Vision 2020 Committee contains elements of a possible Kansas plan. It includes a mechanism for covering the state’s share of expansion costs, something that may prove essential given the state’s budget problems.
Just last week, Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican and chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, said he had no plans to schedule hearings on expansion.
Ward’s agreement with GOP leaders changes that. At some point during the second half of the session the House will have a hearing on the expansion bill introduced at the request of the hospital association, which seeks to repeal a 2013 proviso that prohibits Gov. Sam Brownback from crafting an expansion plan and negotiating its approval with federal officials.
Kansas’ privatized Medicaid program, KanCare, covers about 425,000 children and low-income, disabled and elderly adults. But that number includes relatively few non-disabled adults.
Adults with dependent children can participate in KanCare, but only if they have incomes below 33 percent of the federal poverty level, $7,770 annually for a family of four. Adults without children aren’t eligible for coverage no matter how poor they are.
Expansion would make all Kansans with incomes up to 138 percent of poverty eligible for KanCare. The eligibility cap would be set at an annual income of $16,105 for an individual and $32,913 for a family of four.
Rep. Don Hill, an Emporia Republican who has been working with the hospital association, said if a Medicaid expansion bill reaches the House floor, it might pass.
“It very well might be a close vote,” Hill said. “But I think there is a lot of bipartisan support for Medicaid expansion in the Legislature and in the House in particular.”
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators hope the state is collecting as much in taxes this month as expected or even a little more. But they acknowledge a month of stable revenues won’t make closing a projected budget shortfall much easier.
The state Department of Revenue planned to release its monthly report on tax collections Friday.
From the start of the current fiscal year in July 2014 through January, the $3.3 billion in tax collections were $66 million short of expectations, or about 1.5 percent.
Department spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda said Thursday it was still too early to tell whether revenues would meet expectations.
The lower-than-anticipated revenues are a factor in the projected deficit of nearly $600 million in the state budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1.
TOPEKA–Kansas-based motor carriers with an apportioned or intra-state commercial tags have until Sunday, March 1, 2015.
Although tags for the vehicles expired Dec. 31, 2014, there is a two-month grace period for the registrations to be renewed.
Eight Kansas county treasurers offer renewals for apportioned tags – also called IRP. Those are Haskell, Greeley, Lane, Stafford, Wilson, Anderson, Marshall and Smith counties.
Eighty-four Kansas county treasurer’s offices offer intra-state commercial registration services. A full list of the offices offering renewals is on truckingks.org.
Renewal services for both intra-state and apportioned tags are also available in Topeka at the Motor Carrier Services office on 29th and Topeka Boulevard or at the Docking State Office Building in the Taxpayer Assistance Center.
Those renewing their intra-state registration must bring copies of their 2014 cab cards, current proof of insurance for the registration being renews and prove that the heavy vehicles use tax has been paid for vehicles registered at 55,000 pounds.
For more information, including a list of counties offering intra-state commercial registration services, visit the Commercial Motor Vehicles Resources section of www.truckingks.org.
It took two overtimes for the TMP Lady Monarchs to pick up their 17th win on the season, 63-55 over Hutchinson Trinity. The Lady Monarchs were on fire in the first quarter and half while they built up a 27-10 lead. The Lady Celtics would score the next 10 points to pull to within seven. Megan Koenigsman would hit one of her five three pointers on the night to push the TMP lead to 10 again. Trinity would cut the lead back to eight, 30-22, at halftime.
The two teams would battle back and forth in the second half. Trinity cut the TMP lead to four points, 41-37, after the third quarter. The visitors would shave four more points off the lead and tie the game at 49 with a chance to win it late. TMP was able to block a couple of shots late to send the game into overtim.
The first overtime had a lot of defense and not much offense. TMP scored the first bucket two minutes into the extra period on a Kaylor Gottschalk put back. Mariah Hammersmith would tie it at 51 with 25 seconds left to play. TMP couldn’t get on off balance shot to go from Koenigsman and the game went to a second overtime. In the second overtime TMP would get a Katelyn Zimmerman free throw to go up one. The shot of the night was the fifth and final three from Koenigsman that put the Lady Monarchs up 55-51 and the game wouldn’t get any closer.
Koenigsman finished with 26 to lead the Lady Monarchs. Melissa Pfeifer chipped in 11. TMP never trailed in the game and improve to 17-3 on the season. They will play next Friday night in Colby in the opening round of sub-state play.
KAYLOR GOTTSCHALK INTERVIEW
GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS
Boys: TMP 75, Hutch Trinity 41
TMP delivered a first half knock out blow in their 75-41 win over Hutch Trinity on Thursday night at Al Billinger Fieldhouse. The Monarchs started the game on a 15-0 run and Trinity could never recover. TMP went in at the half with a 42-19 lead.
The second half was much the same as they first half. The Monarchs stretched their lead as high as 36 points before settling in for the 34 point victory. Kameron Schmidt led TMP with 17 points and Jared Vitztum added 15. Senior Max Megaffin went down with a sever ankle sprain in the third quarter, the one downside for TMP.
The Monarchs will be the number one seed in their sub-state next week in Colby. They will open up on Thursday night with the host Eagles.
Dom Samac hit one of two free throws with 0.2 seconds left to force overtime but Central Oklahoma outscores Fort Hays State 11-4 in the extra period for a 76-69 win Thursday night at Hamilton Field House in Edmond. The loss drops the Tigers to 16-11 and 9-9 in the MIAA. UCO improves to 18-9 and 11-7 and secures a first round home game in the MIAA tournament.
Mark Johnson:
Game Highlights:
Fort Hays State had a chance to win in regulation. Dom Samac took an inbound pass with 3.4 seconds to play and drove to the basket but missed the layup when he was fouled. After missing the first free throw, he hit the second to force overtime.
The Tigers hit just two of their 12 shots in overtime and were 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers used a 17-1 run to grab a 12-point lead midway through the first half. The Bronchos answer with an 18-6 run to tie but Achoki Moikobu banks in a 3-pointer to put FHSU up three at the half. UCO outscored the Tigers 12-2 to open the second half to go up seven. FHSU responded with a 12-3 run to pull within one and eventually took the lead at 55-53. Neither team would lead by more than three the rest of regulation.
Samac led Fort Hays State with 16 points. Tom Gabric added 11 and James Fleming and Jeremy Wilson 10. Drew Kite led the Tigers with a career-high eight rebounds.
The Tigers close out the regular season at Northeastern State. FHSU needs to win and have Washburn lose their home game with Pittsburg State to play at home in the first round of the MIAA tournament on Monday.
Students, faculty and alumni of Fort Hays State University’s Department of Music and Theatre will participate in the 2015 Kansas Music Educator’s Association In-Service Workshop from Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 26-28, in Wichita. Dr. Laura Andrews, associate professor, will host an alumni reception on Friday, Feb. 27.
Student groups chosen to perform include the FHSU Percussion Ensemble, led by Dean Kranzler, instructor of music and theatre, and the FHSU Brass Ensemble, led by Dr. Lane Weaver, assistant professor of music and theatre. The Brass Ensemble will also feature a new composition by FHSU Director of Bands Dr. Jeff Jordan, associate professor of music and theatre.
Dr. Ivalah Allen, assistant professor of music and theatre, will present a session for music educators. Allen’s presentation will focus on selecting appropriate literature for vocal soloists participating in high school music contests.
Several FHSU alumni working as music educators will also present.
TOPEKA — The Kansas House approved legislation Thursday that would allow people convicted of driving under the influence a chance to clear the DUI from court records five years after completion of a sentence.
The bill would allow felony DUI violators and test-refusal violators to petition a judge five years after initial conviction for expungement, or deletion of the public record.
Under current law, the waiting period for DUI cases handled in municipal court is 10 years and the waiting period for those cases in state court is seven years.
The reform measure was sent to the Senate on a vote of 70-53.
Rep. John Carmichael (D-Wichita) said the purpose of expungement is to encourage further good behavior and give people a second chance.
“If they abide by the law then it comes off their record for purpose of employment, for example,” Carmichael said. “It doesn’t come off their record if they should mess up again.”
Unwavering opposition came from Rep. John Rubin (R-Shawnee) who said shielding mistakes from prospective employers and the public sends the wrong message to drunk drivers.
“We should in no way ever be lessening the penalties for drunk driving or granting any leeway to drunk drivers clearing their records anymore than we already allow under the current statutes,” Rubin said.
Rep. Jack Thimesch (R-Cunningham), who introduced the bill, clarified the law would not change any statute on how the person is penalized.
The law would simply allow a person to petition for the removal. Law enforcement could still access previous violations should that person drive under the influence on multiple occasions.
Amelia Arvesen is a University of Kansas senior from San Ramon, Calif., majoring in journalism.
Fort Hays State used a 23-5 first half run to build a 16-point lead then had to hold off a Central Oklahoma second half rally for a 56-55 win Thursday night at Hamilton Field House in Edmond. The Lady Tigers, who clinched their first MIAA title outright the night before when Pittsburg State lost at Emporia State, improve to 25-2 and 17-1 in the MIAA. The Broncos fall to 15-12 and 8-9 in the MIAA.
Tony Hobson:
Game Highlights:
Down 14 at the half, the Bronchos open the second half with a 14-4 run to pull within four. They tied the game 53-53 with 8:28 to play and had a chance to take the lead inside a minute to play but Chelsea Robinson missed two free throws.
Jill Faxon leads the Tigers with 19 points including two big 3-pointers in the second half. Chelsea Mason adds 13. Kate Lehman was held to just five field goal attempts and scores six while grabbing 11 rebounds. Lehman moves past Shauna Porter into to second on FHSU all-time scoring list with 1,794 points.
The win may have been costly. Junior point guard Beth Bohuslavsky went down with a leg injury with 17 seconds to play and didn’t return.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss. today introduced key legislation to enact a permanent, government-wide prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion. Currently, similar policies, such as the Hyde Amendment, require annual passage and do not apply to Obamacare.
The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” S. 582, also includes a provision championed by Senator Roberts requiring all health insurance plans offered by Obamacare exchanges to disclose coverage of elective abortion procedures and the abortion surcharge embedded into abortion-covering plans.
“Millions of Americans oppose the use of their hard-earned money to cover abortion services. This is true both of their tax dollars and of the premiums they pay to their health insurance providers. However, Obamacare makes it difficult for consumers to know if a plan they are purchasing covers abortion. We need transparency. Consumers have a right to know what their fees are paying for, so that they can choose an insurance plan that meets their needs and is in line with their beliefs and values,” Senator Roberts said. “Our bill protects this right. We ban all taxpayer funding for abortion, and we clearly inform consumers in health care exchanges which plans cover abortive services.”
“During the debate on Obamacare in 2009, President Obama promised the American people that under his plan, ‘No federal dollars will be used to fund abortions,’” Senator Wicker said. “We know now that is simply not true. Passing this bill would establish a comprehensive policy prohibiting the use of any public funding for abortion. Eliminating loopholes is critical to ensuring that no federal program, including those under Obamacare, is exempt from the prohibition.”
The legislation is the Senate companion to H.R. 7, authored by Representative Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill. That bill passed the House by a vote of 242-179 on January 22, 2015.
Existing laws that would also be made permanent under S. 582 include the Smith FEHBP amendment (which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage for federal employees) and the Dornan amendment (which prohibits use of congressionally appropriated funds for abortion in the District of Columbia).
Last year, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office issued a report showing that taxpayer dollars paid for more than 1,000 health insurance plans that included elective abortion.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has given first-round approval to a bill that would move city and local school board elections from the spring to the fall of odd-numbered years.
Senators advanced the bill on a voice vote and expected to take final action Thursday night.
Supporters of the measure argue that it will increase turnout in local elections because people are used to voting in November.
City and school board elections currently are held in April, with primaries in late February or early March. Turnout is often low.
But critics of the bill said there’s no compelling reason for a change and that it will cause administrative problems for local officials.
Also, city elections must be nonpartisan now, and the bill would allow cities to make them partisan.
Facebook users who don’t fit any of the 58 gender identity options offered by the social media giant are now being given a rather big 59th option: fill in the blank.
A Facebook announcement published online Thursday morning and shared in advance with The Associated Press tells users that if they do not identify with the pre-populated list of gender identities, they can add their own.
Facebook software engineer Ari Chivukula, who identifies as transgender and was part of the team that made the free-form option, says the change may lead to more widespread acceptance.
Last February, Facebook expanded gender identity from male and female to a list of dozens of options, including Androgyne, Gender Fluid and Transgender. Those choices will all still be available.
