February 24, 2017
Veto Override Falls Short
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017 House Bill 2178 failed to garner the necessary number of votes to override the governor’s veto in the Senate. The bill, which was aimed at changing the state’s tax structure by creating a third tax bracket while also eliminating the LLC tax exemption, had been passed in final action by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, February 16th, and by the Senate on Friday, February 19th, in emergency final action. Governor Brownback vetoed the bill the morning of Wednesday, February 22nd, which sent the bill back to the House of Representatives for a motion to override the veto.
The motion passed in the House of Representatives with 85 votes in favor to 40 against. However, the same motion failed in the Senate with a vote of 22 in favor to 16 against. Even though I did not vote in favor of House Bill 2178 when it initially passed the House, I did vote to override the Governor since this tax package did pass both chambers and it would give us a direction to move forward in the session.
Appropriations: Committee Work
The Appropriations Committee continued hearings and working reports from the Budget Committees. Agency Budgets that we reviewed included the Department of Children and Families, the Department for Aging and Disability Services, Board of Regents, Higher Education Institutions, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. In addition, we heard House Bill 2180, which increases the health maintenance organizations (HMO) privilege fee from 3.31% to 5.77%. There were several conferees who supported the bill to restore the Governor’s 4% cut to providers. Opponents did not support the retroactive nature of the bill, which makes it difficult for insurance companies to adjust to a rate increase, when plans are already in place.
On Thursday, February 16th, the Committee heard House Bill 2279. The bill extends the sunset by one year on driver license reinstatement fees which are transferred to the Judicial Branch Non-Judicial Salary Adjustment Fund. In 2014, the Legislature set aside a percentage for non-Judge salaries in the Judicial Branch. Other agencies receive these fees and saw a decrease in their percentages (KBI, KDHE). If the bill is not passed, the Judicial Branch will be $950,000 short, as they budgeted for the sunset to be extended. On Friday, February 17th, the Committee heard House Bill 2184, which extends the sunset date of the sales tax as revenue (STAR) bond financing act, from July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2022.
KanCare 2.0: Medicaid Expansion
On Wednesday, February 22nd, the House of Representatives, passed an amended version of House Bill 2044 (Medicaid Expansion) by a vote of 83 in favor to 40 against after several long hours of debate. House Bill 2044 was amended to include provisions which would enable the state government to expand Medicaid coverage to citizens and legal residents of the state under the age of 65. The bill requires a significant number of changes to the current structure of the KanCare Program. During the debate for the amendment that was added to include KanCare 2.0, or Medicaid Expansion, many questions were posed: What would be the cost of implementation (which could be anywhere from $25 to $100 million annually)? What is the future of the Affordable Care Act with the Trump Administration and Congress? What is the ability for KanCare to handle the additional claims, especially because since its inception KanCare has had difficulty completing the existing claims?
Due to the fact that there were so many unanswered questions, and that this was presented in the form of an amendment, I voted, “No.” It did pass, 81-44.
Uncork Kansas
Last week the Commerce Committee held a two-day hearing on retail alcohol sales expansion, also referred to as “Uncork Kansas” (House Bill 2282). Essentially, this bill would allow grocery stores and other retailers to sell alcoholic beverages, other than cereal malt beverages (beverages containing more than 3.2%) On Monday, February 13th, the Committee heard statements from Uncork proponents, including representatives of Uncork Kansas, Retail Grocers Association of Greater Kansas City, Hy-Vee, and Dillon’s. They primarily advocated for free-market principles and noted that several other states have already expanded alcohol sales.
On Tuesday, February 14th, the Committee then heard from Uncork opponents, specifically the Kansas Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, Standard Beverage, Kansas Association of Beverage Retailers, Kansas Association for Responsible Liquor Laws, Kansas League of Municipalities, Culture Shield Network, the Women’s Temperance League and various liquor store owners. The opponents argued that liquor sales in grocery stores would be detrimental to family businesses, and would weaken local beverage sales and production. Since the hearing no action has been taken on the bill.
Floor Action
Last week the House of Representatives passed two important bills in final action on Friday, February 17th. The first being House Bill 2161, which passed by a vote of 98 to 25 and was carried by myself. House Bill 2161 related to state finances and requires the KPERS Board to liquidate the pooled money investment portfolio and to transfer that money to the State General Fund as a loan of $317.1 million to be repaid over a six-year period, starting in fiscal year 2019. The second bill was the Substitute House Bill 2052. The bill passed by a vote of 87 to 36 and I also carried this bill. The bill focuses on several important areas in regards to spending by the state as there were some amendments added to House Bill 2052 during the House Floor debate.
First the bill allocates funds to state agencies to replace older used motor vehicles, 130,000 miles for cars and 150,000 miles for trucks. Second it allocates 6 million dollars for evidenced based juvenile programs, via transfer with the KDOC. Lastly it establishes regulations on state agency expenditures by requiring state agency office expenditures regarding furniture, supplies, and equipment over $100 in value to be approved by the Director of the Budget. These approved funds are then to be recorded by the Director of Legislative Research for archiving for review by the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means Committees.
Contact Information
The Kansas Legislature has reached the point in the legislative calendar that is commonly referred to as Turnaround. This means that many of the bills that originated in the House must have been passed out favorably by Friday, February 24 and now head to the Senate. When we return on March 6, most of our focus will be those bills that passed the Senate and they will focus on the bills that passed the House.
As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected]. Also, if you happen to visit the statehouse, please let my office know.
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.
Troy L. Waymaster, (R-Bunker Hill) is the 109th Dist. State Representative and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.