Appropriations Committee
On Tuesday of last week, the committee received a briefing on the November Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE) and the monthly revenue reports through December 2017 from the Kansas Legislative Research Department. For the monthly reports, receipts are up $83 million for fiscal year 2018. Virtually that entire total is in individual income tax receipts. The Kansas Legislative Research Department indicated that it will not have all the information on individual income tax until the end of the fiscal year.
On Wednesday of last week, the Committee heard from Budget Director Shawn Sullivan who presented an overview of the Governor’s Budget. Sullivan made brief comments on the CRE and provided a state comparison of various taxing sources. His presentation focused on the Governor’s Education funding proposal. The Governor proposes expending $200 million in fiscal year 2019 and $100 million in each of the following four fiscal years. Of that $200 million, we learned that $87 million was already part of the funding passed during the 2017 session.
Some of the foundation aid increase proposed for fiscal year 2019 uses $13.9 million from the Children’s Initiative Fund. The Governor’s Education funding proposal also contains goals and objectives, which was laid out in the overview. Additional costs are associated with the objectives, including offering 15 credit hours of dual credit coursework to every Kansas high school student and offering every Kansas high school student the ACT or Work Keys assessments.
Cyber Security
John Dickson of the information and technology consulting firm, The Denim Group, testified before the Government, Technology and Security Committee regarding the state of state’s cybersecurity systems. He described how the threat of cyberattacks is always present, however not often thought about. Cyberattacks have affected the states of Utah and South Carolina and have led to large data breaches. Important information has been stolen, such as Medical and disease data, payroll, tax, DMV, and many other types of data. Dickson promoted the idea of expanding Kansas’ digital infrastructure to protect taxpayer data.
Introduced Legislation
House Bill 2448, introduced by the Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions, would make changes to the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. Changes would include adding corrections officers to the pension system currently used by police and fire officers.
House Bill 2460, which is in the Federal and State Affairs committee, would allow schools to opt into a program that would provide firearm accident prevention training to K-12 students.
There are two separate programs for different student age groups. Students who are enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade would have a program based on the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe program offered by the National Rifle Association. For students enrolled in grades nine through twelve, the program would be based on hunter education which is currently offered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.
Contact Information
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, State Representative, 109th Kansas House