For the last four years, all bills with the slightest hint of controversy were sent through the Senate and amended into conference committee reports (CCR). CCRs are not open to policy or funding change by amendment. They are debated and voted up or down. If there’s anything to be said for the sea-change in Topeka, it’s that at least we have the opportunity to have policy discussions on the House floor, offer amendments, and have serious debates.

One example is the bison herd in southeast Kansas. Years ago, the state planned to give up a small herd of bison on old mined land in southeast Kansas. Rep. Bob Grant (D-Frontenac) fought for the bison to remain as they had practically become family to many residents in the area. Rep. Grant’s nickname became “Buffalo Bob.” Rep. Grant passed away in December 2015 and HB 2098 would designate the herd at the Mined Land Wildlife Area in Crawford County as the “Bob Grant Bison Herd.” The bill became a political hot potato last year when Bob’s wife was running for a State Senate seat, and the Republican-led Senate blocked the bill. This year, however, the Senate and House passed the bill unanimously and it was signed into law in early May. This is a fitting tribute to our late colleague.

 

Making Headlines
Filing Deadline for Local Election Candidates Approaches
Anyone interested in running for local office in Kansas – take note! The filing deadline for candidacy is June 1st, 2017. If you would like to file, or know someone who would, please find all the details you need and the filing paperwork here.

School Finance
Sub HB 2410 was pushed out of committee without recommendation to increase school funding. While the committee had been considering adding $750 million over the next five years, this bill falls far short of that amount. The projected five-year increase for funding in this bill is around $450 million. The legislation includes exact amounts of $179 million in the first year and $100 million in the second, but then school funding would only increase based on the inflation rate. Those increases are only projected to be around $55 million per year. The legislation funds all-day kindergarten and adds $2 million each year for at-risk students. I do not believe these amounts will satisfy the court, nor the future excellence of Kansas students.

Budget
The conference committee responsible for finding a solution to the state’s massive budget problem failed to advance a plan last week after members couldn’t agree on the timing for House and Senate votes to repeal Gov. Sam Brownback’s 2012 small business tax cuts. The bill, SB 30, also would have placed extra burdens on many Kansans by reducing the low-income tax threshold for individual and married filers. While the bill restores three tax brackets, it does raise the rate on lower- and middle-income taxpayers. Medical expenses would again be allowed to be deducted, per federal law, and the scheduled, automatic deductions in individual tax rates would be repealed. The state faces a $900 million shortfall in Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019.

It’s not just the House, the entire legislature is stuck. We are separated into a few different factions and everyone is frustrated. We did such a good job getting a tax bill passed in February that the rest of the session has been a struggle to get another bill with veto-proof majorities.

Due to the governor’s disconnection with reality, he will veto any tax bill which repeals the LLC tax break. A lot of new people went out on a limb, their first major vote and they’re voting a huge tax increase. They’re now understandably gun shy and just want to have one vote instead of multiple votes, they want one that will actually work and get 84-27.

House Floor Action
Judicial Funding
HB 2041—The House approved a bill, 98-24, that allows the judiciary to extend surcharges on several docket fees until June 30, 2019 versus the current deadline of June 30, 2017. The bill also will require responsible parties to pay the cost of collecting debts owed to the courts when those parties fail to pay any debts owed, or the court must contract with an outside agent to collect the debt. Current law allows the costs of collecting debts be paid by the defendant only in criminal, traffic and juvenile offender cases.

Foster Care Reform
H Sub for SB 126 creates the Foster Care Oversight Task Force to help the state improve the well-being and safety of children in the foster care system. The task force will have 18 members including legislators but also a family law attorney, foster parent, law enforcement officer, guardian, social worker, court-appointed special advocate, and a judge. This group will recommend policy improvements to the Legislature beginning in 2018, and the group will submit reports each year on its progress toward making recommendations. In addition, the Department of Children and Families will provide data and information on foster care programs as needed by the task force. The task force will disband by July 1, 2020. The House voted for the bill without opposition. The Senate voted, 38-2, for an earlier version of the bill, so a conference committee will need to work out the differences. Testimony is available here.

Local Control
HB 2424—This bill lets cities and counties raise property taxes to fund needed contributions to social security, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, health care costs, employee benefits plans, and retirement and pension programs without first going through a public vote. Current law forbids cities and counties from increasing property taxes beyond those tied to the consumer price index to pay for needed budget increases.

Taxation
SB 146—The committee took up a bill that was previously approved by the Senate, 39-1, to keep a 20-mill school finance levy through the 2018-2019 school year. The bill exempts the first $20,000 of residential property from the levy. The bill was changed by the Senate to stop any new property tax exemptions for property financed by Industrial Revenue Bonds or other types of economic development. Learn more by reading the committee testimony here.

HB 2380 was approved by the House, 78-42, to lower the sales tax on food and food ingredients from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent, but not until July 1, 2020. This reduction would apply to bottled water, but not to food sold through vending machines, soft drinks, dietary supplements, candy, tobacco or alcohol. To pay for the reduction, several service-related businesses that currently do not charge sales tax will be mandated to start adding sales tax beginning on July 1, 2017. They are pet care (excluding veterinarians); motor vehicle towing; collection agencies; mini-warehouse and self-storage; investigation; security guards and patrol; security systems (excluding locksmiths); and non-residential cleaning. These changes are expected to increase state revenues by more than $52 million in Fiscal Year 2018 and more than $161 million by FY 2022. Originally, this bill was to allow Marion County north of Wichita to add 0.5 percent to its sales tax, with voter approval, to provide property tax relief, pay for economic development initiatives and fund public infrastructure projects. Testimony on the Marion County sales tax proposal is available here.

Assistance for Kansans with Disabilities
S Sub for HB 2053 creates the Crisis Intervention Act to allow law enforcement personnel to transport people in their care to a “crisis intervention center” if there is such a center nearby. The Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) defines a crisis intervention center as any licensed entity that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve individuals in crisis because of mental illness or substance abuse. Anyone taken to a center by police must be admitted for evaluation. In addition, the bill allows a center to admit and detain any individuals who are at least 18 years old who are taken to a center for emergency observation and treatment upon written application of an adult or police officer. Finally, KDADS would create the Survey, Certification and Credentialing Commission to handle the increased caseloads involved in licensing these centers. The bill will cost the state almost $192,000 for Fiscal Year 2018. Both the House and Senate approved the bill without opposition. This bill was originally considered by the House as HB 2240. Read testimony for HB 2240 here.

Juvenile Justice Reform
H Sub for SB 42 improves the juvenile justice system in addition to updating SB 367, which is the juvenile justice reform bill enacted during the 2016 session. One change centers on juveniles evading their court-ordered supervision. The bill mandates that evading supervision does not necessarily become a technical violation of probation. Courts can issue a warrant only after there has been a reasonable effort to find the juveniles who have “absconded from supervision.” In addition, the bill creates a statewide, searchable database for juveniles who participate in certain intervention programs; makes changes to sentencing and placement of a juvenile who uses a firearm to commit a felony; and adds two members to the Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee. The House passed this bill, 118-3.

It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I both value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 43-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-4683 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.