Senate Highlights
As we get settled into the second week of the 2018 legislative session, most of our work is concentrated in committees where bills are being prioritized and vetted. The Senate has 13 standing committees which cover many different topics, including education, agriculture, judiciary, and utilities—to name a few. In observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the legislature and state offices were closed Monday, January 15th. However, the abbreviated week did not slow committees from introducing and holding hearings on proposed legislation – as of Friday, the Senate has introduced roughly 50 bills in the first two weeks. Once a committee completes hearings and votes on a bill, if passed, it will then make its way to the Senate floor and the full body will begin to debate and vote on the measure. Floor debates and votes will begin in the coming weeks.
If you’re interested in tracking our work, you can head to our website at www.kslegislature.org and click on the calendar tab at the top of the webpage to view the senate’s daily schedule. You can also view live streams of the Senate sessions on the Legislature’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com – KS Legislature. Our Committee meetings are also audio live-streamed this year – you can find the agendas and listen-live button on the legislative website as well. You can also listen to archived committee meetings.
Floor Action
Seventeen Kansans were confirmed by the Senate to various positions and boards during the week for the first recorded votes. Irvin Mitchell (Russell County) and Leonard Wolfe (Marshall County) were confirmed on a vote of 39-0 to the State Banking Board.
Committee Assignments
My committees will remain the same as last year – I am the Chairman of Ethics, Elections and Local Government; I will serve on the Judiciary and Utility committees and will remain on the Historical Preservation Committee. I also was assigned to serve on the joint Legislative Post Audit Committee. This committee will not meet often during session but during summer and fall to consider specific subjects assigned to us by the Legislative Coordinating Council.
State of the State
On Tuesday, Governor Brownback gave his eighth and final State of the State address. The one point that received the strongest response was his proposal for Kansas to spend an additional $600 million on school funding over the next five years. Governor Brownback gave five strategic objectives for K-12 education – higher average teacher pay than surrounding states, increase the number of school counselors and school psychologists in Kansas schools by 150 positions each year; have at least 50 schools participating in the Kansans Can school redesign project; have every Kansas high school offer at least 15 credit hours of dual credit coursework to every high school student at no additional cost to parents and the choice of taking either the ACT college entrance exam or the Work Keys assessment at no cost. He also touched on added funding for the Department for Children and Families of $16.5 million and hiring 20 additional child welfare staff. He also proposes additional funding for the aviation industry in Wichita and requests an additional $1 million to an apprenticeship program which helps students seeking certification from trade schools and community colleges such as a CNA or mechanical license. The governor’s proposal would leave the government with a $266 million ending balance for FY 18. In the following fiscal year, the proposal would again boost state spending by $290 million leaving FY 19 with an ending balance at $150 million. The ending balances for this year and next year are only capable by further delaying state payments to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and drawing from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Governor Brownback mentioned Kansans he remembered during his public career including Leo Lange of Marysville – I also had the pleasure of meeting a 107-year old World War I veteran in Marysville, Kansas when I was in the Senate. Leo Lange was one of the very few World War I veterans still alive at the time. Mentally sharp, but laying in a deteriorated body, I asked him what was the biggest change he had seen in our nation over his many years. Again, without hesitation, he said, “When I was young we didn’t have anything but we were a lot happier.”
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER STATUE
On Wednesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on S.B. 262 – a Capitol Preservation Committee bill – which would authorize the construction of a statue honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower. S.B. 262 which is sponsored by myself and Senator Randall Hardy (R-Salina) would allow for construction to begin on the northwest quadrant of capitol grounds.
State law requires legislation to be passed before any statue or memorial be placed on capitol grounds. The monument would be a replica of the Jim Brothers statue of Eisenhower that resides in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The funds required for the installation and construction of the statue were raised through a private fundraising campaign. At Wednesday’s hearing the great-grandson of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Merill Eisenhower Atwater, spoke to endorse the legislation. Final action on S.B. 262 in the Senate Ways and Means Committee is scheduled for next week.
2018 Keep it Clean Kansas Calendar – Kansas Department of Health and Environment
This yearly calendar features the winning artwork of Kansas students grades K through 12 who entered the calendar contest. The Bureau of Waste Management has sponsored this contest since 2000 to encourage students, their families and other Kansans to respect and take care of our Kansas land, water and air. Tess Cecrl of Washington County High School drew the artwork for the December calendar page. Calendars are available at no cost at KDHE by calling Bill Bider at785-296-1600.
Page Dates
The Page program is designed for students in middle school, junior high or high school. Working as a page in the Kansas Legislature is an excellent way to learn more about the legislative process. I was a page in 1981 for Representative Bill Fuller and I still have my black and white photo as a memento hanging in my office. The dates assigned to us are Monday, February 5th, Thursday, February 8th, Tuesday, February 13th and Thursday, February 22nd. Please call my office and speak to Randi or email [email protected] to reserve a space.
Office Information
My office remains in the same suite, 223E (East wing second floor) next to the cage elevator. Randi Walters who has worked in the Capitol for 15 years as an assistant and a committee assistant will be my assistant again this year. When visiting the Capitol, look for the two kiosks in the Visitors Center where you will be able see the calendar of the day, events and now directions to find the offices of Capitol staff and legislators.
As session progresses, not every bill introduced will make it to the governor’s desk, but that doesn’t mean opinions, facts and testimony wasn’t heard. Your participation in the state legislature is vital. As we continue to weed through the different bills, I hope to hear from you. I want to know how legislation will impact you and our district, or the ideas you have to improve a bill. There’s still plenty of time to get involved, but the legislative calendar does move quickly, so if you have interest in a particular subject, be sure to engage soon. An email with your thoughts (not a form letter) is truly the best way to reach us as we sit in committees for most of the day and seldom get to stay at our desks for long periods.
Senate District 36 includes:
Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Republic, Rooks, Russell, Smith and Washington counties
Marshall County: Cities: Blue Rapids, Marysville, Oketo and Waterville; Townships: Blue Rapids, Blue Rapids City, Cottage Hill, Elm Creek, Herkimer, Logan, Marysville, Oketo, Walnut and Waterville
Phillips County: Cities: Agra, Glade, Kirwin and Phillipsburg; Townships: Arcade, Bow Creek, Crystal Deer Creek, Freedom,
Glenwood, Greenwood, Kirwin, Phillipsburg, Plum, Rushville, Solomon(part), Sumner, Valley and Walnut
Thank you for the honor of serving you!
Senator Elaine Bowers
Kansas State Capitol Building
Room 223-E
300 SW 10th St.
Topeka, KS 66612
[email protected]
785 296-7389
www.kslegislature.org