Hello from Topeka!

This is the two-minute warning for the first half of the 2019 Kansas Legislative Session. Most of next week will be spent on the house floor all day debating and voting on the bills produced through the committee process.

With that being said, it is time for a round of legislative updates on Friday, March 1st. There will be a more detailed schedule next week also check on kenforkansas.com or my social media channels.

Now, let’s get to some of the big items this past week: On Thursday, February 14th, the House considered HB 2197, which would reamortize KPERS for thirty years. This bill was introduced by Gail Finney (D-Wichita) on behalf of the Governor. The bill is the cornerstone of the Governor’s budget proposal. It proposes to extend the time that KPERS is not fully funded and this refinancing frees up some short-term dollars to support the Governor’s proposed spending increases.
The bill received a public hearing in the Financial Institutions and Pensions Committee and opportunity was provided to debate and amend the bill. It was imperative to see if this bill had any support before considering the entirety of the Governor’s Budget. With one third of the session in the books, house budget committee members needed to know if this “crucial” part of the Governor’s proposal had support.

On a motion to advance HB 2197 to final action, the motion failed with a super majority opposing the measure, effectively killing the bill. The vote was 36 in favor and 87 against. I along with all the remaining Republicans voted against advancing the bill and they we were joined by four Democrat colleagues. Supporting reamortization would extend the time KPERS is not fully funded by 15 years and leave a debt legacy of $7.4 billion more just to fund the Governor’s spending increases today. Protecting our retirees, responsibly paying down debt, and ensuring that future Kansans don’t have to incur massive debt for current spending are all priorities for our members. We stood together in defense of those priorities and against bad policy that violated them.

Also, this past week, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee we heard the Governor’s Supplemental Budget bill, HB 2121. Appropriation adjustments to the current approved budget for FY 19 include: $9.3 million SGF for a one-time payment to the federal government for debt setoff settlement agreement; $2.2 million SGF for the KanCare Clearinghouse; $6 million for revenue shortfalls at the four State Hospitals (Osawatomie, Larned, Kansas Neurological Institute, and Parsons); and $1.4 million SGF for medical contract funding in the Department of Corrections. Additionally, the Supplemental bill reflects caseload adjustments.

Additionally, the Governor added language replacing current law on the Budget Stabilization Fund, modifying how deposits and withdrawals would be made to the Fund. She also set up an deposit/withdrawal arrangement for a Debt Repayment Fund. The Governor’s Supplemental bill also pays the Pooled Money Investment Board loan in full, eliminating planned transfers to pay the interest-free loan off in FY 20-FY 24. The Governor also eliminates the transfer from the SGF to the KPERS Trust Fund of up to $56 million if SGF receipts are above the April consensus estimates.
The other budget bill, the Mega bill, is HB 2122.

The House Appropriations Committee has begun the process of considering Budget Committee recommendations this week. Those recommendations and any changes made by the Appropriations Committee will eventually become a budget bill for consideration by the House. The last of the Budget Committee reports will be made to Appropriations on March 13. The budget bill will be finalized in Appropriations after that date.

And on Wednesday, a Joint meeting of the House and Senate Education Committees were held to hear the Dyslexia Task Force Report. The Task Force was created in 2018 Sub. for HB 2602, a bill crafted and worked by the 2018 House Education Committee. The Task Force met five times during the 2018 Interim. The four Subcommittees met for additional days.

The Legislation provided a charge of four areas to study: 1) Research and recommend evidenced-based reading practices to address dyslexia or characteristics of dyslexia for use by schools. 2) Research and recommend high-quality pre-service and in-service professional development activities to address reading difficulties like dyslexia, including identification of dyslexia and effective reading interventions to be used in schools and within degree programs, such as education, reading, special education, speech-language pathology, and psychology. 3) Study and examine current state and federal laws and rules and regulations, and the implementation of such laws and rules and regulations that affect students with dyslexia. 4) Identify valid and reliable screening and evaluation assessment and protocols that can be used and the appropriate personnel to administer such assessments in order to identify children with reading difficulties, such as dyslexia or the characteristics of dyslexia as part of an ongoing reading progress monitoring system, multi-tiered system of supports, and Child Find special education eligibility for students.

The leadership of the Dyslexia Task Force was Chairperson Jim Porter (State Board of Education) and Vice-Chairperson Rep. Brenda Dietrich (R-Topeka). The Task Force organized its recommendations around the structure of the four subcommittees that were created: Pre-Service and Inservice Professional Development; Screening and Evaluation Process; Evidence-based Reading Practices; and Current State and Federal Law. The recommendations did not include any proposed legislation but did recommend that the Legislature reappoint the Dyslexia Task Force to meet once per year for three years to monitor progress of implementation of the recommendations. Also included was that the Legislature provide funding for: school districts to train staff on dyslexia and to train college of education professors who teach reading. A bill to reauthorize the Task Force has not been introduced this session.

Nearly all the recommendations provided guidance to the State Board of Education. Specific recommendations included: requirements for standards; examinations of certain teacher candidates on the science of reading; and encouragement of colleges of education to develop a course of study with a specialization in dyslexia and dyslexia-like characteristics.
We had a great group from Norton at the capital this week, they met with several new cabinet secretaries and had lunch with a number of members of the house and senate including Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers.

If you come to Topeka during the session, my office is in Room: 149-S. My phone number is (785) 296- 7463 and email is: [email protected] and you can always try my cell number is (785) 302-8416.

I hope to see you at one of the legislative updates on March 1st. It is my honor to by your representative.

Rep. Ken Rahjes (R-Agra), is the 110th state representative and chairman of the Higher Education Budget Committee. House District 110 includes Norton and Phillips counties as well as portions of Ellis, Graham, and Rooks counties.