“Things are changing quickly at the state capitol.
State Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, has had a week of ups and downs as the legislature moves into its final days of the session.
Earlier this week, the Senate passed its redistricting map, which would have kept all of Harvey County in McGinn’s district. The measure passed by a 21-19 vote.
At that time, she said she was pleased with the result but wasn’t celebrating yet.
“It isn’t over,” she said. “The house still has to pass it, and the governor could still veto the bill.”
Wednesday evening, the House introduced its own map for the Senate, which was much like one of the alternative maps the Senate had shot down earlier. The House voted 72-43 to not give the Senate map approval.
The new map would split Harvey County as well as the city of Newton. That would leave the southern half of the county in her district, and the northern half in District 35.
Rep. Don Schroeder, R-Inman voted to approve the Senate map, while Rep. Marc Rhoades, R-Newton, voted to not give approval.
“This is the first time the House has rejected a Senate drawn map. The result of this action makes the possibility of a court-drawn map much more likely,” Schroeder wrote in an email Friday morning. “I am not in favor of doing that.”
Rhoades said he would like to keep Harvey County in the same Senate district, but wrote in an email “the map that the Senate sent us wasn’t going to be adopted because of a plethora of other more disturbing problems, one of which would be it’s potential unconstitutional nature.
“For the first time in Kansas history, split up a Majority-Minority district in Dodge City and it had 32 of 40 Senate districts with deviations higher than 2.5 points which is unacceptable when we have many map options with much lower deviations,” he wrote.
Since it is so late in the session, it is not clear what will happen now, or if the governor vetoes the map the Senate passed.
“Whether it will come back to us for adjustment, or go on to the courts, is what we don’t know,” McGinn said. “This is a setback in getting the maps approved in a timely manner and indicates the House has taken the divisive step of ignoring the will of the Senate.
For decades the House and Senate have passed their own district maps and not interfered with each other.
In any case the courts still have to approve the redistricting maps of both houses.
“It is important to keep communities of interest-Harvey County and Northern Sedgwick County-together and that Harvey County is an important part of the south central Kansas economy. The Senate’s vote keeps Harvey County whole and communities of interest remain tied together in the 31st District,” she wrote.
Also this week the Senate passed its budget for the coming year. McGinn made the presentation on the Senate floor and answered questions. She had an easier time with this issue as it passed the Senate handily.
Questions of taxes and funding remain and may not get tackled until next week.
The Senate budget would give more money to the schools, but the entire school finance package is still in committee.
It will be added to the budget once it is approved there.
McGinn has continued to keep an eye on the various tax proposals.
Tax cuts are being discussed, and some want to reduce income taxes and sales taxes.
McGinn’s concern with that is a tax shift to property taxes.
There is also concern that if too many taxes are cut there will be a budget shortfall in coming years.
“A concern I have is that if we cut too much, we may have to go back and work on the budget again,” she said.
Cuts could also mean local bodies such as cities or schools would have to raise property taxes to make ends meet.”

The Veto Session started on Wednesday, April 25th and already Senate Committees have accomplished important work. The Senate Reapportionment Committee recommended to the full Senate a redistricting bill that includes State Senate, House, and Board of Education maps for consideration. The State Senate map in this bill was crafted with the input of all 40 Senators and seeks to maintain communities of interest as much as possible given population changes. Unlike some other maps, this map would keep all of Harvey County in the 31st District and preserve Harvey County’s small town and business ties with northern Sedgwick County.

Amtrak Plans Discussed In Committee

On Friday the 27th, the Senate Ways and Means Committee received an update on rail service from Acting Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Mike King. King discussed meetings that have occurred regarding the possibility of Amtrak relocating its Southwest Chief route from Western Kansas to a southerly route through Oklahoma. King discussed the capital improvement costs that may be necessary to keep the route in its current location. In addition, King and his staff updated the committee on the Heartland Flyer. Currently, rail service is not funded in the T-Works program and the Department will provide another update on the status of federal grants related to rail service. The Committee also heard from Pete Meitzner, Wichita City Councilman. I was pleased that he was able to come to Topeka to share the readiness of Wichita to absorb any transportation that would come through the community and to continue to support existing service.

Military Children Honored on the Senate Floor

April 27th I had the opportunity to honor military children on the floor of the Senate. Among those honored was Alison White, a fourteen year old from Valley Center. Alison attends the Valley Center Middle School, and enjoys playing basketball and “dusting clays” at the Ark Valley Gun Club in her free time. It was a pleasure to have Alison here at the Capitol last Friday.

KPERS Bill Passed From Committee

Senate Substitute for HB 2333 was recommended favorable for passage by the Senate Select Committee on KPERS and includes a new Cash Balance Plan for future public employees in the state, school and local groups who are eligible for KPERS. The bill also re-instituted sections of HB 2194 since only one of three triggers was met this Session in order for employer rates to rise faster and for employees to contribute more or get less in the multiplier. Also contained in the bill are provisions of SB 259, which helped school professionals working after retirement.

Agreement Reached Over Tax Bill

Senate and House Tax Committee negotiators reached agreement on tax legislation on Thursday the 26th. The agreement would cut individual income tax rates and phase out income taxes over five years for partnerships, sole proprietorships and other businesses. In addition, the state’s sales tax would be reduced from 6.3 percent to 5.7 percent in July 2013. The proposal will be presented to both chambers sometime in the next week or two. In seeing the fiscal impact, the ending balance will be 10.0% in 2013, 2.7% in 2014, and -3.2% in 2015. This proposal may be too expensive and need to be scaled back to keep our ending balance of 7.5%.

In Senate Ways and Means (SWAM), we are wrapping up all the subcommittee reports and will assemble a bill later this week.  Just last week, I finished up the Higher Education budget.  Overall, regent universities received flat funding and appeared to agree with the allotment, understanding we are still coming out of a recession. Concern, of course, remains high about student tuition that is getting higher with some potential students unable to finance some kind of higher education degree.

Tuesday March 6^th, we honored two principals from Hesston Public Schools.  Patrick Duffy was honored for receiving state and national principal of the year (2009, 2010) and Larry Thompson was honored as the 2011 Kansas secondary principal of the year.   Congratulations to the Hesston community for having outstanding leaders in your school district.

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to share a resolution brought forth by Aaron Coash of Valley Center.  Aaron lost his champion trained dog, Nikko, when he strayed and drank some antifreeze.   Through Aaron’s experience in 4-H, he wanted to make a positive difference by bringing awareness to antifreeze poisoning.  Aaron hopes to continue his efforts through introducing a bill next year that would require adding a bitter additive to discourage accidental consumption as 17 other states have done.

Last Thursday, SWAM had hearings on SB 440 which moves the creative arts industries into the Department of Commerce.  This bill would outline the governing body and would include members of the public and appointments by the Senate President, House Speaker and the Governor.  These individuals will help administer the funds needed to access regional and federal grants we were not able to qualify on last year.  Their duties will be to advance and develop strategies in arts and filmmaking.   They would also be in charge of developing a metrics to display the economic benefits of the Arts.

On the same day we heard the Arts Bill, I had the opportunity to meet with three art recipients of the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom art contest.  The winners by grade were Cody Sauerwein, 1^st grade, Ethan Neufeld, 2^nd grade, and Eli Regier, 4^th grade.  All three students attend Walton Rural.  It was great to see them and their families celebrating agriculture through arts.

On Monday the 12^th, we deliberated on the Department of Children and Family Services/ Department of Aging and Disability Services’ budgets (names subject to ERO 41).  These agencies are currently known as SRS and Department on Aging.  The subcommittee asked to have the recommendations of the Children’s Cabinet reinstated and provided additional dollars to restore cuts to mental health and early child hood development initiatives.  Other funding was also provided to foster care contracts to keep the commitment we made a year ago.  The full Committee will consider these recommendations on Wednesday.

This Wednesday, the Senate Reapportionment Committee will be looking at more Senate maps.  I look for us to take some kind of action within the next two weeks.  As I had indicated earlier, we are really getting down to the heart of the session.  I appreciate all of your input through emails and phone calls.  Thank you to all who have made the trip to Topeka to testify or just visit.

The Legislature returned last Wednesday, following a short break that marked “turn around” where bills had to have cleared their house of origin.  The pace for the next several weeks should increase substantially as there are many major issues to tackle in the next few weeks before the April 1^st Break.  Here’s a quick look at what’s happening:

Senate Resolutions 1827 and 1828

Senate Resolutions honored Patrick Duffy and Larry Thompson Jr., principals of schools in the Hesston School District. Duffy, retired from Hesston Elementary, was honored as the 2009 and 2010 National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Kansas by the Kansas National Association of Elementary School Principals. Thompson, the principal of Hesston High, was named the 2011 MetLife Principal of the Year by the Kansas Association of Secondary-School Principals. The two principals were in Topeka to be honored on the floor of the Senate.

Senate Resolution 1830

A Senate Resolution was adopted Wednesday recognizing the need to protect animals and children from the danger of antifreeze poisoning. Present for the adoption of the resolution was Aaron Coash, a 12 year-old Valley Center resident who brought the idea to the Legislature after his dog, Nikko, was killed by consuming antifreeze.

Tax Reform

Last week, the Kansas Department of Revenue reported that Kansas collected $29 million more in taxes than anticipated for the month of February.  Some attribute this to the economy recovering and people returning to work.  However, these increased tax receipts continue to fuel discussions about lowering income tax rates.

The Senate Tax Committee did not meet last week and are meeting this week, with a number of various measures slated for discussion. They will be hearing SB 376 which is Sen. Dick Kelsey’s comprehensive plan for reducing sales and income tax rates, as well as eliminating certain sales tax exemptions, imposing sales tax on certain services and providing a sales tax exemption for food.  It is likely they want to hear public input on the sales tax pieces before the work a final bill in order to determine the support for one item or another.

House Bill 2560-  Governor’s Tax Plan

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/hb2560_00_0000.pdf

FY 2013 Budget

The Senate Ways and Means Committee continues to review the subcommittee reports and make final recommendations to be included in their budget.

The House Appropriations Committee plans to work the Governor’s supplemental appropriations bill (HB 2493) and the Claims Against the State Bill (SB 294) into their mega budget bill.  The Committee expects to complete work on these bills by the end of this week, March 9 and debate it in the full House of Representatives by March 15.  The Senate plans to have their committee work complete and reported to the full Senate by March 16.  At this time, the Senate has not yet indicated when they expect to work the bill in the full Senate. Senate Bill 311 (supplemental appropriations) remains on general orders in the Senate.

SB 433 (Senate Mega Appropriations Bill)

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/sb311_01_0000.pdf

The governor’s budget can be found at: http://budget.ks.gov/

Medicaid Reform

Executive Reorganization Order 41 proposes the following:

-          Consolidating the financing arm of Medicaid in KDHE Division of Health Care Finance

-          Renaming the Department on Aging as the Department for Aging and Disability Services

-          Consolidating all disability waiver and mental health services from SRS into the new Department for Aging and Disability Services

-          Renaming SRS as the Department for Children and Families.

ERO 41

http://kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/ero_41.pdf

If the neither chamber rejects the ERO within 60 days of receiving it; it will go into effect July 1, 2012.  Despite growing concerns from advocates and interested parties, the Governor’s office maintains this is the approach his administration is going to take on the issue.

School Finance

Two weeks ago, the Senate Education Committee spent the bulk of the week working on the Governor’s School Finance proposal.  The committee failed to come to consensus and concluded that it needs much more study and discussion.  Chairwoman Sen. Schodorf, last week unveiled a simple bi-partisan school finance plan (SB 450) to get more money into the classroom and increase local control.  The plan keeps the current school finance formula intact, but adds $100 million in funding over the next two years.  The bill also raises the local option budget cap from 31% to 35% over the next two years.

SB 450

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/sb450_00_0000.pdf

For additional information on the school finance proposal:

https://governor.ks.gov/docs/2012-legislative-agenda/school-funding-formula-summary-final.pdf

Redistricting

The Senate Redistricting Committee last week voted to approve a map proposed by Senator Tim Owens, (Buffalo 1).

http://redistricting.ks.gov/_Plans/Draft_Plans/buffalo_1.html

The map collapses a Senate district on the southern border of Kansas and puts two senators in one district.  The seat will be relocated to Johnson County.

Chairman Tim Owens made comments before the committee about the desire for the House of Representatives to leave the Senate map alone.  He indicated the Senate does not plan to address the House map, but would reconsider making adjustments to it if the House begins reviewing the Senate map.

Two weeks ago the Governor’s Chief of Staff weighed in on the Senate Redistricting discussion indicating he’d like the map gives Leavenworth their own Senate district which would exclude two Democrats.

Hunting and Fishing Licenses

Since the introduction of this bill (SB 314) by the Department of Wildlife and Parks and Tourism, legislators have been considering a proposal to collect fees from senior citizens obtaining hunting and fishing permits.  Currently, Kansans who are 65 and older are exempt from paying for hunting and fishing licenses.  The annual permits are $20.50 each. A compromise was reached today in the Senate Natural Resources Committee that created a senior pass for people from the ages of 65 to 75, and those older than 75 will not need a pass or license at all.

SB 314

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/sb314_00_0000.pdf

Ways and Means Committee

The Senate Ways and Means Committee had a hearing and worked Senate Bill 436, which creates the Kansas newborn screening fund. The Committee also heard House Bill 2429, an act removing expiration dates for the state educational institution project delivery construction procurement act. The Committee reviewed and favorably passed the following Subcommittee Reports: KDHE-Environment; Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism; the Department of Education; School for the Deaf; School for the Blind; the Water Office; Historical Society; and State Library. Senator Kelly introduced Senate Bill 446, an act concerning removing sunset on tax credits for restoration, preservation, or operation of certain historic sites. Senator McGinn brought forth Senate Bill 447, regarding Wildlife and Parks vessel fees. Senator Schodorf introduced Senate Bill 450 concerning school districts, relating to Base State Aid Per Pupil, and the Local Option Budget. Senator Vratil brought to the Committee Senate Bill 448, which grants authority to the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf in some fiscal matters. SB 448 came out of subcommittee recommendations.

From the Desk of Senator McGinn                                               2/16/2012

Last week we had a glitch in the e-news blast and some of you received multiple copies. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. We think we have fixed the problem. Please let us know if we did not.

Kansas policymakers will near the half way mark of the session in just a few weeks.  Most key issues facing the legislature are still being considered in various committees (tax reform, school finance, and KPERS).  Here’s a quick guide to the deadlines that keep the legislative process moving:

February 10-the last day for committees to introduce bills

February 24 – deadline for bills to have cleared their House of Origin

March 31- Consideration of all bills prior to the April Break

April 1-24- April Break (Except for budget committees who will return early to finalize their budget recommendations)

April 25- Veto Session begins.

Bethel College Resolution

On February 15^th, I offered a resolution (SR 1820) honoring Bethel College on its 125^th anniversary. I was pleased that President Perry White and his wife Dalene and former President Laverne Epp and his wife Marilyn were able to receive the resolution and be acknowledged with a standing ovation.

Tax Discussions

The House Tax Committee spent two days this week holding hearings on the Governor’s Tax Proposal (HB 2560).  Many of the proponents voiced support for updating the tax structure in Kansas and suggested a variety of amendments to the bill.  Opponents to the bill also brought suggestions, expressing concern for the elimination of numerous tax credits which have spurred economic activity and/or have supported low income Kansans.  The Senate Tax committee will take up the Governor’s Tax Plan next week with two days of hearings scheduled.

A hearing was held on my bill (SB 312) this week in the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee. My bill rolls back the sales tax six months early and ensures that the Legislature keeps its promise. My bill keeps the highway maintenance program in place—which pays for the T-Works projects, such as the roundabout at US-50 and Anderson Rd. and improves the off ramp on I-35 where the logistic park is located in Newton. The maintenance dollars also are responsible for the improvements to US-54 in Wichita.

FY 2013 Budget

Having completed their work on the Governor’s current year supplemental appropriations bill (SB 311), the Senate Ways and Means Committee is now in the thick of hearing subcommittee reports and making budget recommendations for next year’s budget.

The Governor’s budget can be found at: http://budget.ks.gov/

Medicaid Reform

This week, the Governor issued his first Executive Reorganization Order (ERO) of the 2012 Legislative Session.  ERO 41 would propose the following:

-          Consolidating the financing arm of Medicaid in KDHE Division of Health Care Finance

-          Renaming the Department on Aging as the Department for Aging and Disability Services

-          Consolidating all disability waiver and mental health services from SRS into the new Department for Aging and Disability Services

-          Renaming SRS as the Department for Children and Families

If the neither chamber rejects the ERO within 60 days of receiving it; it will go into effect July 1, 2012. You can read the executive summary of the proposal at:

http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/medicaid_reform_forum/download/KanCare_Executive_Summary.pdf

You can read ERO 41 in full at: http://kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/ero/41/

School Finance

Senate Education committee spent the week hearing from interested parties concerning the Governor’s proposed School Finance Plan.  The discussions focused on three areas: funding formula, career technical education and teacher evaluation.    Legislators looked to the local school districts to help them understand exactly how this proposed formula will affect their districts.

Much of the discussion is narrowing in on the Local Option Budget (LOB) and what will happen to poorer districts if the cap is raised and the wealthier districts can raiser the LOB as high as they would like. Although the wealthier districts seem to be happy with the LOB increase, they have major concerns about what the funding formula does to at-risk students.

The Education committees will continue to sift through the proposal as they try to understand the new formula and its affect on Kansas schools. The teacher evaluation proposal that evaluates teachers and places the results online will most likely not make it into the final bill. Many argue the provision would create more problems than it would solve.

For additional information on the school finance proposal:

https://governor.ks.gov/docs/2012-legislative-agenda/school-funding-formula-summary-final.pdf

Changing Liquor Laws

Last week, the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee heard two days of testimony on HB 2532 which would allow liquor to be sold in convenience stores and grocery stores.  The Committee created a subcommittee to look at the issue and report back to the full committee with their recommendations.  The bill will need to pass on the House Floor before coming to the Senate for consideration.

The measure has not been acted on in the Senate, as a similar measure was killed last year by the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee.

KPERS

Legislators in both the House and Senate have been meeting for the last five weeks trying to come up with a more efficient KPERS system to save the state money and keep promises made to those vested in KPERS.  So far there has been little work produced outside of the House and Senate Committees and projected costs of the program continue to go up.

Concealed Carry Measure

After hearing two days of testimony on HB 2353, which would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry in all public buildings such as libraries, hospitals and college campuses, unless all entrances to those buildings have metal detectors.

The measure has passed out of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, and will now move to the full House of Representatives

Groundwater Rights

The elimination of the “use it or lose it” policy for groundwater rights in areas closed to new water right development was unanimously passed February 16^th in the Senate. HB 2451 is one of the key proposals outlined by the Governor.

The Ways and Means Committee for the Week of Feb. 6^th

The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on SB 336, which creates the Disaster Reimbursement Fund using Kansas Universal Service Funds and taxes collected on insurance premiums. Hearings on SCR 1611, amending the State Constitution to create a rainy-day contingency reserve fund (using annual transfers), began this week. A presentation from Bernie Koch informed the Committee about the findings of the Economic Impact of Proposed Spending Reductions in Kansas study sponsored by the Kansas Economic Progress Council. (Found online at http://ksepc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Economic-Impact-tax-reductions-KEPC-Study.pdf) The Committee passed an amended SB 311, the supplemental appropriations for FY12 and FY13. The Committee also heard an update on Food Stamp Policy and a report on the Kan-Ed Audit.

Senators Schodorf and V. Schmidt proposed bills this week in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Schodorf’s bill (SB 407) regards mammography exams. Schmidt’s bill (SB 397) changes terminology in statues from the term “mental retardation” to “intellectual disability” and other similar terms.

The Committee reviewed and adopted the following Subcommittee Reports: Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, Governmental Ethics Commission, Kansas Human Rights Commission, State Corporation Commission, Department of Agriculture, State Fair Board, Department of Labor, Veterans’ Affairs, and the Juvenile Justice Authority.

The Ways and Means Committee for the Week of Feb. 13^th

This week the Senate Ways and Means Committee discussed the proposed changes to Managed Care and ERO No. 41. A bill making technical amendments to KPERS law (HB 2460) was also heard this week.

The Committee reviewed and adopted the following Subcommittee Reports: Public Safety (EMS, Sentencing, Fire Marshall, Highway Patrol, Adjutant General, and the KBI), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment-Health, the Judiciary (Judicial Council, BIDS, Judicial Branch), and the Department of Transportation.

Sen. McGinn introduced a KPERS bill (SB 429), which was sent to the Senate KPERS Select Committee, as well as a driver’s license bill and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) bill. Sen. Vratil introduced two bills, regarding yard waste (SB 432) and credit unions (SB 431). Sen. McGinn also introduced a bill that expanded the Kansas housing loan program to include adult care facilities (SB 427). Sen. Holland requested a bill regarding phasing out the food sales tax (SB 428).

From the Desk of Senator McGinn                                         February 2, 2012

 Congressional Map Advanced in Senate

On Wednesday, the Senate advanced a plan to redraw the Congressional population lines as required to reflect the 10 year census numbers.  I thought we might see a lot of plans and long debate, but after a little over an hour and three maps proposed, a map was passed.

The first map was proposed by Senator Roger Rietz (R-Manhattan), to keep Geary and Riley County, which includes Kansas State University, in the second district (Rep. Lynn Jenkins).  The problem with this proposal dealt with trying to limit the amount of communities being split in order to get the needed number to balance district populations.

The second proposal was offered by Senator Mike Petersen (R-Wichita).  His proposal split our capital city, a city of the first class, along with Shawnee County in half (between the first and second Congressional Districts).  This proposal would have put our capitol in the first district, which is primarily western Kansas.  The concern I had was that it violated a rule of reapportionment, which is to keep communities in common together.  The final map, which was the map that passed out of the Senate Reapportionment Committee, had the fourth district (Rep. Mike Pompeo) returning Montgomery County back to the second district which is what we heard supported by southeast Kansas citizens during hearings last summer.  It added six western county districts to the fourth district.  Keep in mind, the Senate map will have to be conferenced with the House and will most likely be modified through our process. The House passed a bipartisan State House map on the same day.

To see map proposals and a list of criteria for drawing districts please go the links below:

http://redistricting.ks.gov/

Sen. Reitz’s amendment:

http://redistricting.ks.gov/_Plans/Proposed_Plans/consolidated-m5_postrock.PDF

Sen. Petersen’s amendment:

http://redistricting.ks.gov/_Plans/Proposed_Plans/m5_34thgreatstate2.pdf

SB 344, the Senate Reapportionment Committee’s recommendation, approved by the full Senate:

http://redistricting.ks.gov/_Plans/Proposed_Plans/m5_sunflower9c/m5_sunflower9c.html

New Appointments at the Capitol

Governor Sam Brownback announced the appointment of former State Representative Phyllis Gilmore as Secretary of SRS, (soon to be the Kansas Department for Children and Families). She replaces Rob Siedlecki who resigned earlier this year to return to Florida.

Rainey Gilliland will serve as the acting director of the Legislative Research Department. He replaces Alan Conroy, who is leaving to become the executive director of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

The House of Representatives welcomed its newest member this week as Tom Phillips was sworn in as the Representative for the 67^th House district. Phillips is the former mayor of Manhattan and replaces Rep. Susan Mosier, who resigned to become the director of Medicaid services for Kansas.

Tax Discussions

The January tax-only revenues were down $30.6 million from estimates made in November by the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group. The Department of Revenue indicates that this is due to their ability to issue individual income tax refunds faster to those that file electronically.

Tax discussions will escalate this coming week, as the House Tax Committee has scheduled hearings on the Governor’s Tax Proposal (HB 2560). Further refinement of the proposal was promised as it is now estimated to cost the state approximately $100 million. Also to be reviewed is the House Leadership Tax proposal, which is said to be about $160 million under water.

HB 2560 – Governor’s Tax Plan

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/hb2560_00_0000.pdf

Now that the Senate Tax Policy Group has finished its work, the full Senate Tax Committee is eager to receive a report with its findings and suggestions. In the meantime, the Committee has begun hearing bills on various income tax credits, which may lead to a broader discussion on tax policy. Discussion continues on which tax policy would best provide fairness, stability, and balance.

Medicaid Reform

There has been concern from senators regarding the Governor’s Medicaid Reform package. Legislators will not be able to change the plan as it does not require legislation. It will be implemented through a bid process with managed care companies who will take over the administration of the Medicaid services in Kansas. As a result, Rep. Jim ward introduced a bill this week that would require an annual evaluation of the state’s Medicaid managed care contractors.

Blue Cross of Kansas, the state’s largest insurance company, announced they will not bid to be Medicaid managed care contractor. This announcement fuels discussion on whether the Governor’s plan places unrealistic expectations on those Medicaid managed care contractors.

You can read the executive summary of the proposal at:

http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/medicaid_reform_forum/download/KanCare_Executive_Summary.pdf

School Finance Debate

This week the Senate Education Committee held three days of hearing on SB 361, which is the Governor’s school finance plan. The hearing will be broken into three topics: Day 1 the Committee heard testimony on the funding formula, Day 2 regarded career technical education, and Day 3 was focused on the teacher evaluation proposal and certification. Education professionals and advocates have encouraged policymakers to think twice before approving the Governor’s school finance plan. The plan has drawn criticism because of a new provision to evaluate teachers and have the results posted on the internet. The provision also includes providing $5,000 bonuses to teachers who are rated highly effective.

For additional information on the school finance proposal:

http://governor.ks.gov/docs/2012-legislative-agenda/school-funding-formula-summary-final.pdf

Kansas Bioscience Authority

The nearly $1 million forensic audit found just under $5,000 in expenses that have now been repaid by former KBA CEO Tom Thornton. It is still uncertain when the $22 million dollars appropriated for the KBA (held up by the Brownback Administration) will be freed for key bioscience investments. Earlier this year, the Governor’s Budget Recommendations called to fully fund the KBA at $35 million. Lawmakers will look at KBA funding during the budget process to determine how to proceed with the agency. However, many have concluded that the audit was thorough and the KBA must return to its core mission of growing the biosciences in Kansas. Additionally, it should be noted that the KBA receives funding through a mechanism set up by the Kansas Economic Growth Act. Funds are based on the growth of state income tax withholdings from employees of bioscience-related companies.

Concealed Carry Measure

The House Federal and State Affairs Committee continued discussion last week on HB 2353, a key gun proposal. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Forrest Knox, and if enacted, would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry in public buildings such as libraries, hospitals, and college campuses unless all entrances to those buildings have metal detectors. Law enforcement officials testified in strong opposition to the measure, explaining that their professional public safety experience and knowledge convince them that the proposal would jeopardize public safety.

Proposed Healthcare Amendment

Since the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act by the U.S. Congress, Kansas legislators have spent an abundance of time trying to figure out the most effective ways to turn it away. Last year, the Kansas House of Representatives passed HCR 5007, a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at preserving the right to choose health care services. It has to be approved by a super majority in both chamber and placed on the November ballot to be voted on. The resolution came to the Senate, where it was sent to a Judiciary subcommittee, but did not gain enough support to pass out of the full committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee took that measure up again this year, and it gained just enough votes to be advanced to the full Senate. Opponents argue that by the time the Kansans vote on this, the United States Supreme Court will already heard arguments regarding the Affordable Health Care Act.

Senate Ways and Means Committee for the Week of Jan. 30^th

The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard and passed out favorably SB 294, which contains the Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State recommended payments. The Committee was briefed on and subsequently passed SB 311, which addresses supplemental appropriations for FY ‘12 and FY ‘13 for various state agencies. The Committee was also briefed on SB 338, regarding the enactment of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Act of 2014. Senator King gave the report of the KPERS study commission. Rebecca Proctor presented the Senate Minority Report on the KPERS Study Commission. The Committee approved the appointment of Kenneth Buchele to the Board of Directors of the Kansas Bioscience Authority. Mr. Buchele was nominated by Senate President Morris. The Committee held a hearing on SCR 1611, a constitutional amendment that creates a “rainy day fund”.

The Committee introduced a tax bill by Senator Kelsey. Senator Huntington introduced a bill relating to persons making reports of abuse or neglect of children (SB 36

Arts Commission

With 24 votes, the Senate rejected the Governor’s Executive Reorganization Order (ERO) that would have privatized the Arts Commission. This ERO would have saved a relatively small amount of money compared to other EROs.  Many Kansans are very passionate about the arts – including many in our district.

The Senate Ways & Means Committee included some funding in the budget bill for the commission. The challenge will be whether it can sustain a line item veto.

Budget

As I mentioned, this week my committee put together all the pieces of our various subcommittee reports into one mega bill and sent it to the floor for consideration by the full Senate.

We used the Governor’s FY2011 rescission plan as the basis for the FY2012 budget. His rescission plan called for an ending balance of $35 million. However, when Governor Brownback used his statutory authority to enact allotments to balance the FY2011 budget, that authority only allowed him to take the budget to a zero balance; it did not allow for his proposed $35 million ending balance. That meant lawmakers had to find an additional $35 million to make up that difference.

Senate Ways and Means met the Governor’s ending balance objective, produced a fiscally responsible budget bill that does not raise taxes, ends FY2012 in the black, and promotes job growth.

Engineering

Another bit of good news for future job growth: My committee heard and sent to the floor the proposal to increase engineering graduates at Wichita State, K-State and KU.  Last week, we experienced a great deal of support from engineering industries and the universities for this initiative to use future state funding sources, matched with private dollars, to expand engineering programs and add over 1,300 graduates per year. I expect the full Senate to debate the bill next week.

Spring is around the corner and so is our break.  I look forward to being home in the district and starting my spring planting and garden.  Maybe I will see some of you around the community.

Engineering Initiative

Cessna CEO Jack Pelton speaks in the Senate Chamber about growing engineering jobs in Kansas.

Taking a proactive approach to growing jobs in Kansas, we kicked off a proposed initiative at a press conference Thursday morning in the Senate Chamber.  Industry leaders Cessna CEO Jack Pelton, Black and Veatch CAO Jim Lewis and I spoke on the need to increase engineering programs and graduates in Kansas. It was one of the largest press conferences in recent memory – Spirit, Boeing, Bombardier, Westar and many other businesses were represented as well.

Senator McGinn at the engineering initiative press conference

Our state’s economy, particularly our region’s economy, relies heavily on the work of engineers.  For every engineer hired in the state of Kansas, 1.78 other jobs are created.  However, our universities providing engineering education (Wichita State, K-State and KU) cannot keep up with demand to graduate enough qualified engineers each year – particularly as our economy begins to rebound.

The effort is “being done for economic purposes,” said Wichita State University president Don Beggs, who was with the senators in Topeka as they described their proposal.  Beggs continued, “We appreciate that the governor and the state, even in the toughest of economic times, has put dollars in.”

The Governor took the first step by providing a $1 million initial investment in his budget to help the universities expand the number of engineering graduates.   The Senate’s initiative builds on the Governor’s recommendation, and a proposal started in 2008 by Senate President Morris.  This is all about JOBS and our state’s long-term economic prosperity.

Ways & Means Committee

This week, we will assemble all of the subcommittee reports that we have been working on over the past six weeks into what we call a mega-budget bill. To date, my committee has stayed close to the spending level proposed by the Governor.  Several issues remain outstanding, including the future of KTEC, the Arts Commission and Parole Board.

Our conference committee on the Governor’s rescission bill held numerous meetings last week attempting to come to a compromise between the House and Senate positions. The House proposed to accept the final Senate offer but indicated that they would not support the package on the House floor – in essence ensuring that the proposal would fail and bring us back to square one.  The Senate felt this was not a good faith offer.

Governor’s allotments began Friday-most of which was a $50 million cut in education to pay for social services. Because the state received a federal grant for schools unexpectedly, the governor and both chambers had agreed to cut schools by an equal amount in state dollars to pay for social services and build an ending balance to $35 million. Since House conferees would not support the final package on the House floor, destining it for failure, we will most likely take a $0 balance carry over into 2012 instead of $25 million ending balance proposed by the Senate offer. To take care of social services, we will have to have legislative action.

As always, even with a hectic schedule, I appreciate those of you from the district who travel to see me in Topeka.  I am sorry I am not always available to see everyone.  I will continue to remain focused on our Governor’s roadmap to create and increase jobs and improve the economy in our state.

EROs

ERO 39, the Governor’s Executive Reorganization Order that would eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission as a state agency, and transition it into a private organization faced opposition in the Federal and State Affairs Committee.   The Committee presented a resolution to retain the Arts Commission as a state agency expressing concerns of losing federal funding.  The full Senate will vote later this month on whether to maintain or abolish the Arts Commission.

Governor’s Rescission Bill 2011

Several Conference Committee meetings between the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Appropriations Committee over the Governor’s proposed 2011 budget cuts yielded no final resolution between the two committees.  One of the largest outstanding issues is the Special Education Maintenance of Effort (MOE). Under the federal stimulus, Kansas must meet this MOE or face losing $20-plus million in federal special education dollars each and every year going forward.

The last position put forth by the Senate Conference Committee would meet the MOE. We continue to wait for the House to call us back into a Conference Committee.  The Senate remains ready and open to negotiations to move forward in this process.

Budget 2012

Subcommittees continue to develop 2012 Budget Recommendations.  As subcommittee work winds down, our focus will shift to the full Ways & Means Committee and putting together a final budget bill, known as the mega bill, to send to the Senate floor.  I continue to be very busy as the Chair of the Committee, and there are many upcoming hurdles.  There are significant funding issues to grapple with such as K-12 Education, Medicaid and KPERS.

Special Recognitions

Senator McGinn with Jordy Nelson, KSU football standout and Super Bowl star.

I had the opportunity to be part of a Senate Resolution honoring Jordy Nelson of the Green Bay Packers, who was a former Kansas State football standout.  It was great to have him come to the Senate Chamber.

We had a chance to recognize Sister Helen Prejean on the Senate floor, for her years of service working toward the abolition of the death penalty.  Sister Helen has pondered deeply–up close & personal– the tragedies of homicide and the death penalty.   Through the stories recounted in her books:  Dead Man Walking, and The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions, we see more clearly what capital punishment truly is when the masks are taken away.  Sister Helen’s profound impact on the thinking of church & society about the death penalty has made a difference to legislators, church leaders, and countless people throughout the world.

At the capital to recognize Kidney Awareness Day: Johnye Van Hekken, Cindy Zielke, Carol Musick, Wendy Funk-Schrag, Carolyn McGinn, and Tom Musick

This past Thursday, I sponsored a resolution for Kidney Awareness Day.  Sometimes we are dealt the challenges of diabetes from our genetics.  Other times we get it later in life.  Some of the harmful impacts of this disease can be controlled by keeping track of your blood pressure, eating right, and exercising.  With health care costs increasing, we need to look at lifestyle changes to prevent serious illness that may impact us for years.  I want to thank Wendy Funk-Schrag from Harvey County, Cindy Zielke a nurse with Kansas Dialysis Services from Topeka, Johnye Van Hekken a social worker with DaVita from Wichita, Tom Musick a dialysis patient from Wichita, and Carol Musick who is Tom’s wife and caregiver for being at the capitol to increase awareness of this challenge to 2,500 Kansans across the state.

It is good to be home from a most challenging legislative session. Life on our farm, including driving tractors, looks like a great alternative. This was a year of difficult discussions, which have relieved some constituents and upset others.  At times, the legislative process can move quickly, and there can be misinterpretations about the various proposals, issues and ideas being discussed.  I hope to provide some additional perspective to further explain our struggles with the issues and options and impacts.

I first want to clarify some misinformation about our budget and tax discussions.  There were many proposals presented during the session, and some versions were heartily endorsed as the “best” options.  Bottom line, as Kansans, we share the pain of the economic difficulties.  Each proposal, like it or not, comes with challenges, opportunities and even consequences.

Selling off state buildings and properties was proposed.  We should definitely look into this. However, trying to do this in one year virtually assures it will be a fire sale, and taxpayers in the state of Kansas will surely lose. Realistically, of our state-owned assets, the Docking building should be imploded; the Landon building is valued at maybe $40 million. Many other buildings are scattered around the state.  Some state-owned buildings — some donated by alumni — sit on our university campuses. Other buildings house regional offices.  While there might be an immediate receipt of cash after selling the buildings, we would still have to rent back the office space at a rate to include maintenance and a profit for the new owner.  It will require careful analysis to determine whether it makes sense or not. The Kansas Dept. of Transportation owns property purchased for easements or rights of way and some could definitely be sold to adjoining landowners over time. We need to study this option and clean up the state’s inventory; this could produce some future revenue.

Another proposal counted on federal dollars that had not been and still have not been secured.   I found that interesting since I am often asked, “Why are we spending money we don’t have?  We don’t do that with our own family budgets.”  The Federal Medicaid Assistance Program (FMAP) was ultimately included in the final budget, but if this does not come through as hoped, we will have $130 million less and will have to adjust for it next year.  The bed tax was also proposed, which I believe should be used for our elderly in nursing homes, not to backfill our budget.

Many say our budget problems result from overspending. I agree changes need to be made in the way we evaluate agency budgets. The Kansas Supreme Court decision on K-12 public education funding forced the State to significantly increase its budget. The House proposed a budget to cut around $172 million to K-12 education, and Governor Parkinson promised to veto this because of a possible violation of taking the stimulus money.  Had we followed this path of trying to cut K-12 as proposed, most likely we would still be in session, wasting your tax dollars, and we would end up with the same results, given the Governor does not change until January.

Our greatest challenge for our state, though, is decreased tax revenues due to the faltering state and US economy. We have already cut over $1 billion out of a $6.3 billion state general fund budget! When the Senate considered deeper cuts to social services, we heard loud and clear the impact it would have on local units of government – not to mention the effect on some of our most vulnerable and needy citizens.

The bottom line:  if the State had not imposed the three-year sales tax, counties and school boards in my district would almost certainly have had to increase property taxes.  If I had voted to balance the state budget problems on the backs of local government, they have very little choice in how to fund the services to our elderly and those most needy. Property tax increases unfairly burden people on fixed incomes, business and industry property owners, and farmers.  Property tax increases rarely go away over time. With sales tax, everyone — including people who travel through our state and individuals who are here illegally – pays.  It is also designed to “sunset” after a set period.

I’ve been asked how I voted on taxes.  In 12 years as a public servant, I voted many times to cut taxes. As a County Commissioner, I voted to lower the mill levy three consecutive years. After 9/11, the economy suffered, and the County made extreme cuts to get through.  This was tough because, in addition to our local challenges, the State of Kansas cut demand transfers, which were originally created in the 1970’s to help local governments reduce property taxes.

As a State Senator, while the economy was strong, I voted to cut the franchise tax (a tax just to do business in Kansas), to cut corporate income taxes, to reduce taxes on machinery and equipment and to begin the phase-out of state taxes on social security. Those cuts were good for Kansas and made our state more business-friendly. While cutting the machinery and equipment tax had a negative impact on local government, a slider was implemented to ease the financial loss. Unfortunately, the slider was later taken away to balance the budget.

At the end of the day (and legislative session), the good news is that the Kansas Constitution requires a balanced budget.  Let’s remember that taxes can also be adjusted annually.  Even though the sales tax is on a three-year plan, it can be changed if other options arise.  If the next governor opposes the sales tax, he can propose to remove it, or if our state economic conditions improve and our state budget situation becomes more manageable, the legislature can move to adjust or remove it.  I will listen to any plan that will balance the budget, as long as it is based on sound fiscal policy.  I believe long-term vision can prevent greater costs in the future.

Thank you for your notes, calls and comments during this past session.