Under the Dome
Turnaround
This is the “Turnaround” deadline when bills must be passed out of their House of Origin (the chamber in which a bill was introduced) and “turned around” to the other chamber. We had Monday and Tuesday off as legislative staff completed the paperwork to get dozens of bills ready for hearing in the opposite chamber. We begin hearings on bills received from the Senate on Wednesday.
The Blessing of the Bills
Bills are exempt from this deadline if they are introduced by or pass through an exempt committee. Exempt committees in the House include Appropriation, Federal & State Affairs, Taxation, and Calendar & Printing. At the Turnaround deadline, leadership will refer some bills through these committees before adjourning in order to make them exempt from deadlines, or “blessing” them to keep alive for future debate.
From the Senate
The term “Constitutional Carry” means carrying a handgun – concealed or open – without a permit or training. SB 45, which would bring this to Kansas, passed the first hurdle by passing the Kansas Senate on a vote of 31-7. I am grateful for the NO vote of State Senator Kay Wolf, the only Johnson County Senator to vote NO. Cosmetologists must have 1,500 hours of training to obtain their license and drivers must pass an exam before getting behind the wheel, yet we remove any training to own a lethal weapon. I don’t get it. But, I fear this effort may fly through the House like a silver bullet. Pun unfortunately intended.
Local Elections
SB 171 would move school district, city, community college, and other municipal elections to the fall of odd years and keep them non-partisan. My concerns on this issue center on the practicality from a board schedule perspective. These entities’ budgets run on a fiscal year schedule, so when elections are held in April, new members start at the beginning of a new budget year. If elections are held in November, new members would take office in the middle of one budget year and at the beginning of preparation for the next. All the cities I represent (Lenexa, Shawnee and Overland Park) plus the Shawnee Mission Board of Education all favor keeping local elections in the spring. After a long debate with a number of amendments, it passed the Senate on a 21-18 vote. Thank you to Senators Kay Wolf and Rob Olson, the only Johnson County Senators to vote NO.
On the Floor
Committees completed bill hearings Wednesday morning and we spent the remainder of Wednesday and all of Thursday on the House floor debating and voting on bills. Here is a sampling, all of which passed:
Many homeowners’ associations (HOA) have restrictions limiting yard signs altogether, or limiting the number or when they can be posted. If you feel like fighting your neighbors, these restrictions technically contravene the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech. HB 2096 would render those HOA covenants null. In its place, candidates would be able to place signs in requesting yards up to 45 days in advance of an election, usurping local control. I voted NO because Lenexa and Shawnee only allow signs within 30 days of an election, and the bill should have taken local control into account.
“The Chad Taylor bill” (HB 2104) would allow that only in the case of death could a candidate’s name be removed from a ballot. The bill passed 69-54; I voted NO. It is reasonable that candidates should not claim incapacitation when it is politically convenient or expedient. This bill is written too rigidly. I understand the concern, but there is a lot of room between an inability to perform one’s duty and death. Bad things happen when it is least convenient, and we need a little more wiggle room to account for significant physical and emotional situations.
Over the summer, the K-12 Study Commission met for hearings and deliberations on K-12 policy changes. A majority of the commission submitted recommendations to the legislature, one of which was a carefully negotiated compromise between superintendents and teachers unions on professional negotiations. Some on the committee disliked the recommendations and submitted a minority report, which was drafted into a bill and passed through the House Education Committee. On the House floor, however, a member of the House Education Committee introduced an amendment to gut the minority report bill in favor of that supported by the majority – the labor/management compromise. On a close vote of 67-52 (I voted YES), the “gut and go” amendment passed and HB 2326 passed the House and is headed for Senate consideration. In a year when education funding is a constant battle, this policy issue proved to be a watershed compromise that eventually 109 Representatives could support.
Committee Work:
This week’s calendar: The hearing schedule starts on Page 23.
Children & Seniors
When the state owns a casino, it can get creative about getting its bills paid. If you win big at a Kansas casino and you owe income, property taxes, or child support, HB 2269 would require the casino to withhold the amount you owe from your winnings. I like this concept in theory, but fear that in practice, especially at the Hollywood Casino just up the road, that it would encourage people to choose to spend their money at Missouri casinos instead. The bill did not pass out of committee this week. However, it was introduced by the Appropriations Committee, so it is exempt from legislative deadlines and we will continue to work on it.
Social Services Budget
It was quite a banner week in this committee as dirty tricks were the name of the game. The Children’s Initiatives Fund (CIF) has been decimated in search of money to fill the enormous budget hole. There is no better example of our kids paying for bad tax policy than with this budget.
Play-by-play: On Tuesday, while the committee was working the Department for Children and Families budget, Vice Chair Peggy Mast brought up the CIF budget for consideration, making a motion to cut all funding ($7.2 million) from the Parents As Teachers (PAT) program and sweep it into the State General Fund (SGF). Next, Committee Chair Will Carpenter moved to sweep $2 million from CIF into the SGF. After a $12 million sweep in this year’s rescission bill, that left just $500,000 in the Children’s Initiatives Fund. Two other committee members and I tried to fight both of these actions, but a majority of the committee supported them and the motions passed, which sent those recommendations on to the House Appropriations Committee. And then Kansas parents spoke…
The next day, in a meeting at the rail after the House session, the committee voted to reconsider its action and the DCF budget was pulled back into committee for additional consideration, with a hearing scheduled for this Thursday. It just so happens that Wednesday, March 4, is PAT day in the Capitol, and while they planned to celebrate their 25th anniversary of helping Kansas families, they will spend the day lobbying to save the program from extinction.
The Shawnee Mission (PAT) program is so popular it has a long waiting list. If you are unfamiliar with PAT, please check out its website to learn about the tips and tools it provides to families, as well as developmental testing to alert parents to therapeutic needs at an early age. If your family has benefited from PAT, now is the time to share your story and help to keep the program in place for future Kansas kids. Visit OpenKansas.org to find your legislator and email your support.
Ag & Natural Resources Budget
The committee held a joint meeting with the Senate Ways and Means Subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources regarding progress of the merger of the Kansas Veterinary Examination Board into the Department of Agriculture. This effort began last year, and while both parties agree it is for the best moving forward, there have been some transitional growing pains which will be fixed by making the situation more permanent. Also last week, we considered the budget of the Department of Agriculture.
