THE PHILLIPS FILES: Deadlines Approach

Thanks to the Wichita Eagle for covering the passage of my Save a Soldier’s Job bill. This measure would ensure when Kansas National Guard troops are called up for domestic concerns as part of a state, natural disaster, or public health deployment, their jobs are just as secure as during an international deployment.

Around the District

At this week’s legislative coffee hosted by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, we had a lengthy discussion, which was covered by the Manhattan Mercury. The bulk of the discussion centered on how the legislature is going to adopt a balanced budget. I pointed out the continued reliance on the Bank of KDOT to fund state operational expenses. The KDOT state highway fund budget is made up of bonding (borrowed money) and a portion of the sales tax. Since 2011, the legislature has used $2.1 BILLION from KDOT to prop up the state’s general operating budget. Using borrowed money to pay operating expenses is not how I run my household or business. Click on the graphic below to view the KDOT transfers.

I was thrilled to see so many at the Stand Up for Fort Riley listening tour event. More than 3,000 people showed to share their concerns and incredible stories about what the Fort means to Junction City, Manhattan and the surrounding area. I was proud of our community’s engagement and investment in this effort.

IN THE HOUSE

Riley County Sewer District Bill
HB 2164 is the bill I introduced in cooperation with the Riley County Public Works team, to help them make emergency repairs to a sewer system without a lengthy competitive bid process. There are several sewer districts in the county and the county commission is responsible for their operation. This does not eliminate an open bidding process, just increases the minimum threshold for the bid requirement from $1,000 to $15,000. The House Local Government committee raised the threshold to $25,000 and the bill passed the House Friday morning and is on its way to the Senate for another hearing.

Joint Rules
The Senate disagreed with the House’s version of the Joint Rules, which would prohibit bundling of more than two bills. The rules were sent back to the House for a procedural motion on whether to allow the rules to be changed without a 100% support of the House negotiators. The House did not allow this to happen and forced its hand against the Senate. However, the Senate countered with a bundling limit of four bills, with no limit on tax bills. As a second volley, I found it to be an acceptable compromise and it passed. 

Autocycles
You’ve likely seen SmartCars motoring around our communities, but there’s something even smaller – an autocycle – it’s like a trike motorcycle with a roof and hood and steering wheel. HB 2044 would recognize these as Class C vehicles instead of motorcycles. 

Out-of-State Crimes
The Corrections Committee tends to have bills which fix problems most of us have never considered, but are very valuable changes. For instance, when determining an offender’s sentence, judges take into consideration an offender’s criminal history. If that history includes out-of-state crimes, it is often an apples-to-oranges comparison. What is a Class A misdemeanor in Kansas might be a felony in Missouri, or vice-versa. HB 2055 would establish a procedure for comparing the offenses, versus the crime designation, to determine the comparable crime designation in Kansas. If the offender has an offense from another state which, in Kansas, is not a crime, it would be considered a Class C misdemeanor in Kansas, but not included in the criminal history.

Finally, I thought many might find HB 2006 applicable to you or your family. The bill would allow those with disabled veteran license plates to park for free in disabled parking spaces in parking facilities and public parking lots with parking attendants who collect payment.

COMMITTEE WORK: 
Next week’s committee hearings

The last two weeks have been hectic as we close in on the first legislative deadline. Wednesday is the deadline for bills to pass out of committee for consideration on the House floor next Thursday and Friday. Friday is the deadline for bills to pass from their “House of Origin”, also known as Turnaround.

Taxation
This week, committee hosted a series of hearings on “sin taxes” (cigarette, liquor). We had an informational briefing on how cigarette taxes are forecasted. While I’m not a fan of picking winners and losers among the “sins”, the briefing was helpful to learn historical trends. 

These taxes are part of the governor’s plan to fill the budget hole. The cigarette tax was last raised by $0.22 to $0.79 in 2002. If passed, HB 2306 would raise the tax by $1.50 per pack to $2.29 per pack. The bill would also raise the liquor enforcement tax (one of four layered taxes on liquor) from 8% to 12%. While I tend to support cigarette taxes as a public health measure to reduce smoking, forcing smokers to fill the budget gap is unfair. We held two days of hearings on this bill but it is not scheduled to be worked in committee next week. Raising the tax on cigarettes is projected to raise $72 million in 2016. These sin taxes in my view are not a sound solution to a shortfall expected to be over $600 million.

Finally, if you have delinquent property taxes, you’d better pay them now! HB 2167 would raise the interest rate collected on delinquent taxes by 5%.

Energy & Environment
You may have heard about the tragic Wichita accident which killed the wife of my colleague, and Energy & Environment Committee Chairman, Rep. Dennis Hedke. The committee held no hearings this week as he spends time with his family.

Local Government
Have you seen Cowley County’s historic stone bridges in southeast Kansas? HB 2238 would designate Cowley County as the official “Stone Bridge Capitol” of Kansas. Click here to view some of the 18 stone bridges in the county.

Children and Seniors
Manhattan’s own Dr. Susan Mosier, Secretary of Health and Environment gave the committee an overview of the KanCare program. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Mosier, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the job. While she presented a comprehensive overview, I want to share two key points affecting the Kansas budget. These two slides on Sustained Medicaid Growth and Projected Cost Increase were two key metrics from Dr. Mosier’s presentation to the committee. Please click to view the slides below as they come through very small in this format. 

It is very clear that in short order, Medicaid expenses will soon be taking a larger percentage of our state budget. Over the next five years in Kansas, enrollment in Medicaid is projected to grow almost 5 percent annually, while expenses will be growing at 7.4 percent annually. The bar chart below shows the 2012 distribution of the type enrollees and dollars spent. Please note the dollars are in millions. 

Please do not hesitate to reply with questions or comments. It is an honor to serve you in Topeka. 

Sincerely,

Tom Phillips
State Representative, District 67
Kansas House of Representatives