Good Morning All:
Senate Standing Committees have completed their meeting schedules for this legislative session. Next week we will meet Monday thru Wednesday working bills on the Senate floor all day, coming back March 28 for the final week of the regular session. The Legislature then goes on break till April 27, when we will return for the Veto Session to work the final budget bills. Tensions are running high in the hallways of the capitol as legislation is debated in the House and the Senate.
I had several visitors stop by from back home to say hello, which is always a welcome. Leavenworth County Republican Party Chair John Bradford and Leavenworth County Clerk Janet Klasinski came to the capitol to testify in opposition to a bill that would change the election dates for city and county elections. Melissa Bynum, her children Lauren and Ted, and her sister Janis Camerlink stopped by my office while they were in the capitol. And Dr. William Reed, Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Kansas Hospital spent time over lunch with the members of the Wyandotte and Leavenworth Legislative Delegation.
I hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day and GOOOOOO JAYHAWKS and WILDCATS in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. My brackets are still alive, even though I picked Bucknell to beat Connecticut. What can I say, it was my upset pick for Round 1. :)
Kelly
Legislative Update
Week 9
Senator Kelly Kultala
March 18, 2011
IN THIS ISSUE:
· Floor Schedule Changes
· District Happenings
· Arts Commission Saved
· Allotments Affect Public Schools
· KPERS Proposal
· Vietnam War Medallion Program
· Keeping Families Together
· Legislation Passes Regarding Motorcycle and Bicycle Riders
· Breach of Privacy Legislation Moves Forward
· Synthetic Marijuana, Bath Salts Banned
· Voter ID Moves Out of Committee
· Office of the Repealer Now Taking Recommendations Online
· Important State Phone Numbers
FLOOR SCHEDULE CHANGES
The 2011 Legislative Session is inching closer to adjournment. Today was the last day for committees to meet. Next week senators will work all day on the floor to push through important legislation.
In future weeks, Senators will continue meeting with conference committees. These committees differ from Senate and Joint Committees, as they include three members from both chambers. These members are appointed to iron out any differences between House and Senate versions of bills. Their compromises are then sent to both chambers for approval.
All House and Senate sessions are open to the public. And live broadcasts of Senate and House proceedings can be found at www.kslegislature.org. To hear legislative proceedings, just click on the “Listen in Live” link.
I am honored to serve as your Senator. My office is located in room 124-E. Please feel free to visit or to contact me at 785-296-7357, if you should have any questions.
DISTRICT HAPPENINGS
· Congratulations to Leavenworth County native Justin Smith and Wyandotte County natives Caleb Christianson, Anthony Johnson, and Joshua Williams, who have received Spring 2011 Undergraduate Research Awards by the University of Kansas. The awards support original, independent research such as music composition, design, and development.
· Col. Sharon H. Baker has been selected as keynote speaker for the Women’s History Month Luncheon. Baker is the first woman to command the Combined Arms Training Support Center and the first female commander of the 838th Transportation Battalion. The luncheon will be held March 24th at the Heritage Center in downtown Leavenworth.
· The GM Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas will serve as host to the 12th Annual Pinewood Derby on Saturday, March 26 benefiting Cub Scouts. The actual race will be held from 8 am to 2 pm in the GM Auditorium.
· Jenna Bush-Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, will be the guest speaker at the March 24 Women’s Leadership Luncheon at the Reardon Center, 5th & Minnesota, in Kansas City, Kansas from 11:30 am – 1 pm. The luncheon benefits the Kansas City, Kansas School Foundation for Excellence. Tickets are $70 each. For more information call 913-279-2091.
ARTS COMMISSION SAVED
After a short debate, the Kansas Senate approved a resolution on Wednesday preventing the Kansas Arts Commission from being abolished. If you’ll remember, the governor introduced an Executive Reorganization Order (ERO) last month, eliminating the commission.
According to the Kansas Constitution, a majority of votes in either chamber can overturn an ERO. If an ERO is not overridden within 60 days, it automatically becomes law.
During debate, I stood in support of the Kansas Arts Commission. The arts are a powerful economic development tool. Our local government, local chamber of commerce and visitors’ center all use the arts to recruit businesses and tourists. Many nonprofits also use the arts programs to help troubled youth find opportunities to create, to express themselves in non-violent ways and possibly to find their own voice through writing, painting, drawing or photography.
ALLOTMENTS AFFECT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
In an unprecedented action last Friday, Governor Sam Brownback cut $56.5 million from our current state budget. These cuts, called allotments, will affect a number of state agencies including the Kansas Arts Commission, the Department of Wildlife and Parks, and social services.
No group, however, was hit harder than K-12 public education. Kansas public schools will be forced to cut $50 million dollars from their budgets – in the next two school months. That means every Kansas school will lose $75 per student by the end of the school year.
The governor’s cuts will also put Kansas at risk of falling out of compliance with federal maintenance of effort guidelines for special education funding. If we fail to fund these mandates, Kansas will forfeit more than $100 million in federal funds that could be used in future budget years. Those funds won’t ever be replaced, even if we maintain funding in the future.
VIETNAM WAR MEDALLION PROGRAM
In 2009, the Kansas Legislature passed a bill creating the Vietnam War Medallion program. The state would provide a medallion to all eligible veterans in recognition of their service to our country. Unfortunately, we did not make a specific appropriation for the program. As a result, over 750 Vietnam era veterans have applied for the medallion which does not exist yet.
Working with the Kansas Veterans Affairs Commission budget staff, we were able to find enough monies to get the medallions cast and delivered to the veterans by the end of this June. It is well past time.
KPERS PROPOSAL
A proposal working its way through committee aims to solve long-term funding for the KPERS system. The plan would raise the state’s annual contribution to KPERS by $23 million beginning in 2013. A similar plan introduced in the House would raise the contribution by $10 million.
Although I’m still waiting to see details of the plan, I agree that something needs to be done to secure KPERS for the long haul. Like other state retirement funds, KPERS was hit hard by the stock market drop three years ago. The market has rebounded, but the KPERS fund is still alarmingly underfunded. The system now faces a $7.7 billion gap between anticipated revenues and benefits promised.
More than 150,000 Kansans are impacted by KPERS funding. These Kansans depend on KPERS to survive, yet none have had a cost of living adjustment since the early 1990s. It is the Legislature’s responsibility to adequately fund our KPERS system so hard working state employees can retire in dignity.
KEEPING FAMILIES TOGETHER
The senate has approved a bill aiming to keep more Kansas families together. HB 2105 prohibits the state from removing a child from custody, simply because the family is homeless. Under the new rule, additional reasons must be shown before a child is placed in state care.
I supported this bill. Just because a family has hit hard times does not mean the love and care of a child goes away. This bill helps keep loving families intact.
SENATE PASSES BILL REGARDING MOTORCYCLE AND BICYCLE RIDERS
HB 2192 would allow the driver of a motorcycle or the rider of a bicycle to proceed through a steady red signal, subject to other traffic rules governing right of way, if the red light has failed to change to green within a reasonable period of time because the signal has malfunctioned or has failed to detect the vehicle. The driver or rider must yield the right of way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching so as to constitute an immediate hazard, to any pedestrian lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk, and to any other traffic lawfully using the intersection.
The bill also would require the driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle to pass that bicycle on the left no less than three feet away from the bicycle. It would allow the vehicle to pass a bicycle in a no-passing zone only when it is safe to do so.
This bill will now go to the Transportation Conference Committee, where differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will be discussed.
BREACH OF PRIVACY LEGISLATION MOVES FORWARD
This week the Senate passed HB 2151, which expands the definition of the crime of "breach of privacy" to include:
· Installing or using a device inside a private place to hear, record, amplify, or broadcast sounds originating from such place that would not ordinarily be audible or comprehensible without the use of such device;
· Installing or using a device or equipment for the interception of wireless communication;
· Using means other than electronic means to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or record an identifiable person who is nude or in a state of undress;
· Looking into any hole or opening or otherwise viewing by means of instrumentality any person with the intent to invade the privacy of the person being viewed ("instrumentality" is defined in the bill); and
· Disseminating or permitting the dissemination of any videotape, photograph, film, or image obtained in violation of the restriction explained above on installing or using a concealed device.
The bill also amends the definition for the crime of blackmail, by adding threats to disseminate materials obtained using electronic or other means to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or record an identifiable person who is nude or in a state of undress. That act would be a severity level 4, person felony.
This bill will now go to the Judiciary Conference Committee, where differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will be discussed.
SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA, BATH SALTS BANNED
The Senate has added new substances to the state’s list of illegal drugs. Bath salts and K3, a type of synthetic marijuana, will be included in a new section of cannibinoids. Using, producing or distributing these substances will be considered a level 3 drug felony for first-time offenders.
If you recall, last year the Kansas Legislature banned a synthetic type of marijuana called K2. Since its outlaw, producers of K2 have slightly altered ingredients to produce a similar product with the same hallucinogenic effect.
Bath salts, when smoked, have effects similar to methamphetamines. The salts are extremely dangerous and have led to reported deaths.
VOTER ID MOVES OUT OF COMMITTEE
The Senate Elections Committee has approved a voter ID bill that would change the way Kansans register to vote and prove citizenship at the polls. If passed, the bill would require Kansans registering to vote to present a birth certificate or other designated proof of citizenship document when they register for the first time in Kansas. Voters would be required to present a valid photo identification every time they vote.
During committee discussion, two amendments were passed making it easier for Kansans to comply with the proposed mandates.
One amendment makes the county responsible for helping Kansans obtain their birth certificate. The second pushes implementation of the citizenship requirement of this bill back until January 1, 2013, allowing Kansans more time to learn what they will need to successfully vote on election day and it would allow the Division of Motor Vehicles to get their new driver’s license renewal database up and going, which by the end of 2012 will be collecting citizenship information when people renew their driver’s license. Having this information in a centralized database will make it easier for the election officers to access citizenship information for new registered voters.
HB 2067 now awaits debate on the Senate floor, which is likely to happen next week.
OFFICE OF THE REPEALER NOW TAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ONLINE
Governor Sam Brownback announced today the launching of a new website that allows Kansans to submit their ideas on laws or regulations they believe should be considered for repeal.
Governor Brownback named Kansas Department of Administration Secretary Dennis Taylor as the state’s Repealer. Secy. Taylor and his staff will send a status update within 30 days of receiving a recommendation. To view the new site or to submit a rule or regulation for review, please visit http://repealer.ks.gov.
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