This Week at the Statehouse

We are inching closer to the end of the 2009 regular session, with just two weeks to go before First Adjournment.  This was the last week for committees to pass out bills, although it is important to keep in mind bills that never received a hearing (or were never worked) may still find a way onto legislation as amendments or provisos.  Nothing ever really “dies” in the Capitol- there are always opportunities for bills to resuscitate.  This can be good or bad…depending on the issue!

Next week both the House and Senate will be on the floor all day for most days in an effort to get as much done as possible before the end of the regular session.  Week 12 will be busy as well but will also include a lot of down time while we wait for conference committee reports.  I will keep you posted as we work through important legislation.  Things tend to move quickly in the last two weeks before Drop Dead Day, as any bill that has not passed both House and Senate chambers can no longer be debated after this deadline (although certain bills, such as the budget, are exempt).

FY 2010 Budget Update: Sorting through stimulus dollars

The House Appropriations Committee kept busy this week debating House Bill 2373, which is the FY 2010 mega budget bill. This bill makes many changes to the budget proposal put forth by the Governor in January and resulted in heated debate.

The primary source of controversy in the development of the FY 2010 budget has been the utilization of federal stimulus dollars.  Kansas has the opportunity to receive hundreds of millions in aid for a variety of expenses, including K12 education, transportation, children’s health insurance, and higher education.  In order to qualify for these funds, however, Kansas must meet certain requirements.  This week, many on the House Appropriations Committee voted not to accept federal dollars on some items (such as children’s health insurance, or SCHIP) and then made cuts in other areas that will prevent Kansas from even qualifying for stimulus dollars (such as K12 funding).

Below I have provided a more “issue-by-issue breakdown” of what transpired this week in the House Appropriations Committee.  We are expected to debate the budget bill on Monday; I will update you on any changes next week.  Please be aware that the budget bill passed out of committee rejects a significant amount of money from the federal government.  Although the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cannot serve as our final solution to the budget crisis (we must still make cuts and scale back), it can serve as a lifeboat in a budget year that will otherwise sink our state and our most important investments.  Stimulus money cannot stimulate our economy unless that money is utilized.  To reject it is both senseless and irresponsible. 

K-12 Education
The federal guidelines for receiving K-12 stimulus money are clear: we must not cut below the 2008 funding level. To make any cuts exceeding this level will seriously jeopardize our opportunity to receive the financial help.  Nonetheless, some on the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut the base state aid per pupil (BSAPP) by an additional $33 (for a total $66 cut).  This is well below what was allocated for 2008 and coincidently the same reduction attempted earlier in the year that was line item vetoed by the Governor. 

We have already endured this battle once this session: a $66 BSAPP cut would be detrimental to school districts across the state.  It will force school districts- especially rural schools- to cut programs, lay off teachers and will dramatically decrease the quality of public education.  We cannot balance the budget on the backs of Kansas schoolchildren.  I will stand adamantly opposed to legislation that puts our children’s education in jeopardy.

Unemployment Insurance
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide an important opportunity to expand unemployment benefits to Kansans struggling to make ends meet.  This is not part of the budget bill specifically, but it does require legislative action in order to qualify for the $69 million in federal money.
House Bill 2374, which received a hearing in the House Commerce and Labor Committee this week, would lengthen the period of employment that can be considered in deciding whether a laid-off worker is eligible for benefits. It would also allow workers to receive unemployment benefits if they voluntarily leave their jobs to care for a sick or disabled member of their immediate family.  These are minor legislative changes that will increase the number of workers eligible for unemployment benefits.  The bill has not been worked as of yet, but must be acted upon soon in order to get unemployed Kansans (the most in 25 years) assistance to pay for basic necessities.

Higher Education
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to reject money for our universities, community colleges and technical colleges.  This money would have gone toward holding off projected tuition increases and the creation of jobs through repairing crumbling buildings on our campuses.  Currently, there are over $700 million in deferred maintenance projects at our higher education institutions awaiting repair.

SCHIP (Children’s Health Insurance)
Although it is not directly a part of the stimulus package, Kansas has the opportunity to receive federal dollars for children’s health insurance.  Unfortunately, the House Appropriations Committee voted not to accept the Governor’s recommendation to take advantage of the recent federal reauthorization of SCHIP, a program that would have provided health insurance for 8,000 additional children.  This decision was particularly troubling, as most of the Legislature last year voted to fund this program if new federal dollars were doled out to the states.  Now that it has been federally authorized, many legislators choose to go back on their vote, leaving thousands of children without insurance coverage.  If we do not utilize these federal dollars for children’s health insurance, they cannot be allocated elsewhere in the Kansas budget and will be forfeited to other states.

Smoking Ban Bill tabled in House, but still alive

Proponents of the statewide smoking ban bill may have to hold their breath until next year’s Legislative session, as their hopes of Senate Bill 25 passing the House were squashed on Wednesday.  Although the Bill passed the Senate 26-13 earlier this year, the House committee for Health and Human Services tabled the Bill until more information becomes available about the proposal.  Because Friday is the final day for committees to meet this year however, it is unlikely that the committee will have time to reconsider the bill this session in the House.

As I have said before, however, nothing ever really “dies” in the Legislature.  In response to the House action on the smoking bill, the Senate Commerce Committee passed a “gut-and-go” bill that makes House concurrence possible. “Gut-and-go” bills all the language of a bill with language from another bill, essentially turning it into an entirely new piece of legislation.  The gutted bill would prohibit indoor smoking in public places except for casinos, some bars, tobacco shops and designated hotel rooms.  This Senate’s action means that once the bill re-passes the Senate, the House could just make a motion to concur, sending the bill to the governor for her signature or veto.

A statewide smoking ban proposal originally emerged from the Kansas Health Policy Authority as one method for improving Kansas’ health care system.  Although the bill failed to move out of committee this year, it has gained significantly more support since its original introduction in 2008.  If it fails to pass this year, it is highly likely that the proposal will reappear in 2010. 

Minimum wage bill passes out of committee, heads to the House floor for consideration

One of the most exciting events of the week was the passage of Senate Bill 160 out of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.  This bill, which proposes to increase the state minimum wage for the first time since 1988, will now head to the House floor for full consideration. 

The committee did make two amendments to the original bill.  One amendment allows newly hired employees who are less than 20 years of age to be paid $4.25 an hour during the first 90 days of employment. However, employers may not take action to displace an employee for the purpose of hiring another individual at the wage authorized.

The second amendment gives the Secretary of Labor the authority to adopt rules and regulations consistent with and not less than the minimum wage established by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, effective January 1, 2010.

The amended bill allows the state to be more consistent with the Federal Labor Standards Act. Moving the authority to adjust minimum wage from the Legislature to the Secretary of Labor assists the state in its goal to follow with federal law.

Primary seatbelt law stalls

Kansas will lose a one-time federal grant of at least $11.2 million and an annual appropriation of nearly a half-million dollars if it doesn’t have a primary seat belt law in place by June 30, the Kansas Department of Transportation reported on Wednesday.

On February 19th, the Senate passed Senate Bill 59, which would enact an all-ages primary seat belt law.  But the bill, now in the House, is now at risk of not being considered.

The primary law would allow officers to stop a vehicle solely for a seat belt violation.  The current law is primary for those under 18-years-old, but only secondary for all others, which means adult drivers cannot be stopped solely for a seat belt violation.

Under provisions of the federal transportation program set to expire this year, states that have enacted a primary seat belt law by June 30th receive a one-time payment from the federal government.  Kansas will receive $11.2 million if it passes a primary law and could receive more if other states forfeit their grant by failing to pass such a law.

One million dollars of the grant must be used on behavioral education programs and the remainder can be used on highway projects.  In addition, the state would receive $465,000 annually for having a primary law.

Kansas has a seat belt usage rate of about 77 percent, considerably lower than the 87 percent compliance rate of states that have a primary law.  Based on KDOT estimates, Kansas could expect to have a 10 percent increase in seat belt usage after passage of a primary law.

Two-thirds of those who die in traffic crashes in Kansas were not wearing seat belts.  In fact, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported that 30 out of the 39 people killed in an automobile accident this year were not wearing a seat belt.

Below are some facts about primary seat belt laws, which you may find interesting:

• 85 percent of all medical costs incurred by crash victims fall on society, not the individuals involved.
• Medicare, Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded sources pay 24 percent of these costs.
• When crash victims are unbuckled, their medical treatment costs are 50 percent higher.
• In 2004, fatal and injury crashes cost Kansans nearly $3 billion.

• Nationally, employer health care spending on crash injuries is nearly $8 billion every year.  Another $9 billion is spent on sick leave and life and disability insurance for crash victims.

• Increasing the national safety belt use rate to 90 percent would produce an economic savings of about $8.8 billion annually.

• 78.4 percent of Kansas’ motor vehicle traffic fatalities are in rural areas – a rate four times higher than in urban locations.

• 61.5 percent of those who died in Kansas crashes last year weren’t restrained. 

• When worn correctly, seat belts have been proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent – and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.

Attorney General warns consumers about stimulus scams

The Consumer Protection Division of the Kansas Attorney General’s office issued a warning this week about recent economic stimulus scams. In an effort to obtain financial information or to steal the identities of victims, these scams aim to falsely convince consumers that they have qualified for a portion of President Obama's economic stimulus package.

Some reported scams have appeared as pop-up ads on popular web sites such as Google and Facebook, advertizing that individuals may qualify for grants of up to $25,000. When people click on the ad they are directed to scam Web sites such as http://www.presidentobamagrants.com/ or http://www.jessicasmoneyblog.com/. Viewers are told that they may obtain information for accessing stimulus funds for a small fee by credit card. The consumers are then enrolled in a trial membership and later billed for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars if they fail to cancel within a certain amount of time. Often the consumer is completely unaware that they are enrolled in the membership program until the charges appear on credit card statements.

Another form of the scam may appear in e-mail messages. Consumers are sent an e-mail stating that they have qualified for a grant. The consumer must then provide their bank account information so that the grant may be deposited directly into their account. The scammers will proceed to drain money out of the victim's account or they may use the victim's personal information to commit identity theft. 

To avoid becoming a victim, never open unidentified e-mails or click on links promising free money. If you believe you have fallen victim to a stimulus scam, contact the Consumer Protection Division at 1 (800) 432-2310 or report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1 (877) 382-4357. Consumers may also visit the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/.

Board of Regents supports one year tuition freeze

The Kansas Board of Regents has unanimously approved a plan that would freeze state university tuition costs for Kansas residents for the 2009-2010 academic year.  The plan, which would also address important campus deferred building maintenance projects across the state, will be possible if the Legislature limits Fiscal Year 2010 higher education budget reductions to no more than 7%, and the State receives higher education-related funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). 

The Board’s plan would allocate $9.6 million in federal stimulus funds to the state’s public higher education institutions for deferred building maintenance projects.  In Fiscal Year 2010, the Board’s plan would allocate $40 million in federal stimulus funds to the state’s public higher education institutions for deferred building maintenance projects and tuition cost mitigation, which would make the one-year state university tuition freeze for Kansas residents possible.

I fully support this plan.  Facing a harsh financial forecast, a tuition freeze will help thousands of Kansas families afford to send their kids to college without breaking the bank.  Addressing important deferred maintenance projects at our state universities and community colleges will also stimulate the economy by creating new, high-paying jobs for local workers.

Senate Bill would permit sale of bottled wine at farmers’ markets

Patrons of local farmers markets will be able to purchase bottled wine beginning next year, if Senate Bill 218 is signed into law.  Senate Bill 218, would amend the Kansas Liquor Control Act to allow wine producers to sell unopened bottled wines one day per week at approved Kansas farmers markets.

Under the bill, “farmer’s market” would mean any location of a farmer’s market that is subject to inspection by the Department of Agriculture.  Cereal malt beverages and alcoholic liquor would be strictly prohibited from sale, as would unopened wine containers (such as wine by the glass). 

Proponents of the bill included the Department of Commerce and several local wineries.  The bill was received and introduced on the House floor just yesterday.  Should it be passed, the bill will be sent directly to the governor’s desk.

Proposal to abolish death penalty sent back to committee

After three hours of debate in the Senate earlier this week, a proposal to abolish the death penalty in Kansas has been sent back to committee, likely killing it for the 2009 legislative session.  The bill would have repealed the crime of capital murder in Kansas and would remove the death penalty as a sentencing option after July 1, 2009. Instead, those convicted of premeditated murder would be subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Individuals who received the death penalty prior to this date would still have been subject to the death penalty. During the floor debate, however, a group of senators cited a need for further study on the issue and voted to send the bill back to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sources vary as to the fiscal effect of this bill would have had in Kansas. The Board of Indigents Defense Services estimated a savings of over $700,000 for FY 2010.  The Office of Judicial Administration, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Judicial Counsel, however, all reported no fiscal effect. 

While the death penalty has been argued against for years on moral grounds, this year the budget crunch elicited a more practical argument from proponents, who say capital crimes are too expensive to litigate.  A 2003 Kansas legislative audit found that the estimated median cost of a case in which the death penalty was given is approximately 70% more than non-death penalty murder cases ($1.26 million compared to $740,000).

Opponents of the bill, including Attorney General Steve Six, argued that cost should never be a factor when sentencing the state’s worst criminals and that one cannot put a price on justice for the families of the victims of heinous crimes.  

Although it has not carried out an execution since 1965, Kansas reinstated the death sentence in 1994. Ten convicted felons in Kansas currently await the death penalty