2.18.11 Newsletter
February 18, 2011
It is hard to believe we will soon be at the halfway point of the 2011 Legislative session. February 25th is “Turnaround Day” which is the day bills must be passed out from their House of origin. Following turnaround, the House and Senate then begin work on the bills that have been passed out of the other Chamber, House or Senate. There are however a few exceptions, such as when an exempt committee passes a bill or when the Speaker requests a bill to be moved forward.
Because of the February 25th deadline, next week will be extremely long and strenuous as we will be on the House Floor all day debating dozens of bill. Among the issues that will be taken up are: Repeal of In-State tuition for illegal immigrants, proof of citizenship and photo ID requirement to vote, redefining misclassification of contract workers, increasing the speed limit on 4 lane interstates to 75 mph, late term abortion ban, tax bills, pay check protection for workers, and a number of other bills that will run a wide spectrum of about anything that you can imagine. If you haven’t already, please take the time to send me your thoughts by filling out the online 2011 legislative survey at jenevickrey.org
Every Good Idea Has a Cost / ID Theft
One of the most interesting surprises you quickly learn when you are a new legislator is that every good idea you research and craft legislation to address has a cost. Every time a bill is drafted the division of the budget creates a fiscal note. These notes represent a careful calculation as to the dollar cost of the proposal including the number of full or part-time employees. The review also examines how the bill could affect the duties of the agency or local government referenced in the bill. These are often very shocking as it seems often the better the idea the higher the cost. Another fact is that the cost will increase year to year.
For the last few sessions, the fiscal notes have been carefully considered. Very few are passed that have any fiscal impact and we have been more cautious of the effects on local governments.
This week we had an example of a bill that would help protect Kansans from the crime of Identity Theft but we had to carefully review the fiscal note. HB 2008 would change the severity of the crime from a nonperson to a person felony which will require prison time. Prison time has a cost and the projection for this bill would require an additional 20 beds in our already overburdened corrections system. However, this is a crime which is also very costly to individuals, businesses, and communities alike. Last year more than 2,000 identity theft crimes were reported at an average of about $40,000 per incident amounting to more than $80 million in damages.
Check out your Public Libraries Resources
First, a big thank you to our Librarians for their continued help with our 2011 Legislative issues survey. Please take time to go to my website, jenevickrey.org, or go by the local library to fill out the survey.
There are exceptional resources available through our State Library Internet Service. Stop by the Library and sign up and get you own account to use at home. What you will find: Job and Career Accelerator where you explore over 1000 occupations and match your skills and interest, search available jobs from 5 million job postings, create and track your resume, learn interview skills, receive tips how to improve your search each step of the way, also you will find formal education: Advanced placement practice tests, college entrance practice exams, elementary school skills improvement, graduate practice exams, health career practice exams, middle school skills improvement, over 130 e-books available, practice test for civil service, EMS, firefighter, GED, law enforcement, military, nursing, real estate, teaching, US citizenship, AND skills improvement for business writing, high school, math, reading, Spanish, technical and college career skills, writing improvement. Also there are available tutorials that are interactive for learners of any age to further develop computer skills approved by the Microsoft Office Specialist Program these include instruction how to use Microsoft : Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook , Access and more.
Workers Compensation
On Wednesday, the House debated HB 2134 which revises portions of the Workers Compensation Act.
The first piece of workers compensation legislation was adopted in Kansas over 100 years ago to ensure the care of injured workers while also protecting employers. However, 17 years have passed since the existing statutes were revised and court action dictated the need for updating workers compensation law in Kansas. Because of this need, we worked with both labor and business interests to form an agreement around HB 2134 which we all agreed would make Kansas more competitive while still offering protection to legitimate worker claims.
HB 2134 reinstates the $75,000 functional impairment cap and raises the permanent partial and total caps by $30,000 while increasing death benefits from $250,000 to $300,000. The measure clarifies that employers are only responsible for injuries experienced while at work and protects them from civil litigation. Previous law put employers on the hook for injuries experienced outside of the workplace.
Other provisions allow employees to collect compensation for work related injuries without needing to prove the fault or negligence of their employer. HB 2134 raises the threshold required for monetary payment from an accident by removing opportunities for multiple permanent total disability claims, creating new qualification standards for work disability and clarifying injury reporting requirements. Overall, this was an impressive display of cooperation from all sides of the issue to ensure Kansas is in a better, more competitive place.
The workers compensation provisions are necessary for both controlling costs for employers and also in securing an increase in the fund so that it will be able to pay benefits for injured workers. This new law will encourage businesses to grow and assist existing businesses across the State of Kansas.
As always if there is anything I can assist you with please don’t hesitate to call me at 785.291.3500 or email me at jene.vickrey@house.ks.gov
Sincerely,
Jene Vickrey
Speaker Pro Tem