3-19-2010 Newsletter
3-19-2010
Debate on Taxes Postponed
It is not surprising that the House has show little to no support for tax increases after limited debate on HB 2549 (which contained the Secretary of Revenue’s proposal to eliminate a number of sales tax exemptions). At the beginning of the debate on HB 2549, there were three amendments that passed with almost unanimous support. These amendments continue the sales tax exemptions for purchases by churches and religious organizations, residential utilities, and Lottery and Bingo ticket sales. With the adoption of the amendments, the bill would only remove the sales tax exemption on coin operated laundry facilities. Most of us thought that at that point we would have some of the components Governor Parkinson’s most recent tax proposal offered and have a long day of debate. However, a motion to table the bill until the last day of session, which is May 3rd , was brought by a Democrat Nile Dilmore. The motion passed with a narrow vote with every Democrat and 15 Republicans voting for the motion. In the Senate Tax Committee none of the bills to increase taxes passed out of committee when “worked” this week. It is not clear just what the support for a tax increase will be, or on what it will be offered. It does not make sense to prevent action for seven weeks until the very end of session and forcing the House to determine the money that is spent in our budget without knowledge of available revenue. That is not the way that most of us balance our family budgets. Next week, the House will be working on the first passage of our budget priorities. Numerous amendments to spend more than the current revenues will support are likely to be offered.
The Creation of a Budget Stabilization Fund
Next week, the House will take up SCR 1614 sponsored by our Senator Pat Apple along with several of his colleagues. SCR 1614 would create a Stabilization fund in our state treasury which is an issue that Governor Parkinson recommended in his state of the State Address. Kansas is currently one of only 5 states without such a fund. The fund would better prepare our state to have savings available to transcend economic downturns or other events such as disasters. This is how it would work. When the actual state revenues (minus federal funds) of a fiscal year are more than 3% higher than the previous year’s, .25% of the state revenues (minus federal funds) are transferred to the budget stabilization fund. Expenditures from the fund would require a three-fifths vote by both the House and Senate. This is very similar to the Budget Stabilization bill that the Government Efficiency and Fiscal Oversight Committee worked and passed out of committee last session. The biggest difference is that this proposed legislation is a resolution to amend the constitution, not just state statue, and would provide a higher protection for the fund. We should all be very proud and thankful for the hard work of our Senator Pat Apple. Pat has always stepped up and taken the lead finding solutions on key issues facing our state. The bill, with strong support from the House and Senate, will most likely be worked through conference committee and because it is a constitutional amendment it will require a vote in the general election to be adopted.
Special Ed Catastrophic Aid
The House Education Committee has had several scheduled meetings to understand how the way schools in Johnson County have expanded the number of their students that qualify for catastrophic aid and the impact on Special Education Funding. The amount of catastrophic aid that schools qualify for is basically subtracted from the total funds available to cover those costs for all school districts in the state. School Districts such as Shawnee in Johnson County have started a calculation that is legal in our current law where they have double counted the cost basis to qualify for the aid. The affect is to pull down extra funding for their school districts at a cost to the rest of the state. The original reason for the special catastrophic aid was added to the school finance formula in 1994 to help school districts cover cost for students that need services that have an extraordinary expensive cost. Our Miami County schools work together through the East Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative which is based in Paola and enables our schools to save cost and to provide better service to our students. Last year, our Co-op had one student for which it received funding while the Shawnee District with the different calculation had grown to 333 students. The Senate had passed SB 359 to address two policies that need to be corrected. One is to disallow double dipping that is double counting funds to qualify for the funding. The second would apply cost of living increases to the amount attributed to Special Education Teachers used in the calculation to be based on $56,000 from $25,000. That amount has not been adjusted since 1994. In our House Education Committee, two amendments were added to SB 359 both of which I opposed. The first amendment removed the proposed change to the cost of living adjustment for one year to lessen the cost on the Johnson County schools which would decrease the amount of money that our Special Ed Co-op receives. Although the way that the schools have found to calculate to increase those who qualify is legal, it is not right that they receive an award for manipulating the system, especially, at the cost of others. The second amendment is a pilot project that would review how it would work to base special education funding on a hard count number. This could, potentially, penalize our Special Education Co-op in the future because of the higher cost of living in our area of the state would not considered as it currently is in the funding formula. Hopefully, these two amendments will be pulled off either on the House Floor or in conference with the Senate.
Metro Calling Bill
The House Utilities Committee had informational hearings on SB 543 which has passed out of the Senate Committee but has not been passed by the Senate as a whole. This Friday is the last day for hearings in the House for Senate bills so the bill would have to be adopted through a conference committee. I presented testimony to the House Committee and explained that availability of a 2 way metro calling plan is very important for both our businesses and individuals in Louisburg and Hillsdale. Mayor Curt Shreckengaust took time to drive up to Topeka to testify on the bill and further explained that business recruitment has been hampered by lack of a 2 way calling plan.
Contact Me
It is an honor to serve you in the House of Representatives. It is always a great help when I hear from you on the issues. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my Legislative Assistant, Maureen Stinson, at 785-296-6014 with any questions or concerns. You maybe also send an e-mail to vickrey@jenevickrey.org .