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February 27, 2004
Vickrey
Kids Visit Topeka
Jasmine (Jazzy), age nine, is in fourth grade and attends Louisburg Elementary. Joshua & Johanna, age five, will begin kindergarten next year and also will attend Louisburg Elementary. It was great to have my children come visit on President’s Day. It is always enjoyable to have friends, Pages, and anyone from home in the Capitol. Please be sure to let me know when you are up for a visit.
Big Issues Still to Be Worked
We are now at "Turn Around" (basically, the halfway point). As always, there are many important issues to be resolved:
School Finance - What will be done to address the lawsuit and possible changed to the School Finance Formula?
Transportation - How to fulfill the Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CPT)?
Protection of Marriage Act
Destination Sales Tax
Concealed Carry
Gambling
Death Penalty
This, of course, is not a complete list.
Littering Bill Passes House
Representative Feuerborn and I worked to get our bill passed to the Senate on a vote of 90 to 33. It’s time that the legislature takes a more active role in protecting the environment. The fees enacted by this bill will discourage people from littering and help beautify our communities. When litter is thrown out the window of a vehicle, it is considered a moving violation with a fine of $100. Another form of littering known as dumping occurs when a person places garbage on property other than their own. The amount a person is fined for illegal dumping increases with every conviction. The first conviction will result in a fine anywhere from $250 to $1000. Subsequent convictions can result in fines up to $4,000. In addition to fines, a person convicted of littering could also be required to pick up litter.
Local Government Work
The following bills came to the House Committee on Local Government, which I chair, this session:
HB 2712
- Re-codifies current practice to allow county commissioners to pay for contracted fire service. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.HB 2767
- Expands open meetings violations discovery time from 10 days to 180. Local Government Committee amended the time to 21 days. The House Committee of the Whole amended time to 60 days. The bill is now in the Senate.HB 2528 - Fire hydrants can be purchased and maintained by fire districts. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2590 - Allows abandoned burial plots to be resold after 50 years. The bill passed out of Committee.
HB 2600 - Counties may dispose of property without bid process. Cities already had this option under current statute. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2601
- Makes provision for payment of attorney fees and costs regarding both government or plaintiffs. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.HB 2585
- Requires Topeka Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to be subject to open records and open meetings law. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.HB 2615 - Landlords have provision to abate nuisances in property not in their possession. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2725 - Counties may charge inmates room and board.
HB 2758 - Adds two new exceptions from the openness requirement of the Kansas Open Records Act. Added are military discharge papers and the location of a safe house or shelter. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate
HB 2773 - Dissolves townships that have no residents. This bill passed out of Committee but was amended into another bill, HB 2774, on the floor of the House. HB 2774 is now in the Senate.
HB 2774 - Allows creation of new fire districts by vote of county commission and then vote, if approved, at next general election. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2793 - Drainage districts to sell bonds for more than 4 years with voters’ approval. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2805 - Consolidation of law enforcement in Lincoln and Cloud counties. The bill passed out of Committee and the House and is now in the Senate.
HB 2889 - Open Records Act. Chapter 45.
1. Total compensation and employment contracts of public employees
2. Letters of reference regarding people applying for appointment to vacant elected office.
3. Donations to public agency if donation is identified for re-numeration or benefit of a named public employee.
4. In relation to criminal investigation records which would only be closed if the custodian of records could provide upon request a citation in which 6 of the provisions necessitate the closing of those records.
Legislative Update - Week Seven
Senate Rejects Governor Sebelius’ Tax Plan
On Thursday the Senate considered and defeated Governor Sebelius’s tax plan with 14 voting in favor and 25 against.
The Governor wanted to raise property, sales and income taxes over the next five years in order to dramatically increase education funds. If implemented, her plan would have required sales tax to be increased from 5.3% to 5.7%, the property tax mill levy would have been increased 10%, and income tax would have been increased by 5%.
The cost would be $462.8 million each year after the plan was totally in place. In total, it would have generated $1.7 billion in total new revenue over the next five years.
School Finance Appeal
When lower court judge, Judge Bullock, from Topeka found the state school finance plan unconstitutional, he would not allow the suit to be appealed until after he made a final order on July 1, 2004. Although the House will look for ways to better improve the school finance system, legislators are eager to hear the Kansas Supreme Court’s opinion before completely rewriting the finance formula.
The court would have to address two issues. The first issue before the court will be whether the school finance system is responsible for unfairly distributing money to school districts in such a way it causes a difference in how minority and at-risk students compare to others. The second issue will be whether the state is funding the school system at such a low level that teachers cannot provide a suitable education for our children.
In order to expedite the appeal process, Senate Bill 324 was passed out of the House on Tuesday. This measure was approved by the Senate earlier this session by a 40 to 0 vote. If it is signed by the Governor, it would essentially require the Kansas Supreme Court to hear the state’s school finance appeal as soon as possible, instead of waiting on the judge to enter his final order.
Alternative Education Plan
An alternative finance plan, commonly referred to as the Rooney Plan, was passed out of the House Education Committee on Tuesday. This alternative was drafted in order to address some of the inadequacies in the current school finance formula a lower court Shawnee County Judge took issue with when he found the current formula unconstitutional.
Instead of having a complicated formula that has different weighting factors to help districts offset costs, the Rooney Plan attempts to simplify school finance by assessing local property taxes that fund schools. However, some legislators reject the idea of changing the formula because they want the constitutionality of the current finance formula to be ruled on by the Kansas Supreme Court. If this plan was enacted, it would make the current law suit moot, so it may not be heard.
Concealed Carry
The House Federal and State Affairs Committee approved the Personal
and Family Protection Act (PFPA). This bill would require the Kansas
Bureau of Investigation to issue concealed weapons licenses to
qualified applicants. This legislation is sponsored by a large number
of Republicans and Democrats. The House is going to consider the PFPA
next week where it is expected to pass by a large margin.