January 20, 2006

The second week of Session has been busy in Government Organization and Elections Committee. We passed legislation brought to us by Representatives Bill Feuerborn and Terrie Huntington. The legislation concerned language present in home covenants that needs to be removed in order to comply with federal law. This legislation provided a way to do this at a low cost.

Wednesday, I met with Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh. He is planning to propose legislation before the Committee that would allow voting at satellite locations throughout the county. Miami County Clerk, Kathy Peckman, would be enabled to set up advanced voting in other locations within Miami County. This legislation would be great for the convenience of our Miami County voters.

Transportation Committee was briefed on the new security measures that the Division of Motor Vehicles has developed relating to Driver's License Renewals. It is exciting to see how technology is being used today in Kansas that will help to reduce both identity theft and also greatly enhance security.

Friday morning, I arranged meetings with District Judge Smith, Appropriations Committee Chair, Melvin Neufeld, and Budget Committee Chair Bill McCreary. We are working to get another District Judge for Miami County which would help reduce docket time. Miami County has been one of the top one to four leaders statewide in docket case loads for several years.

Elimination of the M & E Tax

Stimulating growth in the State economy is a complex and much debated topic with almost as many complexities as there are opinions on how to achieve a positive outcome. One suggestion that is being discussed in the House is the elimination of the property tax on new machinery and equipment (M & E). The House Committee on Taxation heard a detailed description of the possible effects of House Bill 2619 by the Secretary of Revenue this week. Members of the Committee were interested mainly in what effect it may have on local and county taxes in their district and what specifically qualified for the exemption. I requested information from Stephanie O'Dell, Miami County Appraiser, regarding how the proposed legislation would affect in the future, the Miami County and school district tax base. Currently, law provides for a gradual decrease in property taxes that steps down over a period of seven years and plateaus at 20% of the items original value. By eliminating this tax supporters argue that the revenue that is lost originally will be replaced and exceeded by an increase in sales and income taxes generated when existing businesses expand and new businesses are established in the State. The Committee has asked the Department of Revenue for detailed answers to the many questions they have before them in order to direct their discussion and to answer questions that will certainly be raised by their constituents. Additional hearings are scheduled for next week.

Base Line Budgeting

Representative Melvin Neufeld, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, this week introduced legislation before his Committee that would establish a Base Line Budget that could be used by the Legislature as a comparative tool when analyzing annual budgets proposed by the Governor. Chairman Neufeld is confident that utilizing this type of system will allow legislators to gain a clearer picture of exactly how taxpayer dollars are being used and how individual areas of the budget are being effected. Existing programs and expenditures will be easily identified and their proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year will be compared to the base line for reference. This will lead to greater accountability and more responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Grandparents as Foster Parents

The Federal and State Affairs committee heard testimony Wednesday from Representative Bonnie Huy, Wichita, voicing her strong support of House Bill 2410 which helps streamline the process by which grandparents could become foster parents for their grandchildren. It also provides assistance to care givers of $200 per child per month and lowers the amount of training from that required of unrelated foster families. Other relatives who meet the qualifications are also included in this legislation. While specifics of the bill are still being debated, caregivers who qualify must be an immediate relative of the child, be at least 50 years of age, have an income equal to or less than 100% of the Federal poverty level and cannot live at the same residence as the child’s parent(s). According to testimony, $2.4 million is spent each year by grandparents who are already taking care of one or more of their grandchildren. In Kansas it is anticipated that nearly 14,000 children could benefit from this program in the first year and that over 1,200 grandparents would qualify. A similar version of the bill has been passed by the Senate by a vote of 34-3. The Federal and State Affairs committee expects to hear additional testimony by representatives of Social and Rehabilitative Services (SRS) and will take action following hearings on the bill.

In your opinion, under what circumstances, should we pay families to take care of their own grandchildren? Please take a minute to e-mail me at