May 7, 2004

2004 Session Wrap-Up
It has been a great privilege to serve as your legislator.  I always work hard to communicate with my constituents and listen to your concerns.  If you have any concerns or questions that I can help you with, please be sure to let me know.  I can be reached at my home number (913)837-2585.

Transportation Plan - Hwy. 169 Complete, Hwy. 69 Project Still On-Going
Transportation continues to be a significant issue for Miami County.  Completion of the additional two lanes on Hwy. 69 to the south is of vital importance to Miami County’s economic development and will provide safer travel for our families.

We will soon realize increased commerce in the Paola and Osawatomie communities due to the Hwy. 169 improvements.  Today, we are thankful for the lives saved, our first priority, and why we all worked hard together to pass the 1999 Transportation Plan.

I am proud that the committee I serve on, House Transportation, took a key leadership role in a bill to save the transportation plan that passed the Legislature.  In our early discussions with the Secretary of Transportation regarding the Governor’s proposal, it appeared her plan left many in both parties uneasy with the amount of additional bonding in the proposal.  House Transportation Chair, Rep. Gary Hayzlett, met with several of us on the committee about his new plan.  With our support, the Legislature passed our plan to shore up the 1999 Comprehensive Transportation Plan without increasing taxes.  All promised projects will be completed.  Currently, the State Highway Fund has been underfunded for the last three years and is expected to run out of money in the next two to three years. 

State highways have been funded through a combination of bond money, gas tax and sales tax, but recent governors have transferred money that was to go to the Highway Fund and used it to finance general budget expenditures. 

In order to shore up the Highway Fund, the plan calls for additional bonds to be issued and takes a portion of the money raised from the current 5.3% statewide sales tax and directly allocates it to the Highway Fund.  The direct allocation will be increased from a quarter of a cent to just under two-thirds of a cent, which will raise an additional $207 million.  By doing so, future governors cannot avoid paying for the Transportation Plan. 

This legislation gained bi-partisan support.  A large number of Democrats contributed to the process of funding Kansas roads.  Additionally, the Governor abandoned her own Transportation Plan that called on issuing large amounts of bonds in favor of this proposal.

Vickrey’s Anti-Litterbug Legislation Becomes Law
I have always hated seeing litter on our roads.  I found we had a real problem that my bill would solve.  Under the old statute, law enforcement could cite only a class B misdemeanor for littering, creating a lot of paperwork and difficult court procedures.  My bill changes current law.  Now, the fine for littering will be $100.00 plus court costs and considered as a nonmoving traffic violation.  This will make a law that is enforceable and will slow careless littering.  The bill also addresses illegal dumping by anyone on private property that is owned by someone else.  Under the new law, the fine for the first conviction will be not less than $250.00 and no more than $1,000.00.  Subsequent convictions will bring fines of up to $4,000.00.  Additionally, someone convicted of this portion of the law, could be court ordered to pick up litter.  If you have ever owned property in a secluded area, you will appreciate the tougher dumping law.
Good Government - Open Meetings and Open Records Bills Pass
As Chairman of the House Local Government Committee, I worked hard to pass these bills through the legislative process.  As always, in our committee, we committed to work on all the issues before us with fairness regardless of who made the request or how difficult the task, which is our committee’s earned reputation.  In the Interim Study Committee that I chaired, we held hearings to review the Kansas Open Records Act.  After seeing the extremely large gulf of disagreement on the issues, I asked several interested parties to meet, discuss the controversial components, and see if common ground could be achieved.  After two meetings it seemed very unlikely that any compromises could be made.  I told our House Committee that we would work the tough issues and not back away.  This encouraged the working group of interested parties to come together on most of the contentious points.  I carried the product of these discussions, HB 2889, to the floor of the House where it passed 123-2.  Gains were made in six important areas that provide more openness in government and better direction to our public information officers.

House Bill 2601 allows attorneys’ fees and reasonable costs to be recovered by the plaintiff or government agency if one of them is found to be in total disregard of the Kansas Open Records Act or it’s determined that the denial of the records or the records request itself is a frivolous request.  This bill passed the House 125-0 but had no hearing held in the Senate.  I amended the contents into Senate Bill 317.  It is important that the public be dealt with fairly.  This is the position of the House.

Our Local Government Committee passed House Bill 2767 which extends the time period from 10 to 21 days for the Attorney General or a county or district attorney to bring an action in court to void any binding action taken by a public body or agency in violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act.  An amendment on the House Floor increased the time frame to 60 days.  The bill passed 113 to 9. 

As was the case from the start, the Senate did not seem willing to work on any of the open records/open meetings issues.  They eventually scheduled hearings on HB 2889 but only after pressure from us.  During the last few days of our session, I worked very hard to get the contents of all three bills included in conference committee bills that passed the Senate.

Request for Federal Project Funding - Traffic Signal at Hwy. 68 and Price Chopper
Earlier this session, I arranged a meeting between Secretary Miller of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and a delegation* from Louisburg including myself.  The meeting went well.  It was refreshing to find how eager Secretary Miller was to assist us.  We thanked her for her help in lowering the speed limit in front of our schools on Hwy. 68.  She intervened on our behalf on the speed limit issue as a result of a meeting that took place one year ago.

About three weeks ago, Secretary Miller called me and asked if we wanted her to request federal project funding for our stop light and the safety redesign.  She told me that because of our meeting she was aware of our needs and thought pursuing the federal project funding was a good opportunity to address the issue.  I contacted the office of Congressman Jim Ryun and explained to a member of his staff the need for this project.  It now looks as though we could see the safety improvements early next year.

* I would like to give special thanks to the members of the delegation:
 • Frank Kelly, Sheriff
 • Arlen Thompson, Mayor
 • Ted Hayden, City Manager, City of Louisburg
 • Doug Carder, Editor, Louisburg Herald
 • Patty Bortner, President, Louisburg Chamber of Commerce
 • John Cleek, President, U.S.D. 416 (Louisburg) School Board

Defense of Marriage Act
Another important objective this session was to strengthen our position on this issue.  The language in the Constitutional Amendment is the same as we re-codified in a 1996 law that makes sure our law is defendable from challenges resulting from laws passed by other states.  I always stand up for your right to vote on issues.  The decision should be made by your vote, not a judge’s decision in a court.

Best Regards,

Jene Vickrey