Legislature Reconvenes for Veto Session

The Legislature got back to work this week and began the daunting task of working the budget, hearing the remaining bills coming out of the various conference committees and addressing any gubernatorial vetoes.

Governor Threatens Budget Veto

It’s not too late this session to avoid making mistakes that will further our budget problems next year. It’s disappointing that Governor Parkinson, who has publically stated that tax increases should be a last resort, has threatened to veto not only any budget that doesn’t contain a tax increase. Apparently, any budget that does not contain tax increases to support his call for increased government spending. This is irresponsible and self-defeating. The House plan balances without a tax increase. If the Governor requires a tax increase before he will allow a budget to become law this year, then he needs to deliver the Democrat votes to do it. I will not be a part of raising taxes on hard working Kansas families in order to compensate for unchecked state spending.

K-12 spending

A lot has been made of the affect the House Republican budget will have on schools across the state. With the available cash reserves and the additional $86 million put into the budget to partially backfill the lost stimulus dollars; the House budget minimizes the impact on K-12 schools during the toughest economic time in almost a century. This is accomplished without a tax increase and will set the stage for responsible and sustainable budgeting for future fiscal years.

Based on the figures supplied by KS Department of Education and other available budget information it would appear that:

• The total unencumbered cash balance in just the Districts’ Contingency Reserve Account is $141.6M or almost 1.5 times the amount needed to replace the remaining ARRA funding that the state has not backfilled. The ARRA Funding was 172 million last year. This was one-time money. While the state has not drastically decreased funding, the school districts are claiming that by not backfilling the Federal Stimulus dollars, we are cutting education.
• 182 districts have increased spending. 74 districts have operating reductions of less than 5% and 37 have reductions of over 5%.
• 43 of 72 of the schools participating in the new funding lawsuit have increased current operating expenditures.
• While most Kansans would consider a cut to be a reduction in what they had available to them last year, the schools’ definition is different. Schools budgeted to spend $612M more this year ($297M in operating expenditures). They now report increased operating expenditures of only around $222M, so are claiming a “cut” of some $75M from their planned increase in operating expenditures.
• State aid is still currently 18% higher than it was 5 years ago and total aid is 26% higher.

Smoking Ban Changes Proposed

SB 342 stalled on Thursday and was sent back to committee for further review.

The bill seeks to make changes to the statewide smoking ban enacted earlier this year. This proposal is an attempt to level the playing field which currently allows smoking only in state owned casinos in Kansas.

The biggest change under the proposed legislation is that bars would be exempt from the statewide ban. A “bar” would be required to sell lottery tickets and have less than 30% of its gross receipts come from the sale of food in order to qualify.

There is a strong chance that we will debate this proposal on the House floor before the end of the session.

PEAK Bill

On Friday, the House will once again debate the PEAK (Promoting Employment Across Kansas Bill). Earlier this session, the PEAK bill passed and was then vetoed by Governor Parkinson. The new and improved PEAK legislation addresses the Governor’s concerns by removing an additional $250,000 for Kansas, Inc. The original legislation passed the House 84-34, with 7 members not voting, and I expect that this bill will garner the same support.

Abortion

Also on Friday, the House plans to undertake the veto override of HB 2115. The bill mandates reporting requirements for physicians performing late term abortions. Under the bill, physicians must note the specific medical diagnosis and condition constituting a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the mother, or the medical diagnosis and condition which necessitated an abortion.

The original bill passed 83-36 with 6 members absent. To override the veto, 84 members must support the proposal.

It is an honor to serve you in the House of Representatives. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff.