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From the Desk of Jay Scott Emler
Week of May 2, 2011
Curtailing Hit-and-Run Accidents
The Senate approved a proposal this week that should help curtail hit-and-run accidents in the state by increasing penalties for hit-and-run drivers. The bill also streamlines notification procedures in the case of auto accidents involving unattended vehicles and reiterates precautions drivers should take to avoid obstruction of roadways following an accident.
Balancing the Budget
The Senate continues to negotiate with the House on a budget for 2012. At the onset of negotiations, there were roughly 250 differences between the two budget proposals. Those differences have been whittled down to about 100 items. Among the remaining differences is key funding for our schools, our court system, our colleges and universities, and public broadcasting. I remain supportive of the Senate plan which balances the budget while minimizing cuts to these critical funding priorities and leaving the state with an ending balance.
Stabilizing the Workplace
In addition to budget negotiations, the Senate continues to work with House members to reconcile differences on a bill that would rebuild our state’s unemployment fund. Additionally, this bill provides employers with more predictability in their unemployment rates and it begins to repay our debt to the U.S. Treasury. In these difficult times, we must provide business owners and our workforce with the stability they need to keep us on the path to economic recovery.
Did you know?
This week the Senate passed a resolution noting that prescription drug abuse is a concern for our state. Prescription drugs are involved in a growing number of drug overdose cases. One of the easiest places to find prescription drugs is home medicine cabinets of friends or relatives. Unused prescription drugs gathering dust in a medicine cabinet also pose a risk to young children. It is important to dispose of unused prescriptions properly. They should not be thrown in the trash or flushed. Visit http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/
EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/UCM186187 to learn more about how you can keep your family safe and properly dispose of any unused prescription drugs.
FLOOR ACTION
APPROVAL OF APPOINTMENTS. This week, the Kansas Senate approved the following appointments:
- Robin Jennison as the Secretary of Wildlife and Parks. His appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor.
- Patricia Bossert as a member of the Employment Security Board of Review. Her appointment expires March 15, 2014.
- Hyluard Wayne Maichel as a member of the Employment Security Board of Review. His appointment expires March 15, 2015.
- Donald Linville as a member of the Kansas Development Finance Authority. His appointment expires January 15, 2015.
- Col. Keith Lang as the Brigadier General, Kansas National Guard. His appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor.
- Robert Chestnut as a member of the Pooled Money Investment Board. His appointment expires March 15, 2012.
- Mark Sievers as a member of the Kansas Corporation Commission. His appointment expires March 15, 2015.
- Terry Matlack as a member of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement Board of Trustees. His appointment expires January 15, 2015.
- Rick Petersen-Klein as the Executive Director of the Racing and Gaming Commission. His appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor.
- Phillis Setchell as a member of the State Civil Service Board. Her appointment expires March 15, 2015.
- Mark Dodd as the Executive Director of the State Gaming Agency. His appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor.
- Joanne Budler as the State Librarian. Her appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor.
FINAL ACTION. The Senate worked and passed out the following bills this week.
- Senate Bill 247 reconciles amendments to statutes amended more than once during this session or in a prior session. It also makes technical amendments. Passed 39-0.
Below is a list of bills adopted by the Senate after going through the Conference Committee process:
House Bill 2044 would amend current law concerning required action and notification in a motor vehicle accident. The bill does the following:
- It changes severity levels for convictions.
- It adds accidents resulting in damage to an attended vehicle or property of the list of vehicle accidents requiring a person to immediately stop and remain at the scene of the accident until all requirements imposed by law are fulfilled.
- It says a driver should make every reasonable attempt to remove a vehicle from the road when it obstructs the regular flow of traffic if it can be done safely in an accident not involving death.
- The bill also states that “insofar as possible” a driver in an accident resulting in injury, death, or damage to an attended vehicle must make efforts immediately to determine whether any person involved in the accident was injured or killed and render reasonable assistance to an injured person.
- It says when a police officer is not present, the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident or an occupant 18 years or older must report the accident by the quickest available means of communication to the nearest police office if there is property damage of $1,000 or more or any person involved in the accident is injured or killed.
- Also, in an accident with an unattended vehicle, the bill requires drivers to stop immediately if there is damage to any vehicle or property and locate the owner or leave information securely attached to the property. Adopted 38-0.
House Bill 2312 requires registration of scrap metal dealers. Adopted 35-3.
Senate Bill 124 would combine various provisions regarding water including creating the Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access District, the Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access Program, the Lower Smoky Hill Special Irrigation District, and the Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access Fund. It would also create the Water Conservation Reserve Program and the the Arkansas River Gaging Fund. Adopted 38-1.
Senate Bill 93 would prohibit a law enforcement officer from using racial or other biased-based policing, allow community advisory boards to be established, and require written policies and annual reports, data collection, and procedures for the investigation and disposition of a racial and other biased-based policing complaint. Adopted 33-6.
Senate Bill 10 would provide additional local sales tax authority in certain counties; make several changes in statutes relating to interest rates charged for delinquent property taxes and interest rates paid relative to overpayments associated with clerical errors; and establish a three-year statute of limitations for taxpayers to claim certain sales tax refunds. Adopted 39-0.
Senate Bill 50 enacts a new law relating to 911. Provisions of the bill apply to all modes of service, including telephone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), prepaid wireless, and other services capable of contacting a public safety answering point. Adopted 39-0.
House Bill 2010 adds embezzlement, mistreatment of a dependent adult, giving a worthless check, forgery, making false information, criminal use of a financial card, unlawful acts concerning a computer, identity theft and fraud, and electronic solicitation to the list of offenses giving rise to civil forfeiture pursuant to the Kansas Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act. HB 2010 removes theft of livestock from the list. Adopted 37-0.
Motions to Concur or Nonconcur. Before a bill can go the Governor’s desk to be signed into law, it must leave both the House and the Senate looking exactly the same. While some bills that began in the Senate have gone through the House and are on their way to the Governor, some have been changed and sent back to the Senate. The Senate can either agree to those changes (concur) or not agree to the changes (non-concur). If the Senate chooses to non-concur, differences can be worked out in a Conference Committee. Below is a list of bills where House changes were agreed to by the Senate.
Senate Bill 97 would extend for one year the judicial surcharge the Legislature authorized in 2010 to fund non-judicial personnel. The bill would increase the Judicial Branch surcharge 25% in the next fiscal year. SB 97 delays the expansion of the Court of Appeals from 13 to 14 judges for one year. Passed 37-2.
Resolutions. The Senate passed several resolutions honoring various achievements of groups and individuals across Kansas.
Senate Resolution 1853 congratulated Janet Locke for her 23 years of services in the Kansas Legislative Research Department. She retired on January 1, 2011.
Senate Resolution 1854 recognized that misuse and abuse of prescription drug medications is a major threat to public health and safety.
House Concurrent Resolution 5024 recognized and honored Lecompton, Kansas as the Territorial Capital of Kansas. It was the territorial Capital from 1855 to 1861.
Senate Resolution 1856 congratulated Erie High Charter School for being the first LEED Gold certified high school in the State of Kansas. LEED—The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—is an internationally-recognized green building certification system. The application process was worked on by a group of students, “The Green Dream Team,” who were involved in the implementation of onsite recycling, developed a tobacco-free campus policy, researched native grasses to be planted on the site, created signage to educate the public about the building’s greed features, and advocated for a green cleaning policy. The team consisted of Heather Dillinger, Matthew Frech, Ashley Gray, MaKayla LaRue, Jamie Lovett, Shane Secrest, Kyle Spielbusch, and Isaac Stark. Their advisors were Rose Ry, Dr. Kathleen Davis, Virginia Wolken, and Stephanie Stark.
Senate Resolution 1857 congratulated Kansas State University Students, Derek Ziegler and Beth Mendenhall, for winning the 2011 Cross-Examination Debate Association’s national tournament. The team won the final decision on a piece of evidence that was found 45 minutes before the debate and was able to secure a victory on a 6-3 decision. Derek Ziegler is a graduate of Highland Park High School in Topeka and Beth Mendenhall graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park.
Senate Resolution 1858 congratulated Donnie Lockhart of Shawnee Heights High School for winning the 2011 Class 5A 189-pound state wrestling championship and for completing a perfect 38-0 record.
Senate Resolution 1859 congratulated Rita Nienstedt on her retirement from her position as a Family and Consumer Science Teacher at Fort Scott High School. She began her career in 1978 and had dedicated 33 years of her life to teaching Kansas students.
COMMITTEE UPDATES
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
Before a bill can go to the Governor for it to either be signed into law or vetoed, it must come out of both the House and Senate in exactly the same form. In some instances, a bill will not match and will go into “conference committee” where members from both Senate and House committees meet to compromise on the differences in their respective versions of the bills. After a compromise is reached, the bills are sent back to the Senate and House for final approval.
The Senate KPERS Select, Commerce, Judicial, Local Government, Education, Ethics and Elections, Tax, Financial Institutions and Insurance, and Ways and Means Committees all met this week with their counterparts in the House to discuss bills. Below is a list of all the bills that were in Conference Committees this week:
- Senate Bill 6, DUI Laws
- Senate Bill 11, USD 207 transportation of students from Ft. Leavenworth
- Senate Bill 14, insurance for high risk children
- Senate Bill 37, Kansas Offender Registration Act
- Senate Bill 55, electronic communication and harassment
- Senate Bill 60, criminal procedure/grand jury
- Senate Bill 61, expanding the individual development account tax credit and changes to the High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP) income tax credits
- Senate Bill 63, sexual exploitation of a child
- Senate Bill 77, Unemployment
- Senate Bill 124, creating the Lower Smoky Hill water supply access program
- Senate Bill 127, campaign reports/contributions
- Senate Bill 143, postsecondary technical education
- Senate Bill 150, Cities; incorporation; number of residents
- Senate Bill 193, requiring Social Security numbers when claiming food sales tax refunds
- Senate Bill 196, food sales tax refunds
- Senate Bill 234, Mega Budget Bill
- House Bill 2010, civil forfeiture crimes list
- House Bill 2015, school district budget sunset date removal
- House Bill 2071, community corrections grants
- House Bill 2139, workers comp rates
- House Bill 2191, school teacher contracts
- House Bill 2194, KPERS
STANDING COMMITTEES
The Senate was in session every day this week. During lunch hours and breaks, committees chiseled out time to meet and finalize work on bills and to hold confirmation hearings. Among the committees meeting:
Federal and State Affairs. The committee held a hearing on Monday on Senate Bill 241. Amendments to the Kansas expanded lottery act. “SB 241 would amend the state’s Expanded Lottery Act and would create the Kansas Agricultural Opportunity Act” (Kansas Division of the Budget). SB 241 passed out of committee on Wednesday.
The committee also continued their hearings on Joanne Budler as the State Librarian, Mark Dodd as the Executive Director of the State Gaming Agency, Phillis Setchell as a member of the State Civil Service Board, and Rick Petersen-Klein as the Executive Director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission. All conferees were passed out of committee with recommendation.
Public Health and Welfare. The committee met this week and passed House Bill 2241 out of committee. HB 2241 would enact a new law to allow the franchise practice of dentistry in Kansas and revise portions of the Dental Practices Act pertaining to definitions and oversight functions of the Kansas Dental Board.
Utilities. The Utilities committee held a hearing on Monday for Mark Sievers as member of the Kansas Corporation Commission by Governor Sam Brownback. Mr. Sievers was passed out of committee with recommendation. They also had an overview of the KAN-ED act, which was designed to establish a broadband technology-based network called KAN-ED for schools, libraries, and hospitals. The committee heard testimony on House Bill 2390. KAN-ED act; repeal. The bill would transfer all moneys from the KAN-ED fund to the state general fund and would abolish the KAN-ED fund. HB 2390 would also eliminate KAN-ED.
Ways and Means. The committee took up the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments, and Benefits on the confirmation of Terry Matlack as a member of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees by Governor Sam Brownback. Mr. Matlack was passed out of committee with recommendation.
The Ways and Means Committee also held a hearing on Senate Bill 240. Abolishing the joint committee on information technology; creating the committee on technology oversight. “SB 240 would abolish the Joint Committee on Information Technology (JCIT) and would create the Committee on Technology Oversight. The committee would comprise of seven members, with four legislative members and three non-legislative leaders of the information technology industry. . . The committee would study the use of state agency information technology (IT), review and make recommendations on state agency IT proposals, study and monitor progress of IT projects, and file reports on the progress of IT projects” (Kansas Division of the Budget). SB 240 passed out of committee.
Finally, the Ways and Means Committee passed the following bills out of committee:
House Bill 2336 would create the Kansas Employment First Initiative Act, requiring state programs and services which support employment of persons with disabilities to consider, as their first option, competitive and integrated employment for persons with disabilities. HB 2336 would not require employers to give preference to hiring persons with a disability.
Senate Substitute for House Bill 2357 replaces the member appointed to the Kansas Bioscience Authority Board by Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation with the Secretary of Commerce.
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