Legislative Updates

Legislative Update - Week 12 - March 30 to April 3, 2009

Few issues proved too insignificant to escape debate in the Kansas Legislature this week, as lawmakers worked to wrap up the regular portion of the 2009 session. Even Ben and Jerry’s famous ice cream found its way to the center of a riveting debate over milk product labeling laws. (Don’t worry. Your ice cream is safe from legislative interference.)

For the bulk of the session, debate over budget issues were dominate and this week was no exception. The state’s ‘mega’ budget measure was adopted with some $13 billion of expenditures made for the fiscal year starting July 1 of this year. And, even though this budget reduced spending in nearly every category or agency, most observers believe more spending cuts will be needed when the session resumes later this month.

Revenue Forecasts

April 17th will be a key date for state agencies and others whose budgets will rise or (more likely) fall once the state’s revenue forecasting group meets to update budget projections. This new revenue forecast will guide legislative action in the “veto session” which is slated to begin April 29th. The news can’t be good, with March tax receipts alone $57 million below what had been projected. The state’s top economists will gather and revise the official budget estimates which serve as the basis for wrapping up remaining appropriation decisions for the 2009 legislature. Just how deep further budget cuts and/or tax increases would have to go to make the state’s budget balance remain to be seen. No one is making any guesses at this point, but Democrats in the Legislature have gone on record saying they won’t vote to support further cuts to education.

Energy Bill Passes AGAIN

In what is almost becoming monotonous, the legislature has once again adopted legislation clearing the way for the controversial coal-fired power plants in western Kansas to be built. Of course, the bill will be met with a certain veto in the Governor’s office but the real question is if the House can muster the horsepower to override the veto. HB 2014 contains the garden variety of “green” measures ranging from energy conservation standards for new construction of state facilities & operations of state vehicles, etc, net metering on a limited basis, deregulation of large electric cooperatives, establishment of renewable energy standards and other regulatory directives. In the end it seems a great deal of “energy” has been invested in this policy arena, with little real interest in achieving anything other than poking one side or another related to coal-fired power plants. Maybe the chardonnay has to get warm due to a brownout for a real debate to take place in the Kansas Legislature.

Smoking ban snuffed out

The Kansas Senate has repeatedly advanced a statewide smoking ban, only to see it extinguished in the Kansas House. The measure, SB 25, would ban smoking in most public places with a limited number of exceptions (private clubs where membership dues are substantial, casino floors, veteran’s facilities, etc.) Opposition to the measure in the House centered on two main fronts: Those who believe local cities and counties are better suited to make these decisions via local ordinances and those who see this as yet another example of “big government” encroaching in the livelihood of private business. Proponents of the ban argue that the public health benefits of a smoking ban outweigh those concerns and point to the skyrocketing public health costs related to smoking illnesses. Passions run high on this issue and while the House hasn’t had a vote on it yet, that could take place during the veto session.

Annexation

There has been an extended debate this year about limitations that might be imposed on cities growth via annexation. To date, none of the various measures have mustered enough votes to move from the legislative arena to the Governor’s desk for consideration. Ground zero for this battle is a wealthy area of Johnson County where a famous resident (Tom Watson) owns property and wishes NOT to be annexed into the City of Overland Park, thank you very much. He has bankrolled a lobbying effort that is stoking the legislative fires on this issue, coupled with a couple of other zealous legislators whose political campaigns included strong “anti-growth” slogans. These extremely motivated legislators are promising to tie up every remaining legislative issue until annexation is resolved to their satisfaction. Of course, any bill passed must be signed by the Governor and previous anti-annexation measures have been vetoed when they’ve gone too far in handcuffing cities’ ability to annex land outside existing boundaries.

Governor’s move to Health and Human Services

The next two weeks will be bittersweet for Governor Kathleen Sebelius and her staff as she prepares to leave Kansas and assume the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Two Senate hearings this past week gave the Kansas Governor a national platform to discuss her perspective on health policy matters and to demonstrate her unique trait of “plainspoken” political prowess. Taking on what is arguably one of the hardest jobs in the nation, Governor Sebelius got rave reviews for her calm determination at both Senate hearings. To Kansans, having a former Governor who now commands the nation’s lead agency for healthcare and health research is a gaming changing occurrence.

As the Governor prepares to take the reigns at HHS, Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson is immersed in budget details and the minutia of agency funding strata. And while there’s considerable interest in who he’ll select to be Lt. Governor, if he’s made a selection he is keeping it classified. Conventional wisdom is that whoever is selected must be an individual who’s willing to seek elective office for the state’s Democrat party.

Healthcare

Clearly, one of the most progressive legislative achievements of this session in the area of health policy is the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Healthwave. Using federal economic stimulus funds, Kansas Legislators approved legislation allowing more Kansas kids to participate in the program by way of raising the eligibility cap to 250% of the federal poverty limit. This move has minimal impact on state general fund dollars, yet can allow an estimated 8,000 additional low income Kansas kids to have access to the Healthwave program.

Appointment apoplexy

The Kansas Senate has many responsibilities. One of the little-known functions is that of confirmation for men and women who are appointed to key boards and jobs in state government. This session the Senate confirmation process has seemed to have gone rogue. First, there was the odd appointment by former Speaker Melvin Neufeld of himself to a position on the Kansas Bioscience Authority. That was in December after he’d been ousted as Speaker by his colleagues. Today, four months later the Senate still hasn’t acted on his appointment. So, he serves on the Kansas Bioscience Authority even though he hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate.

Friday, though, the Senate found time to consider and then decide not to consider the re-appointment of a prominent Kansas City area business leader to the Kansas Health Policy Authority. Ned Holland had invested countless hours as a volunteer board member to the state’s fledgling health policy agency and had obviously ruffled feathers along the way. In the end, his re-appointment was pulled signaling a major step backward in efforts for health reform in Kansas. Holland served as a “voice” for employers on the KHPA board and often asked provocative questions in an effort to stimulate robust discussion on steps that might lead to lower health costs.

Docket Fees & other court issues

After years of traditional leadership in House and Senate Judiciary Committees, this year saw new Chairmen in both committees. And both Chairmen ~ Senator Tim Owens and Representative Lance Kinzer ~ worked like old pros in their new roles. There were minefields that could have exploded at any turn this session in the Judiciary Committees, but both groups were well led and performed well beyond most other committees. Bills moved through the minefields, debate was heard, votes taken and any blood shed in the process was mopped up.

Legislation passed this year in Judiciary included authorization of a legislatively directed “surcharge” of up to $10 to allow the courts to operate under a reduced state general fund budget. The docket fees to make up the funding shortfall would be “sunset” for further review after a year’s time and would maintain legislative direction, as opposed to being unshackled by the legislative branch.

Legislators enacted legislation to set the mandatory retirement age for judges, including justices of the Supreme Court at age 75. The current age is age 70. Under the language adopted, a judge may complete his or her term when reaching the age of 75 at any point during the term.

And if you thought more concealed weapons in the county courthouses and courtrooms were a good idea, you’d be jumping for joy with SB 19. This measure was one of the first bills debated in the Kansas Senate and as such, generated little scrutiny. That quickly changed when judges suddenly realized the bill’s broad language would open courtrooms to numerous individuals (prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, etc.) allowed to carry concealed weapons. Many 7 a.m. subcommittee meetings later, the bill was narrowed considerably and eventually amended to let counties opt out of the measure entirely upon action of the county commission. Pistol packing prosecutors want to carry their concealed weapons, and SB 19 is their license to do so….if it gets the signature of the Governor and if the county commissions don’t opt out. Also, the bill was amended to make certain that Chief Judges in Judicial Districts control courtrooms in their jurisdiction. Courthouses are controlled by the county commission; courtrooms by the Chief justice.

Veto Session April 29

If you have faithfully read to this point you must know that the Legislature adjourned Friday, April 4 and the veto session will begin Wednesday, April 29th. In between the Governor will have time to review the bills passed by the legislature, and the legislators will have time to catch a breath at home and listen to constituents. But the week before, both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee will be back at work sharpening pencils in an effort to make budgets balance in our state. Never have the stakes been higher, as budgets have already been shrunk for both FY 2009 and FY 2010. Yet, more cuts will clearly be required in the days ahead. With economic uncertainty still very much at the center of what we’re experiencing, a measured approach to state obligations is reasonable to expect.

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