• Bill would allow political candidates to transfer campaign funds
• KPERS fund ranked 49^th nationally
• Disabled Kansans visit Capitol
• Tax discussions continue
• New energy efficiency programs available for local governments
• House Education Committee hears several bills
  • House Bill 2409: Catastrophic Aid
  • Senate Bill 485: Private and Out-of-State Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act
  • House Bill 2704: School consolidation
  • House Bill 2699: Teacher Probationary Period

From The Statehouse: Week 9

One of my biggest challenges this session is trying to find items of interest to report.  This has been a very sparse year for legislation of much substance.  This week was typical in terms of little to debate.

I wanted to wait until today to send out this week's newsletter so I could also report on the formation of the Select Investigative Committee.  This committee was formed in response to a formal ethics complaint filed by the minority leadership team against the Speaker of the House.  The complaint alleges the Speaker has committed a conflict of interest by his representation of special interest in legal action against the State of Kansas.

There has never been a case where the Speaker has been under investigation in this manner.  The Select Committee is comprised of three members of majority party and three members of the minority party.  The appointments were made by the Speaker Pro Tem.

I was one of the appointees to this committee and work will begin today, Monday the 15^th.  I will report on the activities of this committee in my weekly e-newsletters.

Bill would allow political candidates to transfer campaign funds

This Wednesday, the House Elections Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 423, which would allow an incumbent legislator to transfer campaign contributions raised from one political account to another account that is filed for a different office.  For example, if a House member decides to run for Secretary of State, that candidate could transfer funds in his/her  House campaign account to the Secretary of State account. Once transferred, the original political account would be terminated.

This bill has been introduced a number of times, usually during an election year.  Currently, there are four sitting senators who have a political interest in the law change.  The bill would enable those legislators to jumpstart their new campaign fundraising operations by thousands of dollars.  Specifically, Senator Derek Schmidt would have over $100,000 more at his disposal in his bid for Attorney General in 2010 if this bill becomes law. 

The Governmental Ethics Commission has issued an opinion stating that campaign finance laws do not allow such transfers.  There are legitimate concerns about the donors' intent of their contributions.  The question then is, does it follow that supports from one race are supporters in an entirely different race?  Opponents state that this gives incumbents a huge advantage when running for an open seat.

The House Elections Committee will debate this bill next week.  If it passes, the bill will go on to the full House for consideration.

KPERS fund ranked 49^th nationally

The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS) fund, like other state retirement funds, was hit hard by the stock market drop two years ago.  The market has rebounded, but the KPERS fund is still alarmingly underfunded.  The most recent report from the Pew Center on the States (issued in February) found that the Kansas retirement system was only 58.82% funded.  This means that we only have 58.82% of the money we need in the system to fund our obligations to current and future state retirees.

This ranking is second worst in the entire United State, with Illinois having a 54.33% funding record.  The Government Accountability Office says 80% is the preferred benchmark funding level.  The last time Kansas met that mark was in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  The KPERS actuary told the Kansas Legislature that it needed to increase the employer contribution to keep the fund sound.  The Legislature increased the employer share, although much less than needed.  In addition, the state is short by $106.48 per person, in money set aside for post employment health insurance costs for current and future employees.

There are currently 268,000 Kansans impacted by KPERS funding.  All of these Kansans depend on KPERS to survive and none of them has had a cost of living increase since the early 1990s.  It is the Legislature's responsibility to take care of these retirees.  We must reverse the trends of the past two decades and adequately fund our KPERS system so the hard working state employees - past and present - can count on a retirement system that will allow them to retire in dignity.

Disabled Kansans visit Capitol

On Tuesday morning, Kansans with physical and developmental disabilities visited the Statehouse to lobby for home and community based services funding.  Some groups placed 58 crosses on the Statehouse lawn to represent 58 disabled Kansans who have died while on waiting lists for services.  Other groups highlighted the phrase "Invisible Kansans" and showed their "visibility" by visiting every legislative office to discuss the funding cuts.

Programs that serve those with disabilities in Kansas have taken drastic cuts recently because of the state's budget problems.  In December of 2008, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services imposed a freeze on physically disabled waivers for the home and community based services list.  The State waiting list for persons with developmental disabilities already exceeds more than 4,000 Kansans waiting receive help.  In November of 2009, a 10% across the board cut to Medicaid services that includes HCBS was imposed. 

Tax discussions continue      

On Wednesday, the House Taxation Committee tabled HB 2593, which would increase taxes on alcoholic beverages.  Although the bill has been tabled, the discussion will likely resurface before the end of this legislative session.

The increase in the wholesale tax on alcoholic beverages in HB 2593, which has not been changed since 1977, is aimed at helping to close the more than $400 million dollar budget gap in the state's general fund, and would shift increased revenue from the tax to programs that care for the developmentally and mentally disabled.  The tax increase is estimated to increase state revenue by about $21 million in 2011, and would provide a great deal of relief for community mental health agencies who have experienced $20 million in cuts recently.

This week the Senate Tax Committee also addressed legislation that would raise taxes on tobacco products and retail sales tax.  SB 615 includes a measure that would raise the tobacco tax by $0.55 to the national average of $1.34.  The same bill would also increase retail sales tax by 1% until 2013.  The Department of Revenue estimates that SB 615 would raise approximately $377 million dollars for the state's general fund.  A similar measure regarding sales tax was addressed in the House Tax Committee earlier this year, but was unsuccessful.  The Senate Tax Committee is expected to vote on this measure sometime next week.

New energy efficiency programs available for local governments

As part of its statewide strategy to promote energy-efficiency retrofits in public buildings, the State Energy Office has established two new grant programs to assist cities and counties-the Public Projects Grant Program and the Energy Manager Grant Program. The programs are funded with $5.7 million in federal funds received from the Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Public Projects Grants are designed to supplement the existing Facility Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP) by focusing on energy efficiency projects in public buildings that are either too small for FCIP or include specific improvements that exceed FCIP's 30-year statutory payback period. Examples of improvements funded through these grants include lighting, heating and cooling equipment, energy management controls, and insulation or other envelope measures. The application deadline for this program is July 15, 2010.

The Energy Manager Grants provide coalitions of local governments (cities, counties, school districts) with an annual stipend of $50,000 for up to two years to hire an energy manager. Energy managers will develop both short and long-term plans for each of the coalition members, with the goal of reducing energy usage in both the public and private section. The application deadline for this grant is April 15, 2010.

Please visit the State Energy Office website (http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/energy/index.htm) for more information about these new grant programs and all the programs administered by the State Energy Office. 

House Education Committee hears several bills

House Bill 2409: Catastrophic Aid

The House Education Committee held hearings on the education catastrophic aid issue with House bill 2409 during the first week of March. This aid helps districts pay the high costs of care for students with significant needs. The catastrophic aid law would increase the eligibility amount from $25,000 to $36,000 per student and cut the total amount of current aid funding. This reduction would allow for more funds for regular special education to become available.

Legislation is being put forth through both the Senate and House in regards to changing the current funding formula and including more restrictions. The previous wording of the catastrophic aid funding allowed for three major Johnson County school districts: Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission, and Olathe, to maximize their claims and receive $7.8 million out of the state's total budget of $12 million.

Shawnee Mission alone accounted for 44% of all of the claims statewide last year, with 333 claims. With the new legislation, these school districts will be unable to continue the requests for large amounts of funding and significantly reduce aid while increasing available amounts for other districts.

The school districts' acquisition of the large amounts of funding was done legally, but, other school districts were left with significantly less funds for the school year. House Bill 2409 has had strong support in the Education Committee and school districts across the state, with the exception of Blue Valley and Olathe. The companion bill (SB 359) passed the Senate on Thursday. The House Education Committee will likely put any policy changes desired on that bill when it comes over from the Senate.

Senate Bill 485: Private and Out-of-State Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act

During the first week of March, the Education Committee held hearings of Senate Bill 485 regarding amendments to the Private and Out-of-State Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act. This legislation has been passed in the Senate and aims to put controls on out-of-state higher education institutions coming to Kansas. This legislation would generate $182,200 for fiscal year 2010 and $390,100 for fiscal year 2011.

The bill would require secondary education institutions to notify the State Board of Regents of an existing branch campus within the state. The branch campus would become eligible for fees and would be reviewed by the Board of Regents to ensure that the campus is also in compliance with laws and regulations.

SB 485 would also affect how student complaints are handled. In regards to the complaints, all institutions would adopt, publish and adhere to the same procedure, including a requirement that specifies complaints must be posted where students can see it.

New definitions, alterations to the renewal and application process, and clarification to the approval of degrees requiring certificates were also addressed in the new legislation. Fees for degree and non-degree granting institutions were also established.

House Bill 2704: School consolidation

The House passed House Bill 2704, dealing with consolidation. The bill would allow three or more districts to consolidate into two districts (essentially allowing one district to split itself among some others in consolidating) and keep the incentive funds for consolidation.

As it came out of the House Education Committee, the bill changed low enrollment weighting such that the cap on low-enrollment weighting, which is at 100 students in current law, would change to 200 students for any district with less than 200 square miles and fewer than 200 students. This had started with a 400-student cap but was amended in committee.  The intent of the bill was to encourage consolidation among districts that are "small by choice."

House Bill 2699: Teacher Probationary Period

The House Education Budget Committee held a hearing on HB 2699 which would change the probationary period from three to five years for teachers in our public schools. This means that school districts could non-renew a teacher's contract at the end of the school year without having to justify the decision for five years instead of the current three.  This is a very contentious issue that is being fought between the administrators' organization (United School Administrators - proponent) and the teacher's organization (KNEA -- opponents). No action was taken on the bill. It is interesting that the bill came up in the Education Budget Committee rather than the regular Education Committee.