February Newsletter

This is my first legislative newsletter of the 2003 Session. As in previous years, I will provide information on my legislative activities and on issues that impact our community and state that may not be covered by the media.

Higher Education Committee: As Chairman of the Committee, I am exploring areas that previous legislative committees have ignored. Representatives of Regents’ faculty, classified employees, unclassified professional staff, and students were invited to address the Committee. To my knowledge, this is the first time all of these groups have specifically been invited to testify on issues of interest and concern. Mike Auchard and Dennis Constance represented KU’s classified employees; Thelma Simons, the unclassified professional staff, and Jonathan Ng, the students. Faculty Senate representative Tom Mulinazzi was unable to attend.

In addition to the traditional presentations by the Board of Regents’ CEO (Lawrence’s own Reggie Robinson), and representatives of the community colleges and vocational-technical schools, I scheduled presentations on behalf of the private colleges and proprietary schools in Kansas. Most Committee members were unaware that students at private colleges are eligible for state funded financial assistance or that proprietary schools are regulated by the Board of Regents, specifically by Dr. Patricia Anderson of Lawrence.

Other Committee Assignments: My other committee assignments reflect my longstanding interest in utility and environment issues. My leadership on renewable energy (especially wind) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy. While I no longer am Vice Chairman of the Utilities Committee, because of my Higher Education Chairmanship, I remain a committee member. Recently the Chairman of the Board of Regents publicly noted that I was a key legislator in the development and funding of KAN-ED, the broadband linking of public schools, libraries, hospitals, and Regents’ institutions. My actions to protect and improve the quantity and quality of Kansas’ waters are well known, and I remain a member of the Environment Committee. As a member of the Appropriations Budget Committee on General Government and Human Resources I will review the budget requests of elected officials (e.g., Insurance Commissioner), the Lottery, and other agencies.

Telemarketer Do Not Call List: Approximately 450,000 Kansans have placed their names on the Do Not Call list and substantially reduced the number of unsolicited telemarketer calls they receive. It is working so well that groups are asking for legislation to exempt themselves from the prohibition. To date, real estate agents, insurance agents and others have had bills drafted to permit them to make unsolicited calls. As a primary author of the current law, I am not in favor of weakening it. If you have not yet signed up for the Do Not Call list, and wish to do so, please call the Kansas Attorney General’s office at 785-296-2215 or vist the Attorney General's Website.

Douglas County Legislative Caucus: With redistricting, ten legislators represent part of Douglas County or have a large number of residents who work here. To increase communications between us and expand the base of legislators addressing Lawrence and Douglas County issues I have formally organized the Douglas County Legislative Delegation Caucus. We meet regularly to exchange information on issues affecting our constituents and to educate the newly elected members.

Legislative Schedule: Because 29 of the 125 House members are freshmen and Governor Sebelius is newly inaugurated, the legislative pace has been very slow. Governors and legislators have a very steep learning curve before they can be effective. Hence, most committees are having more briefings by staff and state agency liaisons than actually considering bills.

As a result, Committee chairpersons and experienced legislators work even harder. On a typical day I arrive at the Capitol before 7:30 a.m.. The Republican Caucus meets each day at 8:00 and Utilities Committee meets from 9:00 to 11:00. We have spent several weeks hearing a bill sponsored by SBC (Southwestern Bell) to remove their broadband (high speed international data lines) services from Kansas Corporation Commission oversight. On average, six to eight people testified each day (a total of 18 hours so far) on this bill. Along with their testimony, collectively the Committee received 50-75 pages per day to support the testimony

At ll:00 the full House convenes and I generally use the lunch break to meet with Douglas County residents visiting the Capitol, to answer mail, and to return telephone calls. At 1:30 p.m. the Budget Committee meets and at 3:30 I either chair the Higher Education Committee (Mon/Wed) or participate in the Environment Committee deliberations (Tue/Thur). “Free Time” is spent in a weekly meeting with other Committee chairpersons, meeting with state agency staff on constituent problems or policy issues (e.g., education funding), analyzing budgets, working on amendments to bills heard in committees on which I serve, talking with Lawrence and Douglas County officials about community needs, and a myriad of other constituent service tasks.

My day does not end when I leave the Capitol as I attend receptions at which Douglas county residents are present and spend at least one hour at home, each evening (more on the weekends) responding to email, making telephone calls and drafting testimony.

Service to Douglas County Residents: In addition to the debate on extending broadband capability to more Kansans and expanding the generation of electricity from renewable resources, I am working on several bills on behalf of our community. HB 2010 was requested by local firefighters who believe that the children of volunteer firefighters killed in the line of duty should receive tuition-free education opportunities at Regents schools (paid firefighters already have this benefit). HB 2068 would provide legal protection for fire departments that in good faith donate surplus equipment to other (volunteer) fire departments.

At the request of local officials, I also have requested “technical” clarifications for existing statutes that apply to township road signs, and reimbursement of rural water districts for relocating water lines to accommodate road construction projects.

Budget: The state’s fiscal condition continues to be the major issue before the Legislature. Unfortunately, substantive discussions on how we address the state’s need to protect our most vulnerable citizens, educate our youth, “grow” our economy, and govern responsibly remain elusive. Many of the budget reductions in the current fiscal year proposed by Governors Graves and Sebelius were debated and approved by the House. Governor Sebelius “captured” money from various trust funds (dedicated fees paid by an identifiable group to solve specific problems).

For example, dry cleaners have a fund to clean up environmental problems from the 1950's and service station operators contribute to the Underground Storage Tank Release Fund to address environmental problems associated with leaking and corroded fuel storage tanks. Chemicals now used by the dry cleaners and composite fuel storage tanks do not pose the same environmental risks today, but the business owners (and their customers) pay into the funds to re-mediate problems that occurred decades ago.

Attorney General Carla Stoval issued an opinion last year that the Legislature may “tap” such funds to pay legitimate administrative costs, but not “raid” the funds to balance the budget. Governor Sebelius’ budget recommendation raided such trust funds for approximately $111 million. Republican House members amended the budget recision bill to “borrow” the $111 million with repayment scheduled for fiscal year 2005. This action will meet the legal standard established by General Stoval, but places Governor Sebelius in a difficult position next year as she prepares her budget proposal.

Discussions about actually eliminating state programs, increasing taxes to pay for necessary and desired programs, or a combination of the two are not being held. I voted against the proposed budget and the “borrowing” because I believe we should address the core issue–what government services do we want and what will we pay for them.

State Employee COLA: Governor Sebelius has proposed a 1.5 percent Cost of Living Adjustment, funded from the KPERS Death and Disability Insurance Fund. KPERS is the state employee retirement system.

I am pleased that the Governor recognizes that state employees, particularly the lowest paid classified employees deserve raises for their service to all Kansans. This is particularly important because they received no raise for the current year and are incurring a significant increase in the employee’s share of health insurance costs. While I expect the COLA will likely pass, there will be intense debate about the funding source because such a transfer will make the Death and Disability Fund actuarially underfunded. Fortunately for recipients, all payments will be made to beneficiaries because the state is legally and morally obligated. Unfortunately for taxpayers, making the fund actuarially “sound” will cost more money in the long run.

Implications for Kansas of Federal Budget Deficits: Legislators and the public frequently talk about federal mandates. The newest such mandate requires states to collect Social Security numbers for persons seeking or renewing drivers’ licenses so that those delinquent in making child support payments can be located. Failure to comply with this federal mandate could cost the state up to $133 million.

What is not often discussed is the impact on state revenues caused by changes in the federal tax code. For example, President Bush’s proposal to eliminate taxes on stock dividend payments would cost Kansas an estimated $51 million. The reason for this “loss” is that our tax base is your federal taxable income figure. Reductions in your federal tax liability automatically reduce your state tax bill. Conversely, if the federal tax code requires you to pay more, the automatic linkage between tax codes will result in a higher Kansas tax liability.

The ironic fact is that President Bush’s economic stimulus package could “hurt” Kansas revenues in the short run. The Legislature also may conclude our budget development for fiscal year 2004 and adjourn before Congress concludes action on the President’s stimulus package. The result could be less revenues than anticipated to fund Kansas’ budget, thereby forcing Governor Sebelius to make additional budget reductions during the summer and fall.

Closing Comments: Please share this newsletter with a friend or neighbor after you have read it. I invite you to contact me regarding any state issue important to you. You also are invited to spend all or part of a day with me at the Capitol. As always, I invite you to contact me when I can be of assistance or on state issues important to you.

If you wish to receive future newsletters by email, please send the appropriate information (name, home address, email address) to me at sloan@house.state.ks.us