Dear Friends and Family,
As is typical with the week after the Turnaround deadline, the
Legislature was closed on Monday. The Speaker then called for
a Pro Forma day on Tuesday, so the House did not reconvene until
Wednesday. Committee schedules were lackluster this week with
a few exceptions, but we did engage in two very lengthy debates on
the floor Thursday and Friday. We have five weeks until First
Adjournment, which is the next major legislative deadline.
Sincerely,
Mike Slattery
State Representative
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Last week, the
Legislature sent the FY 2010 Rescission bill to the Governor.
He has not yet taken action on the bill, but if he signs it (which
he is expected to do), his signature will officially enact $92
million in cuts to the current budget, effective immediately.
As I mentioned last week, revenue estimates continue to come in
below what has been expected and the gap has only gotten
bigger. On Friday, February revenues came in $71 million
short for the month, for a total $105 million shortfall in FY
2010. We will be forced to revisit the budget in April, after
the most current revenue estimates are made available. Until
then, I'm still waiting to see some major movement on the FY 2011
budget in Appropriations, which hasn't yet happened. Some
legislators continue to insist that Kansas has a spending problem,
not a revenue problem. However, those legislators have yet to
identify what programs stand to endure further cuts. After
five rounds of cuts and a sixth round on the horizon, I have a hard
time accepting that assertion.
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Effective July 1, 2010, Kansas
will be Smoke Free
Last year, the
Kansas Senate passed a statewide smoking ban, House Bill
2221. Despite significant support from representatives, the
bill was tabled in House committee and essentially killed for the
year. Then in January, Governor Mark Parkinson revived the
debate and encouraged the Legislature to move forward with this
initiative in 2010. In his State of the State Address,
Parkinson requested legislation that was not "full of
loopholes" and that would satisfy the 75% of Kansans who want
a "real public smoking ban."
Because the bill carried over from last year, the House retained
the opportunity to concur with the Senate bill. This
legislative procedure is utilized on occasion when a bill with
significant support gets "stuck" in a chamber. If
enough members concur, the bill goes directly to the Governor with
no opportunity for amendments. After hours of debate, the
House voted to concur with House Bill 2221at a vote of 68-54.
Effective July 1st, the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act will protect
Kansans from harmful secondhand smoke by banning smoking in public
places, any place of employment, including restaurants and bars,
and access points of all buildings not exempted by the bill. Those
buildings exempted include: private homes, outdoor areas with
ventilation, gaming floors of lottery gaming facilities or
racetrack gaming facilities, designated smoking rooms in hotels,
and tobacco shops.
This is not perfect legislation, and it is very possible that we
will need to do more work on it next year, or pass a trailer
bill. However, killing the bill would have delayed the
advancement of any clean indoor air act for years. It was
more efficient to press forward and with the option of improving the
legislation over time (as we do with all statutes), rather than
delay any movement at all for the indefinite future.
Protecting the health and safety of Kansans is one of my top
priorities in the Statehouse. There is no risk-free exposure
to cigarette smoke. Tobacco-related diseases cost Kansas
nearly $200 million annually in Medicaid costs and are the number
one cause of preventable death. Not only will a smoking ban
protect innocent Kansans from harmful secondhand smoke, it will
save our state millions of dollars during a year when we have no
funding to spare. Health benefits aside, this is simply good
public policy.
Based on all of the health and fiscal benefits relating to clean
indoor air, I decided to join the core team of legislators working
on the bill. I partnered with members of both parties to
increase the support in the House of Representatives. Passing
the clean indoor air act was my top legislative priority in 2010,
so after a year of grassroots efforts I was thrilled to see this
historic piece of legislation become law.
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Major
Job Creation Bill Passes House
On Friday, the House debated at great lengths a job creation bill
titled "Promoting Employment Across Kansas" (PEAK).
PEAK is an economic development tool designed to assist our state
in recruiting quality, sustainable and good paying jobs. For
over two years, the employment base across the state has
eroded. That economic deterioration here in Kansas is the
worst since the Great Depression, with nearly 100,000 of our
neighbors unemployed or under employed. It is imperative that
our number one priority at the state be the growth of the economy,
creation of jobs and working our way out of this dire economic
situation.
Job creation is not only critical for our citizens, but restoring
employment is one of the important keys to solving our state
budgetary problems. The state of Kansas needs more revenue,
and unemployment reduces our funding base created by income, sales
and property taxes. Getting Kansans back to work is the
fundamental building block for families, communities and the state.
PEAK is designed to help Kansas attract new jobs by providing a
financial incentive for businesses considering relocating or
expanding in our state. Similar to the recent success in
attracting Cerner to Wyandotte County, PEAK will provide another
tool for our state to improve our economy and bring more jobs to
our state. PEAK, as opposed to other economic development
tools, provides no upfront cash incentives. The incentives
offered are only when the jobs are actually in place and employees
are being paid. This provides another layer of protection for
our state, ensuring that we are not paying for jobs that are not
being created.
Despite the upfront costs associated with PEAK, projections from
legislative research show the five-year positive impact on revenues
from these jobs could be well over $35 million. During a
recession we must do everything we can to help our economy grow and
create jobs, and PEAK provides another opportunity to achieve these
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Health
Care Amendment Heard in House Committee
On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimonies on SCR
1615 - the concurrent resolution asserting state sovereignty under
the 10th Amendment over "intrusive" federal
legislation. Several state senators gave testimonies, along
with many citizens from across the state who have been adamantly
opposed to federal health care reform. Proponents testified
that the federal government has failed to respect states rights
under the 10th Amendment and that this resolution will carry that
message to Washington D.C. Some proponents also referenced
the debate over national health care reform in Washington and said
that any results should be in the form of a constitutional
amendment, not federal legislation. Some also worried about
the federal government establishing state mandates that do not have
funding and their effect on the state budget.
Opponents were concerned that this resolution would send a message
to the federal government that Kansas is not in favor of certain
important federal acts, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Violence Against Women Act, and other acts relating to inter-state
violence like the Amber Alert law. Some also inquired about
whether the correct place to raise these concerns would be the
courts as they have the power of judicial review over allegedly
unconstitutional laws.
I have a number of concerns about this proposal. Foremost, I
believe that it is highly irresponsible to treat the Kansas State
Constitution like a political piñata. There is no federal
health care bill yet, so it seems highly premature to publicly
declare opposition to something that doesn't even exist.
Secondly, state legislatures are not the place to challenge federal
legislation. If citizens are concerned about a federal law,
they can challenge its constitutionality in court. That is
what the judicial branch is for. In my opinion, taxpayers
expect Kansas lawmakers to make more productive use of their time
rather than argue about federal legislation over which they have no
jurisdiction.
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Keep
in Touch
It is a great honor to serve as your state representative,
particularly during this difficult economic time. I deeply
value and need your input on the various issues facing state
government. Again, I am here to serve and represent you, and
communication between us is vital. Please feel free to
contact me with any comments and questions. My office address
is Room L-8, Docking State Office Building, Topeka, KS 66612.
You can reach me at (785) 296-7665 or call me at home at (913)
362-7528. Additionally, you can e-mail me at mike@mikeslattery.org. |
Paid for By
Slattery for
Kansas House
Aaron Otto
Treasurer
PO Box 1171
Mission KS 66222 |
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