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Please note that
this Saturday, March 20th; I will be hosting my second Town Hall
meeting at Sylvester Powell Community Center at 9 AM. Please
join me to discuss the last month, as well as share any issues that
are on your mind.
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Bill Would Allow Political
Candidates to Transfer Campaign Funds
Last Wednesday,
the House Elections Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 423,
which would allow an incumbent legislator to transfer campaign
contributions 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 political House 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
vested 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 the laws of the state do not allow such transfers. There
are legitimate concerns about the donors' intent of their
contributions. It is highly feasible that someone who gave to
a candidate in one race may support a different candidate in
another race. It would therefore be improper to use their
money in race that they did not directly contribute to. This
is especially true when the money transfers from a legislative race
to a statewide race, as the pool of candidates tremendously
increases and the job qualifications are guaranteed to
change.
A donor's support of a candidate is not unwavering; it always
depends on the race. If they do support the candidate without
question then they will give to the candidate again in the new
campaign. As a general rule, it is usually better to have
more restrictions on campaign finance than less, especially since
there are statutory concerns about this legislation.
Elections Committee will deliberate on this bill next week.
If it passes, the bill will go on to the full House for
consideration.
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KPERS
Fund Ranked 49th
Nationally
Kansas public employees oftentimes work for wages that are lower
than the market for similar jobs in the private sector.
However, one of the benefits of being a state employee (or local
school district employee) is a respectable pension plan. Our
Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS) offers an employee
a benefit of 1.75% times the number of years of service times the
average of the highest three year's salary for an employee who
reaches retirement age. For example, a state employee who
retires after 30 years of service would receive 52.5% (1.75% times
30 years) of his/her salary as a retirement benefit. State
employees pay 4% of their salary into the system.
The 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 actuarially sound. The Legislature chose not to
heed the recommendation and 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.
This is yet another example a critical service provided by state
government that must be provided for in FY 2011. There are
currently 268,000 Kansans impacted by KPERS funding. All of
these Kansans depend on KPERS to survive and none of them have had
a cost of living 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 which will allow
them to retire in dignity.
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Tax Discussions Continue
Last 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 also 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.
Last 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.
Legislators are currently divided on these tax increases.
Although legislators understand that taxes are generally unpopular,
there is a growing consensus that at some point new taxes must be
considered to bridge the increasing budget gap. Without
additional revenue through new taxes or cutting tax exemptions,
many legislators believe that there is simply not enough that can
be cut from the current budget to cover the more than $400 million
gap. More information regarding the budget will be coming
shortly.
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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. For eligibility requirements and
additional information, see the State Energy Office web site
(http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/energy/arra/publicproj.htm)
or contact Peter Armesto (785-271-3241; p.armesto@kcc.ks.gov).
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. For eligibility
requirements and additional information, see the State Energy
Office web site (www.kcc.ks.gov/energy/arra/energymgr.htm),
or contact Stuart Yoho (785-271-3352; s.yoho@kcc.ks.gov).
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
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.
House Bill 2704: School Consolidation
The House also 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 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. Districts that meet these sizes and
enrollment limits would lose some low-enrollment money if the bill
becomes law. The intent of the bill was to encourage consolidation
among districts that are "small by choice." That portion
of the bill was taken out on the floor, but may come back in the
Senate deliberations.
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 years 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 - proponents) and the teachers'
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.
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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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