Melanie’s Memo
40th District
Kansas House of Representatives
Week 3: January 26-30, 2009
FROM THE STATEHOUSE
My third week in Topeka passed like a whirlwind! In between committee
meetings and sessions on the floor of the House, many folks from the
40th District visited Topeka. Wendy Scheidt, the Executive Director of
Leavenworth's Main Street Program, stopped by to visit and give me an
update on the program and downtown Leavenworth. Ken Miller, from the
City of Lansing, also stopped by to visit and give me an update on
Lansing's priorities and Lansing's development. Many folks from the
City of Leavenworth came to meet with me and the Kansas Department of
Agriculture, including the City Manager, Scott Miller; the Assistant
City Manager, Michael Tubbs; the Mayor, Lisa Weakley; and City
Commissioner, Ken Bower.
The House passed Resolution No. 6006 recognizing and thanking the city
of Emporia for the dedication of an American Braille tactile flag to
hang in the Kansas Statehouse. This flag is dedicated to the over 1
million blind and low-vision veterans in the United States and the
estimated 16% of those injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom that suffer from severe vision loss. Congressman
Tiahrt had sponsored a bill that placed a flag just like it in Arlington
Cemetery.
The next few weeks will be extremely busy as bills are introduced and
committees begin their work. Complete daily calendars are available at
www.kslegislature.org along with other useful information. The Senate
passed its version of the amended FY09 Budget SB23, which was introduced
to the House and sent to the House Appropriations Committee. The House
Appropriations Committee worked its bill on Friday so that it can be
debated on the floor of the House this week. Everyone is very tense as
the necessary cuts to balance the FY09 budget will be large and
especially painful because they are so late in the fiscal year, which
ends on June 30th.
MY COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
All three of my committees met this week:
AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES
The committee meets at 3:30 Monday through Friday.
Reports: This week Lance Russell from the Kansas Sunflower Commission
gave the committee their annual report. Chairman Norm Jennings of the
Kansas Grape and Wine Industry Advisory Council gave his annual report.
The grape and wine industry in Kansas is growing. It is up to 22
wineries and 8 outlets from just 7 wineries in 2004. The Chairman
requested the committee initiate legislature to allow farm wineries to
sell wine at farmer's markets, to allow farm wineries the option to
obtain a manufacturers license, and to allow production facilities at
each winery outlet.
Bill Introductions: A bill was introduced concerning the veterinarian
scholarship program at Kansas State University and a bill was introduced
concerning identification of wells.
Hearings: We had a hearing on HB2050 concerning adjustment of the fees
for water rights and applications. The Kansas Department of Agriculture
supports the bill to raise application fees and get rid term permits.
They testified that the fees need to be raised to support the water
rights program. The Kansas Aggregate Producers Association also
testified that they support the bill. Farm Bureau testified that they
oppose the bill because the fees that are in place now were raised in
2002 with a date to expire and go back to the original fees. This bill
would make the raise in fees permanent in addition to raising them. The
Kansas Livestock Association testified that the 50% proposed raise in
fees was not modest and suggested that the raise in fees be extended
rather than made permanent. They also stated that the suggested fee for
enrollment in the State's water rights program is a disincentive to save
water. The Committee Chairman appointed a sub-committee to further
study this proposal and I have been appointed to be part of it. We also
had a hearing on HB2049 concerning hunter safety orientation in schools.
Jordan Austin from the National Rifle Association opened the hearing by
testifying in support of mandating that schools offer hunter safety
orientation instruction as part of its curriculum if there is student
interest and available instructors. Tom Krebs from the Kansas
Association of School Boards testified that his organization is neutral
in this issue. Sue Storm from the State Board of Education testified
that the board does not have position yet, but will discuss this issue
in the next meeting. Chris Tymeson, the Chief Legal Counsel for the
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks testified that Wildlife and
Parks is neutral but they have the curriculum already designed for
6-12th grades, they already work with 18 schools that offer the
instruction, and that it is a successful program.
VISION 20/20
The committee meets at 1:30 on Monday and Wednesday.
Reports: This week the reports on the status of the Kansas State owned
reservoirs continued. Dr. Mark Jakubauskas from the Kansas Biological
Survey, described how to measure lake depths and sediment. Tracy
Streeter from the Kansas Water Office described the current policies and
planning for Kansas' reservoirs. Kerry Wedel, the Chief of the
Watershed Management Section of the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment, described the Watershed Restoration and Protection program.
Greg Foley, the Executive Director of the State Conservation Commission
described the current status of management practices to control sediment
and the impacts of voluntary and federal programs. Ken Stark and John
Groathouse from the US Army Corps of Engineers described how sediment
can be used as a resource and how the Corps is developing a regional
plan in conjunction with the State of Kansas. Dr. Robert Atkinson from
Washington DC gave us a report on Federal Reservoirs and Drinking Water
Lakes and reported that the 2008 State New Economy Index rated Kansas as
8th in the nation for "Gazelle" jobs (new jobs created by
entrepreneurs). We wrapped up the week with recommendations by the KS
Water Authority, the KS Biological Survey, the KS Water Office, and the
KS Department of Wildlife and Parks for a "Call to Action" to do
something about the state of Kansas water infrastructure. The Committee
Chairman requested the agencies produce an Action Plan and to report on
its progress on 25 April 09 and then produce the actual plans for the
legislature next session. Our next topic will be the use of
tele-medicine in Kansas.
VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS & HOMELAND SECURITY
The committee meets at 1:30 on Tuesday and Thursday.
Reports: At my request, Jack Walker, the Deputy to the Fort Leavenworth
Garrison Commander, and two Majors from the Command and General Staff
College gave an introduction to the missions of Fort Leavenworth and the
military in Kansas. The two Majors were both from Kansas: Major Rich
Wellman is an Army Major who graduated from KU and MAJ David Farmer is
an Air Force Major who graduated from KSU.
Bill Introductions: This week we introduced several bills for
consideration by the committee: 1) a House concurrent resolution
concerning the possible transfer of GTMO detainees to Fort Leavenworth,
2) a bill to provide a buffer of land around military installations in
Kansas, 3) a State Vietnam Veterans recognition, 4) a bill to allow
active duty military who plan to retire in Kansas to purchase lifetime
hunting and fishing licenses, 5) a bill to allow active duty military to
acquire a concealed carry license without having to give up their "home
of record" drivers license, 6) a change to the Kansas Constitution to
count college students and the military in the Kansas census, 7) a bill
to add the Legion of Merit to the awards that are recognized on
specialized license plates, 8) a Resolution to recognize an "Agent
Orange" month.
Hearings: Next week we will be hearing HB 2085 concerning grants to
service organizations and HB 2086 concerning who will be appointed to
the Veterans Claims Assistance Advisory Board.
FROM THE 40th DISTRICT
Thursday night I attended the Leavenworth Main Street organization's
Annual Meeting and Banquet at the University of Saint Mary's St. Joseph
Hall. It was a gala event with great food, many many awards, and an
informative and entertaining presentation from the Kansas Sampler
organization. On Saturday, I had lunch at the Veteran's of Foreign
War's Post 56. They were hosting the VFW's district winter convention.
Lunch was great and I got to see the future site of a veteran's memorial
for Leavenworth. Jeanie Hazels has donated some land behind the post
for the memorial and she will be at the Post for the February 12th
meeting to formally present it. City Manager, Scott Miller, is working
with the post on the plans for the memorial that will be along the new
riverwalk that is currently a work in progress.
COMING UP
Remember, if you know of any young men or women in junior or senior high
school (minimum age of 12) who would like to come to Topeka and
participate in the page program this legislative session please be sure
to let me know. I have slots for March 3rd and March 5th.
I introduced a bill to establish a license plate to raise awareness and
money for the spaying and neutering of pets and am currently
coordinating with pet friendly organizations to be a sponsor for the
plate. I also met with the Attorney General's Concealed Carry
department, the NRA, and several other State Representatives about my
proposal to amend the Concealed Carry License law that clarifies Kansas
residency for active duty military. We may be able to remedy the
residency problem without an amendment, so I will continue to work on
that. My intern, Katherine and I, continue to research and work on a
number of suggestions from the 40th District. Most recently is a
possible extension of the Nez Perce Trail into Leavenworth.
I have been working on the list of unclaimed property being held by the
State Treasury's Office. I am verifying addresses and sending a card,
but you don't have to wait for me. You can go to www.kansascash.com or
call 1-800-432-0386. There are no fees or charges to claim your assets.
We called and found out that my husband Tom had some cash to claim!
KEEP IN TOUCH
It is a special honor for me to serve as your state representative. I
value and need your input on the various issues facing state government.
Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My
office address is Representative Melanie Meier, Docking State Office
Building, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-7668 or call
the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me.
Additionally, you can e-mail me at Melanie.Meier@house.ks.gov. You can
also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.
FYI (for your information) and TIPS of the WEEK
Save@School is a new special program that introduces students to the
concepts of money management and has stirred excitement from educators
and students all over the state. Participants open savings accounts and
make deposits to their accounts on scheduled savings days at their
school. The students learn the importance of savings through hands-on
experience and classroom exercises with the guidance of an employee of
the financial institution and the curriculum provided by the State
Treasurer's office. To date, most of the financial institutions who are
participating are local credit unions. For more information on the
program and how to get started, visit the Kansas State Treasurer Website
at http://www.kansasstatetreasurer.com/prodweb/school/index.php.
Jan 26, 2009
Jan 19, 2009
Melanie’s Memo 19-23 Jan 2009
Melanie’s Memo
40th District
Kansas House of Representatives
Week 2: January 19-23, 2009
FROM THE STATEHOUSE
This was a short and fast week in Topeka. First there was the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on Monday and then the Presidential inauguration on Tuesday. The House of Representatives convened in the afternoon so that the members could watch the historic occasion, while the Senate worked right through it! Never fear, we Representatives still had our committee meetings! On Thursday, two young men from Leavenworth and Fort Leavenworth came to Topeka to serve as pages. J.J. Cole and Ross Richardson, received training on the duties of pages, worked on the House floor during the session, and toured the Capitol and the Docking State Office Building (which included the 296 step climb into the dome). I have opportunities for pages on the 3rd and 5th of March. If any young men or women in junior or senior high school (minimum age of 12) would like to come to Topeka and participate in the legislative session please be sure to let me know! The State budget was the big topic this week. The Senate Ways and Means Committee jumped right into debate on proposed budget cuts while the House Appropriations Committee is starting with testimony from the different State agencies about how the proposed cuts affect them. The Governor's proposed budget was based on revenue estimates from before the holiday season, which, unfortunately were not as grim as the new estimates since the holidays. The concept of "across the board" cuts seems to be the center of the debate. Such cuts can be very inefficient and often cruel. Just think if you had to cut your own budget. Some things are just more important than others and some investments must be protected. The debate will continue about what Kansas priorities are.
Remember, you can follow the debate and give us your input. Complete daily calendars are available at www.kslegislature.org along with other useful information and a weblink to listen to live broadcasts from the floors of the House and Senate.
MY COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
All three of my committees met this week:
AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES
The committee meets at 3:30 Monday through Friday. This week a Resolution to the US Congress was introduced in the Committee that the State of Kansas should be able to control its transport and processing of horses, and a bill was introduced to introduce a hunter safety orientation program into Kansas schools. The committee received more status updates from experts and Kansas agencies. We received a presentation by Tom Gross from the Bureau of Air and Radiation about wet Mercury deposit monitoring. Kevin Jones briefed us about a large number of dead turkeys that were found in Russell Springs. Mike Miller, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Operations of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks gave us an overview of the changes that were made to reduce and simplify the statutes on hunting licenses last year. Lloyd Fox, the Big Game Coordinator of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, gave us an update on deer herd management in Kansas. Carole Jordan, the Director of the Rural Development Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce, gave us an overview of the 30 programs that her division runs in order to push state and federal dollars into rural areas. These programs include agriculture marketing, renewable bio-energy development, and the new Kansas trademark program "Simply Kansas." VISION 20/20 The committee meets at 1:30 on Monday and Wednesday. This week we received updates on the State owned water reservoirs in Kansas. Dr. Edward Martinko, State Biologist Director of the Kansas Biological Survey, reviewed the status of the levels of sediment in the reservoirs. He testified that the reservoir storage capacity is at 50% and that Kansas must make some decisions about our future water supply. Edward Carney, a "Lakeologist" from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, emphasized that management of our reservoirs is the key to future water supply. Jim Whisenant, the City Administrator of the City of Horton, then briefed us on the Kansas pilot project at Horton that is dredging its lake in order to return it to its original volume of storage. Once this project is complete, Kansas will have data to use in determining the effects of dredging on the quality and quantity of water and the environment. Earl Lewis, the Assistant Director of the Kansas Water Office, testified that Kansas needs to change its approach to managing its reservoirs and that the reservoirs need to be classified as infrastructure. Mr. Lewis went over some of the costs of different courses of action that Kansas could take. To just keep up with the sediment by dredging, it would cost $75 million a year. To build a new reservoir would cost at least one half a billion dollars. To buy Missouri River run off from the Corps of Engineers would cost $30 million plus the cost of maintenance. Currently Kansas is under a contract with the Corps of Engineers to release water from the reservoirs when the Missouri River is low. If Kansas wants to keep the water, we have to purchase the "run off" that we are contracted to release. Greg Foley from the Kansas State Conservation Program explained how dams work to limit the amount of sediment in the reservoirs. He also explained that dredging should not cause any environmental concerns because the sediment core samples that are taken from the State owned reservoirs do not show any threat of toxins or heavy metals in the sediment.
VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS & HOMELAND SECURITY
The committee meets at 1:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. This week we reviewed the legislation that the committee completed last year, the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs (KCVA) budget and the results of the audit that was done on the KCVA last year. Wayne Bollig, the Veteran Services Director of the KCVA, testified about the budget and what the KCVA has done in answer to the audit results. Mr. Bollig testified that the KCVA has a new executive director, Jack Fowler, who has implemented improvements in internal communications and relationships as well as with the veteran service organizations, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion. The KCVA estimates that Kansas has over 3400 new veterans in the last year because of the current conflicts in the Middle East and that only approximately 13% of all veterans in Kansas are receiving the benefits that they are entitled. There is an outreach plan to get service to veterans in rural areas that do not have access to VA Service Centers, but the KCVA will not have the money to implement it until 2011. The new Kansas Lottery veterans scratch-off game is to provide the money, but the first two years of funds is designated to the new 35th Infantry Division Museum. Director Bollig feels that the KCVA’s ability for outreach to rural veterans will get worse with the proposed budget cuts this year and that the Kansas Soldiers Home will have major funding shortages. Three bills were introduced in the committee this week. One bill proposed education requirements for employees of the KCVA. The second proposed that the composition of the Veterans Claims Assistance Advisory Board be required to have one representative from each service organization. Service organizations include organizations such as the VFW, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). The third bill proposes a new veteran's license plate that includes a decal that shows the veteran has been in combat.
THE 40th DISTRICT
In addition to my committee assignments this week, I monitored the Education Committee to listen to its hearing on a proposal to change how school finance is determined with the enrollment of military children. The bill proposes continuing a second count of pupils in districts that have military children. Currently, the number of children that school financing is based on is determined by a count of present pupils on Sep 20th and Feb 20th in the Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth area school districts. This is because of the large number of students moving in and out of the schools throughout the year. The bill not only proposes continuing the second count, but making it a “net” count by also subtracting the number of students that have left the school district by the second count. The Superintendent from the Geary County school district testified about the high turnover rate in the Fort Riley area schools and the special needs of the students that are there because of having one or both of their parents deployed. He also told a touching story to illustrate the special needs there. When he first became Superintendent and visited the schools on Fort Riley he wore a dark suit. The first child he encountered took him by the hand and asked him who's daddy had died because he associated dark suits with notification of death and funerals. I called and spoke with Superintendent Baeuche, from Fort Leavenworth, and asked her how this bill would affect the Fort Leavenworth area schools. She said that while the Leavenworth area military children experience the same special needs related to deployment and deaths of military servicemen and women, that her turnover rate was not near as high as the Fort Riley area.
FROM THE 40th DISTRICT
This Friday I attended the Art Attack in downtown Leavenworth. It was a festive occasion of local artist's work, local food, and music. It is the last Friday of each month, in the old Lee’s Furniture store on the corner of Cherokee and 5th Street. On Thursday, the Senate voted 39-0 for a bill that would allow county, state, and federal prosecutors to carry concealed guns into county courthouses. Our own Leavenworth County Attorney, Todd Thompson, was interviewed by KCTV Channel 5 about this topic!
COMING UP
Ms. Katherine McBride, a second year law student at Washburn University, is my intern this session. She is helping me with the suggestions and questions from my neighbors in the 40th District. In addition to our research about license plates and the Concealed Carry License, we are looking into cremation law and the availability of slot machines to Service Organizations to raise money for non-profit services. I have a long list of projects and will keep you up to date on my progress for each request and suggestion. In the next few weeks I will also be contacting members of the 40th District who have unclaimed property being held by the Kansas Treasury. The list is long, but I will work my way through it so that everyone on it knows how to claim their property. Currently there is over $187 million in unclaimed assets being held by the State of Kansas. You can check to see if you are on the list by looking up your name on the State Treasurer's website at http://www.kansascash.com or by calling 1-800-432-0386. There are no fees or charges to claim your assets.
KEEP IN TOUCH
It is a special honor for me to serve as your state representative. I value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Representative Melanie Meier, Docking State Office Building, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-7668 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at melanie.meier@house.ks.gov or check my website at www.meier4kansas.com. F
YI (for your information) and TIPS of the WEEK Useful State Numbers and Resources: The following is a list of State Level numbers that you can add to the 40th District Service Directory. You can find these as well as many others online at http://da.state.ks.us/phonebook. I hope you will find this information helpful and if you need a copy of the Service Directory just let me know. Kansas Jobs Tax Refund Status Info Taxpayer Assistance (785) 235-5627 (800) 894-0318 (800) 259-2829 Highway Road Conditions Unclaimed Property Governor’s Constituent Svs. (800) 585-7623 (800) 432-0386 (800) 748-4408 Crime Tip Hotline Driver’s License Bureau Kansas Department on Aging (800) 572-7463 (785) 296-3963 (800) 432-3535 KPERS Housing Hotline Vital Statistics (888) 275-5737 (800) 752-4422 (785) 296-1400 Legislative Hotline Voter Registration Crime Victim Referral Service (800) 432-3924 (800) 262-8683 (800) 828-9745 Child/Adult Abuse Hotline School Safety Hotline Kansas Lottery (800) 922-5330 (877) 626-8203 (785) 296-5700 Welfare Fraud Hotline Consumer Protection Insurance Consumer Assistance (800) 432-3913 (785) 296-3751 (800) 432-2484
40th District
Kansas House of Representatives
Week 2: January 19-23, 2009
FROM THE STATEHOUSE
This was a short and fast week in Topeka. First there was the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on Monday and then the Presidential inauguration on Tuesday. The House of Representatives convened in the afternoon so that the members could watch the historic occasion, while the Senate worked right through it! Never fear, we Representatives still had our committee meetings! On Thursday, two young men from Leavenworth and Fort Leavenworth came to Topeka to serve as pages. J.J. Cole and Ross Richardson, received training on the duties of pages, worked on the House floor during the session, and toured the Capitol and the Docking State Office Building (which included the 296 step climb into the dome). I have opportunities for pages on the 3rd and 5th of March. If any young men or women in junior or senior high school (minimum age of 12) would like to come to Topeka and participate in the legislative session please be sure to let me know! The State budget was the big topic this week. The Senate Ways and Means Committee jumped right into debate on proposed budget cuts while the House Appropriations Committee is starting with testimony from the different State agencies about how the proposed cuts affect them. The Governor's proposed budget was based on revenue estimates from before the holiday season, which, unfortunately were not as grim as the new estimates since the holidays. The concept of "across the board" cuts seems to be the center of the debate. Such cuts can be very inefficient and often cruel. Just think if you had to cut your own budget. Some things are just more important than others and some investments must be protected. The debate will continue about what Kansas priorities are.
Remember, you can follow the debate and give us your input. Complete daily calendars are available at www.kslegislature.org along with other useful information and a weblink to listen to live broadcasts from the floors of the House and Senate.
MY COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
All three of my committees met this week:
AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES
The committee meets at 3:30 Monday through Friday. This week a Resolution to the US Congress was introduced in the Committee that the State of Kansas should be able to control its transport and processing of horses, and a bill was introduced to introduce a hunter safety orientation program into Kansas schools. The committee received more status updates from experts and Kansas agencies. We received a presentation by Tom Gross from the Bureau of Air and Radiation about wet Mercury deposit monitoring. Kevin Jones briefed us about a large number of dead turkeys that were found in Russell Springs. Mike Miller, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Operations of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks gave us an overview of the changes that were made to reduce and simplify the statutes on hunting licenses last year. Lloyd Fox, the Big Game Coordinator of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, gave us an update on deer herd management in Kansas. Carole Jordan, the Director of the Rural Development Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce, gave us an overview of the 30 programs that her division runs in order to push state and federal dollars into rural areas. These programs include agriculture marketing, renewable bio-energy development, and the new Kansas trademark program "Simply Kansas." VISION 20/20 The committee meets at 1:30 on Monday and Wednesday. This week we received updates on the State owned water reservoirs in Kansas. Dr. Edward Martinko, State Biologist Director of the Kansas Biological Survey, reviewed the status of the levels of sediment in the reservoirs. He testified that the reservoir storage capacity is at 50% and that Kansas must make some decisions about our future water supply. Edward Carney, a "Lakeologist" from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, emphasized that management of our reservoirs is the key to future water supply. Jim Whisenant, the City Administrator of the City of Horton, then briefed us on the Kansas pilot project at Horton that is dredging its lake in order to return it to its original volume of storage. Once this project is complete, Kansas will have data to use in determining the effects of dredging on the quality and quantity of water and the environment. Earl Lewis, the Assistant Director of the Kansas Water Office, testified that Kansas needs to change its approach to managing its reservoirs and that the reservoirs need to be classified as infrastructure. Mr. Lewis went over some of the costs of different courses of action that Kansas could take. To just keep up with the sediment by dredging, it would cost $75 million a year. To build a new reservoir would cost at least one half a billion dollars. To buy Missouri River run off from the Corps of Engineers would cost $30 million plus the cost of maintenance. Currently Kansas is under a contract with the Corps of Engineers to release water from the reservoirs when the Missouri River is low. If Kansas wants to keep the water, we have to purchase the "run off" that we are contracted to release. Greg Foley from the Kansas State Conservation Program explained how dams work to limit the amount of sediment in the reservoirs. He also explained that dredging should not cause any environmental concerns because the sediment core samples that are taken from the State owned reservoirs do not show any threat of toxins or heavy metals in the sediment.
VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS & HOMELAND SECURITY
The committee meets at 1:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. This week we reviewed the legislation that the committee completed last year, the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs (KCVA) budget and the results of the audit that was done on the KCVA last year. Wayne Bollig, the Veteran Services Director of the KCVA, testified about the budget and what the KCVA has done in answer to the audit results. Mr. Bollig testified that the KCVA has a new executive director, Jack Fowler, who has implemented improvements in internal communications and relationships as well as with the veteran service organizations, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion. The KCVA estimates that Kansas has over 3400 new veterans in the last year because of the current conflicts in the Middle East and that only approximately 13% of all veterans in Kansas are receiving the benefits that they are entitled. There is an outreach plan to get service to veterans in rural areas that do not have access to VA Service Centers, but the KCVA will not have the money to implement it until 2011. The new Kansas Lottery veterans scratch-off game is to provide the money, but the first two years of funds is designated to the new 35th Infantry Division Museum. Director Bollig feels that the KCVA’s ability for outreach to rural veterans will get worse with the proposed budget cuts this year and that the Kansas Soldiers Home will have major funding shortages. Three bills were introduced in the committee this week. One bill proposed education requirements for employees of the KCVA. The second proposed that the composition of the Veterans Claims Assistance Advisory Board be required to have one representative from each service organization. Service organizations include organizations such as the VFW, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). The third bill proposes a new veteran's license plate that includes a decal that shows the veteran has been in combat.
THE 40th DISTRICT
In addition to my committee assignments this week, I monitored the Education Committee to listen to its hearing on a proposal to change how school finance is determined with the enrollment of military children. The bill proposes continuing a second count of pupils in districts that have military children. Currently, the number of children that school financing is based on is determined by a count of present pupils on Sep 20th and Feb 20th in the Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth area school districts. This is because of the large number of students moving in and out of the schools throughout the year. The bill not only proposes continuing the second count, but making it a “net” count by also subtracting the number of students that have left the school district by the second count. The Superintendent from the Geary County school district testified about the high turnover rate in the Fort Riley area schools and the special needs of the students that are there because of having one or both of their parents deployed. He also told a touching story to illustrate the special needs there. When he first became Superintendent and visited the schools on Fort Riley he wore a dark suit. The first child he encountered took him by the hand and asked him who's daddy had died because he associated dark suits with notification of death and funerals. I called and spoke with Superintendent Baeuche, from Fort Leavenworth, and asked her how this bill would affect the Fort Leavenworth area schools. She said that while the Leavenworth area military children experience the same special needs related to deployment and deaths of military servicemen and women, that her turnover rate was not near as high as the Fort Riley area.
FROM THE 40th DISTRICT
This Friday I attended the Art Attack in downtown Leavenworth. It was a festive occasion of local artist's work, local food, and music. It is the last Friday of each month, in the old Lee’s Furniture store on the corner of Cherokee and 5th Street. On Thursday, the Senate voted 39-0 for a bill that would allow county, state, and federal prosecutors to carry concealed guns into county courthouses. Our own Leavenworth County Attorney, Todd Thompson, was interviewed by KCTV Channel 5 about this topic!
COMING UP
Ms. Katherine McBride, a second year law student at Washburn University, is my intern this session. She is helping me with the suggestions and questions from my neighbors in the 40th District. In addition to our research about license plates and the Concealed Carry License, we are looking into cremation law and the availability of slot machines to Service Organizations to raise money for non-profit services. I have a long list of projects and will keep you up to date on my progress for each request and suggestion. In the next few weeks I will also be contacting members of the 40th District who have unclaimed property being held by the Kansas Treasury. The list is long, but I will work my way through it so that everyone on it knows how to claim their property. Currently there is over $187 million in unclaimed assets being held by the State of Kansas. You can check to see if you are on the list by looking up your name on the State Treasurer's website at http://www.kansascash.com or by calling 1-800-432-0386. There are no fees or charges to claim your assets.
KEEP IN TOUCH
It is a special honor for me to serve as your state representative. I value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Representative Melanie Meier, Docking State Office Building, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-7668 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at melanie.meier@house.ks.gov or check my website at www.meier4kansas.com. F
YI (for your information) and TIPS of the WEEK Useful State Numbers and Resources: The following is a list of State Level numbers that you can add to the 40th District Service Directory. You can find these as well as many others online at http://da.state.ks.us/phonebook. I hope you will find this information helpful and if you need a copy of the Service Directory just let me know. Kansas Jobs Tax Refund Status Info Taxpayer Assistance (785) 235-5627 (800) 894-0318 (800) 259-2829 Highway Road Conditions Unclaimed Property Governor’s Constituent Svs. (800) 585-7623 (800) 432-0386 (800) 748-4408 Crime Tip Hotline Driver’s License Bureau Kansas Department on Aging (800) 572-7463 (785) 296-3963 (800) 432-3535 KPERS Housing Hotline Vital Statistics (888) 275-5737 (800) 752-4422 (785) 296-1400 Legislative Hotline Voter Registration Crime Victim Referral Service (800) 432-3924 (800) 262-8683 (800) 828-9745 Child/Adult Abuse Hotline School Safety Hotline Kansas Lottery (800) 922-5330 (877) 626-8203 (785) 296-5700 Welfare Fraud Hotline Consumer Protection Insurance Consumer Assistance (800) 432-3913 (785) 296-3751 (800) 432-2484
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