Melanie's Adventures in the Statehouse #11

Melanie Meier's Adventures in the Statehouse

Kansas House of Representatives

40th District 

 

Volume 2010, Issue 11:  Economic Growth, The Path to the Future 

 

            While my last two updates focused on the Legislature and the current budget issues, many Kansans in the 40^th District have asked me the question, "What about the future?"  They told me that jobs were needed to fix Kansas financial challenges and I agree.  All the recent debate on how to best tackle the current recession and the questions: "should the budget only be cut" or "should taxes be raised to fill the hole," were short term solutions to get the FY2011 Budget balanced, as required by our Constitution (unlike the federal budget that can run a deficit). 

 

Realizing that jumpstarting the Kansas economy is the long term solution to the Kansas budget woes, my fellow legislators and I worked on a number of bills to help put Kansans back to work.  Putting Kansans back to work will increase revenues into the State treasury and local economies and reduce the number of people who rely on state services.  The following are some of the Bills that were proposed, passed by the legislature and forwarded to the Governor for signature, with a goal of getting us out of the recession:

 

T-WORKS, Otherwise known as The Comprehensive Transportation Plan

 

The 'Transportation Works for Kansas" program requires that KDOT spend a minimum of $8 million in each county in Kansas on roads, bridges, transit, aviation and rail over the next 10 years.  Every mile of state highway will receive some preservation to ensure that the last 20 years of investment that Kansans have made will not be wasted.  It includes modernization by adding shoulders, straightening curves, flattening hills and improving intersections.  Build America Bonds will be used to finance immediate preservation projects and the bill gives KDOT the authority to manage debt so that the amount the State Highway Fund (SHF) owes in interest in any given year cannot exceed 18% of expected revenues.  Revenue for the SHF is currently made up of federal reimbursements, sales tax transfer, registration fees and motor fuel tax.  In addition to allowing for expansion projects to help Kansas capitalize on economic opportunities, it is estimated that the T-WORKS program will create or sustain 175,000 jobs over the next 10 years.

 

Kansas Housing Loan Deposit Program–Amendments

 

The legislature amended statutes governing the Kansas Housing Loan Deposit Program. The Program was established in 2008, to provide incentives to qualified builders and developers. Loans made under the program will now be made available statewide starting January 1, 2011.  This modified program now expands the definition of "house" to include multi-family dwellings and expands the definition of "eligible developer borrower" to include, not only the building of homes (new construction), but also the rehabilitation of existing homes.  The previous limit of only one outstanding housing loan per borrower was deleted and now the limit is that no more than $2 million in total loans can be outstanding at any one time to a "developer borrower."  This enhancement to the program allows more builders to qualify for the financing necessary to start new construction and rehabilitation projects and therefore, provide more jobs.

 

Historic Preservation Income Tax Credits

This year, the legislature repealed a $3.75 million cap for FY 2011 that had been imposed on historic preservation income tax credits.  The cap was imposed last year in an attempt to make a 10% across the board cut, but actually capped the program so that projects that had not received their credits yet did not get anything.  This cap put a halt to two local Leavenworth County projects:  The City of Leavenworth's "Tire Town" renovation project and the new Veterans Administration Call Center to be located on the VA grounds in Leavenworth.  Now that the credits are restored, the call center project is underway and is estimated to bring 400 high paying (average of $60,000) permanent jobs to Leavenworth County once it is complete.

Recovery Zone Bonds and Energy Conservation Bonds

 

The Department of Commerce was given authorization to distribute Recovery Zone bonds and Energy Conservation bonds to counties and large municipalities (population greater than 100,000) in Kansas.  These bonds allow municipalities to borrow funds at a lower cost so they can afford to pay for these types of projects which provide job training and new economic growth.

 

Recovery Zone bonds may be used for one or more qualified economic development purposes which may include capital expenditures for property, public infrastructure, public facilities, and job training and educational programs.  Qualified Energy Conservation bonds may be used for capital expenditures spent for energy reduction purposes, research facilities and research grants for the study of alternative energy sources, demonstration projects designed to promote the commercialization of alternative energy technologies, and public education campaigns to promote energy efficiency.

 

Passenger Rail Service Program Act

 

The Passenger Rail Service Program Act will help lay the groundwork of our state's infrastructure for years to come.  The program aims to connect the Amtrak service from Kansas City, to Lawrence, to Topeka, to Oklahoma City and then finally to Fort Worth, Texas. This Act will help get the program rolling by allowing the Secretary of Transportation to begin initiating plans with Amtrak, local counties, other states involved with the line, and rail operators.

 

Fifty-five communities and their city councils have declared their public support of an inner city passenger service.  Trains are 18% more efficient than airlines and 24% more efficient than driving. Energy efficiency reduces dependency on foreign oil, as well as a decrease in pollution. By allowing commuters to travel via railway, congestion on highways is also lessened, which would also lessen highway maintenance expenses.

 

This Amtrak system should not require any immediate money from the state general fund, and is expected to generate revenue, new jobs, tourism, and economic development projects.  Rail stations and railways are already standing and can be used for this project so few upgrades will be needed.  Plus, any necessary upgrades would cost significantly less than upgrades to smaller sections of highways. The Act also enables the program to become eligible for the next round of federal funding.

 

The Kansas Department of Transportation has already started working on a feasibility study of a rail program. There will be further discussions with Amtrak in the near future to help move this project forward.  

 

Promoting Employment Across Kansas (PEAK) enhancement

 

The 2009 Legislature enacted the Promoting Employment Across Kansas (PEAK) incentive program to entice companies to relocate jobs to Kansas from outside the state.  Currently, "PEAK eligible" jobs must pay at or above the annual average wage for the county where located at the time of application.

 

This year the Legislature proposed enhancing the PEAK program by allowing Kansas companies to participate as long as they can prove to the Secretary of Commerce that they would have otherwise located their new function(s) and jobs in another state.  It also changed the criteria to the county median wage or the North American Industry Classification System code industry average wage to allow more positions to be eligible.

 

Proponents stated that the additional sales and other tax receipts resulting from the addition of new Kansas employees would offset any State revenue lost by the tax credit, and that the program would bring economic expansion to Kansas instead of other states.  Another way the expanded PEAK offsets lost State revenue, is by revoking eligibility for the Business and Job Development Tax Credit to in-state companies in certain counties, and by prohibiting participating companies from participating in other tax diversion programs, for their PEAK eligible jobs.

 

The PEAK enhancement was sent to the Governor earlier this year and vetoed.  It has since been reworked addressing the Governor's concerns, and is back with the Governor for signature.

 

Keep in Touch

 

It is a special honor 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 Room 722, Docking State Office Building, Topeka, KS 66612.  You can reach me at home at (913) 683-1610 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.  

 

As always, if you no longer desire to receive updates and information from me, just let me know and I will take you off the mailing list. If you would like to see past newsletters, please visit my website at www.meier4kansas.com.

Melanie Meier's Adventure in the Statehouse #10

Melanie Meier's Adventures in the Statehouse

Kansas House of Representatives

40th District 

Volume 2010, Issue 9:  The Survey Results Are In!

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to respond to my Constituent Survey on the Kansas budget.  I value all your opinions and assistance in forming the budget priorities for the 40^th District.  Here are the results!

The survey was in three parts:  your budget priorities, your opinion on how to balance the budget, and what issue or policy is most important to you.

Question 1:  Please rank order your top budget priorities, with 1 being the most important.  I offered twelve areas:  Corrections/Prisons, Disability Services, Health Care, Higher Education, Infrastructure (not roads), K-12 Education, Municipal Aid, Public Safety (EMS, police, fire), Senior Services, Transportation, Veteran Services, and Other.  Based on the responses:

·         The three top respondent priorities for the budget were:   K-12 Education, Public Safety, and Health Care. 

·         The bottom three respondent priorities were:  Corrections/Prisons, Municipal Aid, and Infrastructure/Transportation which were tied. 

·         An interesting note is that Higher Education and Veteran Services were rated fourth most important and fourth least important by an equal amount of respondents. 

Question 2:  Kansas faces up to a $500 million budget shortfall in the coming year.  The budget has been cut over $1 billion in the last year.  Do you support more spending cuts, raising taxes, raising fees, or a combination to make our budget balance?  I also asked respondents to list their specific recommended spending cuts, taxes to raise, and/or fees to raise.

·         41% = Cuts, Forty-one percent of respondents recommended balancing the budget by only making further spending cuts. 

·         30% = Revenues, Thirty percent of respondents recommended balancing the budget by only raising revenues (taxes and/or fees).

·         29% = Combination, Twenty-nine percent of respondents recommended balancing the budget by making a combination of cuts and revenue enhancements (taxes and/or fees).

Specific Cuts recommended by respondents who preferred further cuts to the budget:

·         26% = Government Pay, Twenty-six percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended cutting State employee pay(includes Legislators).

·         22% = K-12 Education, Twenty-two percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended cutting K-12 education, and specifically listed school administration, extracurricular activities and sports.

·         8% = Tax exemptions, Eight percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended repealing tax exemptions.

·         7% = Prisons, Seven percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended cutting any "luxuries," like cable tv, for prisoners.

·         7% = All Agencies Equally, Seven percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended an equal across the board cut for all State agencies.

·         4% = Sell State Buildings, Four percent of respondents who recommended making further cuts, recommended selling off State assets that are not being used.

·         4% = SRS to Illegals, Four percent of respondents who recommended further cuts, recommended cutting all Social and Rehabilitative Services for persons in Kansas who are in the country illegally.

·         22% = Other, Twenty-two percent of the specific recommended cuts were comprised of single responses.

Specific taxes recommended by respondents who prefer raising revenues:

·         26% = Tobacco, Twenty-six percent of respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising tobacco taxes.

·         22% = Sales, Twenty-two percent of respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising the State sales tax.

·         19% = Alcohol, Nineteen percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising alcoholic beverage taxes.

·         16% = Income Tax, Sixteen percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising the State income tax for Kansans with the highest income.

·         5% = Gaming, Five percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising taxes on gambling establishments.

·         4% = Gasoline, Four percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended raising the tax on gasoline.

·         2% = Pensions, Two percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended taxing pensions.

·         2% = Soda, Two percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended a tax on sugared sodas.

·         2% = Luxury Items, Two percent of the respondents who recommended raising revenues, recommended a tax on luxury items.

·         2% = Other, Two percent of the specific recommended cuts were comprised of single responses.  The specific fees that respondents recommended raising were: Drivers licenses and vehicle registration, hunting and fishing licenses, and fines for traffic violations and DUI convictions.

Question 3:  Aside from the budget, what issue or policy is most important to you?  This question resulted in many issues.  The top two, at twelve percent, were K-12 Education and Healthcare.  The next in line, at ten percent, was States Rights.  Everything else was below ten percent:

·         12% = K-12 Education                        4% = Children's Services

·         12% = Healthcare                              3% = Energy

·         10% = States Rights                          3% = Environment

·         8% = Illegal Immigration                     3% = Foreign Policy

·         7% = Welfare Reform                         3% = Senior Services

·         6% = The Right to Life                       3% = Veteran Services

·         5% = Economic Development               2% = Woman's Right to Choose

·         5% = Unemployment                          2% = Tort Reform

Eleven percent of the issues were mentioned by a single respondent.

Keep in Touch

It is a special honor 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 Room 722, 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.

   

 As always, if you no longer desire to receive updates and information from me, just let me know and I will take you off the mailing list. If you would like to see past newsletters, please visit my website at www.meier4kansas.com!

 

Melanie's Adventures in the Statehouse #9

Melanie Meier's Adventures in the Statehouse

Kansas House of Representatives

40th District 

 

Volume 2010, Issue 9:  Your Opinion Counts

 

Last week I sent out a survey to the 40^th District.  I want to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey.  Your thoughts are valuable and will guide me when the House returns to Session in Topeka on April 28^th. 

 

If you have not responded yet, please do.  I will put together the results this weekend and will share them with you before we start debate on the floor.  I have received some great ideas already on ways Kansas can save money and have passed them to the Representatives on the House Appropriations Committee for their work this week.

 

FY 2011 Budget Update

 

The Consensus Revenue Estimating Group's estimate of state revenues was released on April 16^th.  It estimated revenues being down a total of $130 million through the next fiscal year and likely to result in a $510 million shortfall in the state budget.  The Estimate is based solely on the budget that was proposed by the Governor in January and the Legislature is still working to produce a budget based on the new estimate.  March 2010 revenues were actually higher than previously estimated, which may be a signal that the Kansas economy has hit the bottom and will start the long climb back up.  We will see with time.

 

This week the House and Senate budget committees started meeting to prepare for the return of the full Legislature on April 28th.  When we went on break, the House had a proposed budget of only cuts and the Senate had a proposed budget that would only balance with some revenue enhancements (but no indication of what kind of revenue).  If you apply the new Consensus numbers to the House's proposed budget bill of more cuts, the FY2011 budget would balance with a surplus of more than $200 million.  If you apply the new numbers to the Senate's proposed budget bill, FY2011 is about $446 million short of balancing that would have to be made up with some kind of revenue increase.

 

Some of the types of revenue enhancements that the Senate has discussed so far are:

-         Raising the tax on alcohol and/or tobacco

-         Raising sales tax

-         Adding one or more higher tax brackets to the Kansas income tax and adjusting the rates so that taxpayers with less than $200,000 income would receive a tax break and those at $200,000 or more would pay more

 

In a new twist, the Governor stated Friday, April 22nd, that he will veto any budget that calls for more cuts to Education.

 

Bills other than the Budget :

 

Nursing Home Assessment.  A Senate Substitute Bill for Sub HB 2320 proposes that Kansas nursing facilities pay an assessment on the number of beds that the facility is licensed for as of July 1st each year.  The assessment amount would be $1,325 per bed annually.  The money generated by the provision is intended to supplement the current 10 percent Medicaid cut which was put into place by the Governor last fall to offset revenue shortfalls.  It is estimated that this assessment would generate $30 million and would garner $56 million additional matching federal funds.  This issue has divided the Nursing Home industry.  Nursing homes and assisted living facilities that receive Medicaid funding have suffered large losses since the Governor's cut because they also lost the federal matching funds.  They would benefit from this Bill and several will avoid having to close.  On the other side, nursing homes that are strictly private payers and "not for profit," who do not receive Medicaid funds are against the assessment and say that their residents will end up paying the bill and there is no guarantee that the raised funds will not be "swept" to fill holes in the budget in the future.

 

Lexie's Law.  Substitute for House Bill 2356 (named "Lexie's Law" on behalf of a 13-month-old child who died while staying at a day care provider in 2004), proposes a requirement that all Kansas day care facilities be licensed rather than just "registered."  The state would then have the ability to inspect all licensed facilities and to require that providers submit written self-examinations annually.  The proposed law would also require that parents be provided with access to relevant background information on daycare facilities located in Kansas by requiring SRS to establish an online information dissemination system on or before September 1, 2010.  The online system would be accessible to the public and would provide the names of licensees, applicants and the history of citations and complaints.

 

A new Comprehensive Transportation Plan, was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee just before the break.  This was the first tax increase proposal to advance out of a committee in the House or Senate with a favorable recommendation this session.  The plan proposes a State sales tax increase of three tenths of a cent in the year 2013 to fund highway construction and other transportation projects.  It also proposes increasing vehicle registration fees in 2013.  The projected cost of the ten year plan would be $8.2 billion with the proposed sales tax and fee increase producing approximately $2.7 billion over the life of the plan.  Supporters of the plan state that a new transportation plan will bring new investment and jobs to Kansas.  By advancing the plan before the break the Legislature was given a chance to gauge whether Kansans would support a new Comprehensive Transportation Plan.  The Senate will debate the plan once they return for the Veto Session on April 28^th.

 

News Around the District

             During the break, I have been busy visiting with my neighbors in the 40^th District.  I have been able to attend County and City meetings and Civic Group meetings (such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Lions Club, Ducks Unlimited and Leavenworth County Humane Society).  I have been outside enjoying the weather as we cleaned up part of the 40^th District in Leavenworth City's annual "Trash Bash" and got a little sun burned as we cleared the land for the new Post #56 VFW Park.  I was able to attend some ceremonies including the Ribbon Cutting of the new Simons Center and the annual Fort Leavenworth Volunteer Recognition.  I participated in Legislative forums with the Leavenworth/Lansing and the Atchison Chambers of Commerce and attended a seminar on human trafficking at Saint Mary University.  I have been visiting local businesses and meeting with people every day to discuss our State's issues and to get back to Kansas life after my deployment to Iraq last year.  Although Kansas is experiencing its fourth year of revenue decline and unemployment is much too high, we still have much to be thankful for.

Keep in Touch

 

It is a special honor 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 Room 722, 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.   

 

 As always, if you no longer desire to receive updates and information from me, just let me know and I will take you off the mailing list.