Melanie Meier's Adventures in the Statehouse
Kansas House of Representatives
40th District
Volume 2010, Issue 3: Turn Around Day
This week was the turnaround deadline for most bills to clear their house of origin to stay alive in the current session. The House and the Senate put in some long hours to debate and vote on their legislation in order to pass it to the other for hearings and final action. Some anticipated Senate Bills failed and will not be coming to the House now, including a Bill on the Death Penalty. Starting this week the House and Senate will hold their own hearings on each other's Bills and take their own votes. If the Bills pass with no changes, they will go to the Governor for signature and become law.
Votes of Interest in the Senate
The Death Penalty: This past Friday the Senate debated a Bill that would have repealed the Kansas Death Penalty. Many of us listened in intently for the outcome. The Governor has implied that he would veto the Bill it if makes it to his desk, he actually authored the current law when he was in the legislature. So word around the Statehouse was that the Bill would not be considered until after the next election and there is a new Governor, but the Senate went ahead and voted 20 to 20, so without a majority the Bill did not pass.
Robo Calls: On Friday, the Senate also considered a Bill to ban the use of Robo Calls, those pre-recorded calls that always seem to come during dinner time. The Bill would make the calls illegal unless a human introduces the call and asks the receiver's permission to play it. Arguments against the Bill were mainly for non-profit organizations who use the calls for education and fund raising. An amendment was made to exempt political advertising but the Bill failed, 13 to 27.
The Castle Doctrine
The House unanimously passed House Bill 2432, a Bill making important corrections to Kansas' current self-defense statute. The recent Kansas Supreme Court Ruling in State v. Hendrix stated that if a person threatens force instead of actually using deadly force, the individual is not entitled to a self-defense jury instruction and could be charged with aggravated assault. The ruling was applied to an individual who threatened force but never discharged the firearm, when his fiancée was assaulted. Because he did not fire, he was subsequently charged and given a felony conviction. Not only does HB 2432 correct this, the Bill also adds "place of work" to the list of specific places (such as your home or vehicle) that can be protected with force without retreat. The bill also says that if someone breaks into your home, car, or place of work, it is presumed that they are there to do you harm and whatever force you deem necessary to protect yourself is justified. Now the Bill is on its way to the Senate.
Kansas Clean Air Act May Be Coming Up Soon
There is anticipation that the much debated Kansas Clean Air Act may be coming up for debate and vote in the House soon. HB 2221 was debated and passed the Senate as SB25. The bill would ban smoking and make the act of smoking in the following places an infraction: Public places; Taxicabs and limousines; Restrooms, lobbies, hallways and other common areas in public and private buildings, condominiums and other multiple-residential facilities; Restrooms, lobbies, and other common areas in hotels and motels and in at least 80 percent of the guest sleeping quarters within a hotel or motel; Access points of all buildings and facilities unless the building or facility is exempted by the bill; and Any place of employment. Buildings and facilities exempted from the smoking ban would be those not defined as an enclosed area and the following exemptions: Outdoor areas of any building or facility beyond the access points of the building or facility; Private homes or residences, except when used as a day care home; Hotel or motel rooms designated for smoking guests if the percent of such rooms does not exceed 20 percent of the total hotel or motel rooms; The gaming floor of a lottery gaming facility or racetrack gaming facility; The portion of an adult care home that is designated as a smoking area and that is fully enclosed and ventilated; The portion of a licensed long-term care unit of a medical care facility that is designated as a smoking area and that is fully enclosed and ventilated; Tobacco shops; Class A and Class B clubs holding a license as of January 1, 2009, and who notify the Secretary of Health and Environment in writing within 90 days after the effective date of the bill that they wish to continue to allow smoking on the premises; and Private clubs.
Out and About this Week
I was happy to visit with Dave Thomas, AC Byrd, George Grimm and Ralph Beckwith this week. They were here in Topeka with the American Legion. I headed back to Leavenworth on Saturday night to attend the annual Lincoln Days Banquet at the Leavenworth Riverfront Community Center and enjoyed visiting with many friends. As always, please be sure to let me know if you are coming to Topeka so that I can be sure to meet you.
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.
Just a reminder, I have slots for Statehouse pages coming up on March 2nd and April 28th. If you know of a young person who would like to come spend the day in Topeka with me to see how the legislature works, please let me know. The slots are filling up!
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.
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