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 40th 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 28th.
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 16th. 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 28th.
News Around the District
During the break, I have been busy visiting with my neighbors in the 40th 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 40th 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.
