Melanie Meier's Adventures in the Statehouse
Kansas House of Representatives
40th District
Volume 2011, Issue 2: January 15-23, 2011
In This Issue
- Week 2 in the House
- Governor's Plan to Restructure the Kansas Budget
- Veterans, Military & Homeland Security
- Corrections and Juvenile Justice
- Judiciary
- Around Home
- Keep in Touch
Week 2 In the House
Committees started working this second week in the House with Bill introductions and Hearings. We had almost 80 House members signed up for a visit to Fort Leavenworth, but unfortunately the snow storm Wednesday night forced its cancellation.
I still have some spaces available for pages on 1 February, 9 March, and 27 April this year. If you know of any young people from the age of 11 through high school who would like to spend the day in the Capitol with me, please let me know so that I can invite them over.
Governor's Plan to Restructure the Kansas Budget
On Wednesday, January 19th, Governor Brownback held a press conference to detail his plan to "Restructure" the Kansas budget. The Governor explained that there are three major components of the Kansas budget and that the "Big Three" must be addressed before Kansas can recover in the long term. The three components are Medicaid, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), and Education.
In order to address the "Big Three," the Governor has assigned the Lieutenant Governor the task of looking for pilot projects and new ideas on how to fund Medicaid, he assigned the President of the Senate the task of developing significant legislation that will make KPERS solvent in the long term, and he assigned the Speaker of the House the task of defining the term suitability from the phrase "suitable education" that is in the Kansas Constitution.
The Governor stated that he wanted these three tasks completed by the end of this year's session.
Veterans, Military & Homeland Security
Our first official task in the Veterans, Military & Homeland Security committee was to be the visit to Fort Leavenworth on January 20th, to meet with Lieutenant General Bob Caslen and his staff to educate the Kansas Legislature on the missions of Fort Leavenworth and how Kansas can support our military. Almost 80 legislators were ready to head to Fort Leavenworth when Mother Nature had other ideas and the Fort cancelled the visit. Next week we are scheduled to hear from the new Kansas Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, and the Director of the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs (KCVA), Jack Fowler.
Tuesday, January 18th, I met with the Director of Motor Vehicles, the Director of the KCVA, and Representative Mast from Emporia, to discuss the progress of the new Vietnam Veterans license plate that was approved last session. There is a proposed design that will include the message "Welcome Home" and the plate should be available in 2012.
Corrections and Juvenile Justice
We had two hearings in the Corrections & Juvenile Justice committee this week on House Bills 2001 and 2023. House Bill 2001 proposes transferring the budget for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center from the University of Kansas, who oversees the school, to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (KCPOST). This Commission was established in 2006. House Bill 2023 proposes adding additional substances to the Kansas Controlled Substance Act so that the substances in the Kansas Act match the substances in the Federal Controlled Substance schedule. We also had some more ideas for Bills introduced, such as a proposal to make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug and using risk analysis in determining who should supervise different risk level parolees. Next week we have five hearings scheduled, including one that our own Leavenworth County Attorney, Todd Thompson, has been working on and will testify in the hearing, HB2045 on amending the definitions of eavesdropping and blackmail.
Judiciary
Judiciary had six more bill introductions, including one from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth called "The Apology Act," which allows medical professionals to apologize to patients without fear of being sued based on the apology. Other introductions included subjects such as limiting harassing lawsuits from sexual predators, determination of child support, and collection of evidence dealing with pornography. Next week we have five hearings scheduled. Remember to check www.kslegislature.org for committee schedules and copies of all introduced Bills.
Around Home
I also had some constituents visit me in Topeka and I attended some activities in the 40th District. Glennice Savidge, Lansing, visited with the Kansas Realtors and Ron Baker, Lansing, with the Kansas Hospital Association. I headed home to attend the public meeting with the Federal Bureau of Prisons about the new federal prison that is planned for construction on the property next to the current prison. Construction costs of the new facility are estimated at $325 million, with 300 new jobs and a $40 million annual budget. I also attended the Leavenworth County Development Corporation (LCDC) luncheon where Mike Nixon took the gavel from Chuck Peterson as the new President. The guest speaker, Gary Sherrer, who is the current director of the Kansas Board of Regents, a former Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce, gave a very good presentation on the four necessary components of economic development. Then, Saturday night I joined the Leavenworth County Humane Society at "Ladies Night Out." It looks like "Ladies Night Out" was a huge success again this year and will give the Alliance Against Family Violence a much needed monetary boost to help with their important mission to shelter and aid the victims of domestic violence.
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. To write to me, my office address is Kansas State Capitol, Topeka, KS 66612. You can also 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.
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