Kansas House of Representatives
40th District
Volume 2011, Issue 8: February 28 – March 6, 2011
In This Issue
- Busy Week after Turnaround
- KNI and the Kansas Arts Commission
- Veterans, Military & Homeland Security Committee
- Corrections & Juvenile Justice Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Around Home
- Keep in Touch
Busy Week after Turnaround
This week the Legislature went back to work. But first, I spent some time in Leavenworth and Lansing attending meetings and touring facilities. Monday I was interviewed for local cable channel 2's "Movers and Shakers" at Lansing City Hall and I met with the Leavenworth/Lansing Governmental Affairs Committee. Tuesday was volunteer time at the First City Museum, wrapping up the auction from "A Taste of Leavenworth" the weekend before. Friday, Kathy Meyer gave a great tour of "New Beginnings" school in Lansing; then Ron Baker and his staff at Cushing Memorial Hospital gave a great update and tour of the hospital. Saturday and Sunday were National Guard drill at the armory in Leavenworth.
KNI and the Kansas Arts Commission
I have received many emails, calls and letters from home about the Governor's executive reorganization orders (ERO) concerning the Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI) and the Kansas Arts Commission. This week the Senate has passed out of committee resolutions to oppose these two EROs. KNI is a facility in Topeka that houses the 168 of the most severely mentally and physically disabled Kansans. The Governor has proposed moving the residents of KNI to community based settings. The Governor has also proposed abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission (KAC) and replacing it with a non-profit organization. Opponents of abolishing KAC have testified that without some small amount of State funding, Kansas would lose grant money and federal matching dollars that would just go to other states. These resolutions will now go to the Senate floor for a vote.
Veterans, Military & Homeland Security Committee
The House Federal & State Affairs Committee held a hearing on HB2178 this week. This is a veteran's bill that would allow the spouses of active duty military to retain their professional licenses when they move to Kansas. This is very important to military spouses who often have to give up their careers to follow their service member from duty station to duty station. This would also help Kansas gain a potential experienced professional workforce.
Chairman Mario Goico and I were appointed by the Governor to the Governor's Military Council. The Governor's Military Council is a partnership between the administration, key legislators, all members of the Kansas congressional delegation and key business and military leaders representing the Kansas communities of Leavenworth/Lansing, Junction City/Manhattan, Wichita, and Topeka. The council fosters cooperation between the installations and private and public sectors, and pursues initiatives to enhance the quality of life for all military personnel, active and retired. The council also assists in the development, coordination and execution of strategy required by any future change in missions proposed by the Department of Defense.
Corrections & Juvenile Justice Committee
The Committee held hearings this week on the re-codification of the Kansas criminal code and the Kansas drug code. HB2321 and HB2318 are two very large Bills put together by the Judicial Council that adjust the current criminal and drug codes. Some of the amendments proposed to the criminal code include creating new crimes of "armed criminal action" and "endangerment," adding unilateral conspiracy and making abandonment of a child an inherently dangerous action felony. The amendment to the drug code incorporates a new level in the sentencing grid that takes into consideration the quantity of illegal substances an offender possesses. Under current law, an offender receives the same sentence whether they possess or try to sell one gram or a pound.
The Committee also held a hearing on HB2322 which is a proposal to adjust the Kansas Offender Registration Act to comply with the Federal Adam Walsh Act. Proponents testified that the current Kansas registration act is spread over several statutes and should be combined in one place. Opponents testified that there is a reason that only 4 states have adopted the provisions of the 5 year old Adam Walsh Act. They stated that the Act is very arbitrary and this bill affects more than sex offenders because in Kansas the registry includes sex offenders, violent offenders and drug offenders, approximately 9000 people. Therefore, this bill would make not only the 5000 sex offenders lifetime registrants, but also the 4000 others. The committee will continue the hearing next week.
Judiciary Committee
The Committee held several hearings this week on bills we received from the Senate. SB12 is a proposal to allow the exemption of the earned income tax credit from bankruptcy proceedings. The Earned Income Credit is temporary assistance to needy families, available only to people who are working low income jobs with dependent children. Proponents testified that this bill is designed to keep the working poor working and off of State and Federal assistance programs. There were no opponents. Other bills included SB62 which would allow Kansas courts to assess court costs from the sale of seized and forfeited property. The Geary County Court Clerk testified that if the bill passes, that Geary County could retrieve up to $70,000 in court costs per year. SB45 would remove the taxpayer ID from Certification of Trust paperwork that is filed on line. The Kansas Bar Association testified that with today's technology, the taxpayer ID or social security number is vulnerable by being available in a public record.
Around Home
Amy Falk and Karole Bradford were here in Topeka this week with Saint Vincent Clinic which is a member of KAMU, the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved. Saint Vincent Clinic was established in 1986 as an affiliate of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System to provide a wide range of medical services to low income, uninsured adult residents of Leavenworth County.
We had members of Kansas' Parents as Teachers program and approximately 300 mental health advocates in the Capitol this week. They filled the halls and lobbied their legislators to continue to provide early childhood education and mental health services to Kansas' most vulnerable citizens.
I am looking forward to this coming week with pages from home coming to work in the Capitol.
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. Don't forget that you can also follow the legislative session online at http://www.kslegislature.org/, including live broadcasts of the House and Senate while on the floor.
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