Kansas House of Representatives
40th District
Volume 2012, Issue 8: February 27 to March 2, 2012
In This Issue
- Kansas Armed Forces Appreciation Day
- Property Tax Relief, Never Mind
- A Couple of Taxation Committee Updates
- Redistricting
- Veterans, Military Affairs & Homeland Security
- Interesting Hearings Scheduled for this Week
- Keep in Touch
Kansas Armed Forces Appreciation Day
Last week was a short for the Legislature. The legislature staff used
Monday and Tuesday to transfer all the bills between the House and the
Senate and we started back up on Wednesday to consider the Senate's
bill's. The Governor proclaimed Thursday as Kansas Armed Forces
Appreciation Day. Service members from Kansas military installations
joined the Legislature and Governor for a proclamation and the
ceremonial signing of the Military Spouses' Licensure Bill. The
mounted color guard from Fort Riley was at the Capitol and the
Governor's Military Council met before the Governor left to visit
Harveyville, Kansas, where a tornado hit earlier in the week. I enjoyed
having pages on Thursday also, and they were able to join in the Armed
Forces Appreciation Day activities.
Property Tax Relief, Never Mind
Last Wednesday, after thinking about it over a 5 day weekend, the Kansas
House of Representatives reconsidered and disapproved House Bill 2212 on
a final action vote of 34-83. I guess final action is not always final
action! The property tax plan would have applied $90 million of the
state's $351+ million surplus over the next two fiscal years to the
Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund (LAVTRF). The LAVTRF was first
established in 1938 so that the Legislature would help local government
keep property taxes down. Funds were distributed to each of the
state's 105 counties and the local units of government are required to
use the money to reduce the local property tax rate. The Legislature
stopped funding the account in 2004. A 2011 study by the Tax Foundation
concluded that Kansas ranks 21st in competitiveness for individual
income tax rates, 32nd for sales tax rates, and 41st for property tax
rates and the Department of Legislative Research has confirmed that
property tax rates have increased over 65 percent over the last decade,
while incomes have either remained stagnant or declined.
Redistricting
Last Wednesday, the House Redistricting Committee introduced even more
proposed Congressional maps. I believe the number is up to 16 now.
This Monday and Wednesday, they will be meeting to hold hearings and
testimony from the public on them. The Senate Redistricting Committee
met and passed a proposed State Senate district map out for a vote by
the whole Senate. The map collapses a district in the west, pitting two
incumbent Senators in the same district and creates a new district in
Johnson County that has no current Senator. This version does not
include the proposal to make Leavenworth County its own Senate district.
The vote is expected this week.
Veteran, Military Affairs & Homeland Security
There will be a hearing in the House Health and Human Services Committee
this week on SB303. This proposal was requested by the Kansas Funeral
Directors Association. It would establish a procedure to determine if
unclaimed cremated remains are veterans, and if they are to give them to
a veteran cemetery for honorable disposition. It passed the Senate
39-0.
HB2769 was introduced last week in the Taxation Committee. It adds
housing developments and related improvements located on US military
installations Kansas, which are developed as part of the military
housing privatization initiative to the existing statute exempting
federal government property from Kansas tax. This is housing provided
exclusively or primarily for use by military personnel of the United
States and their families. This applies to Fort Leavenworth, as the new
housing built there is owned by a private business, on land they lease
from the federal government.
Interesting Hearings Scheduled for this Week
I've scanned the House and Senate calendars for any bills that may
interest the district, especially topics that I receive questions about.
Here are a few:
- KPERS. There will be discussion and public input accepted on Monday
and Wednesday on a proposed Cash Balance Plan.
- VCAP. The House appropriations committee will be working on the
proposed budget this week. On page 67, it discusses the Kansas
Commission on Veterans Affairs and shows the amount allotted to the
Veteran Claims Assistance Plan to still be $467,268. This is still
short the $32,732 that Rep Henry attempted to add in the sub-committee
to bring the grant back to the original $500,000 that started the
program years ago and that the Veteran Service Organizations are
required to match.
- Hunting. Senate Natural Resources Committee will have hearings on
extending the deer season, the use of crossbows, and the use of
handguns while hunting on Thursday and Friday.
- Sales Tax Exemptions. The Senate will hear SB376 on Wed. It proposes
reducing the sales tax on food to 3.15% in 2013 and then after January
1, 2014, eliminating it altogether. It proposes the elimination of most
sales tax exemptions including: services, utilities, laundry mats,
membership dues, transfer of vehicles, original construction, bingo
cards, medical supplies and all by-name non-profit organizations.
Keep in Touch
You can track my activities on my website www.meier4kansas.com, my
FaceBook page www.facebook.com/Meier4Kansas, and Twitter
www.twitter.com/melaniemeier. I am privileged and honored to be your
voice in the Kansas Capitol.
If I can ever be of assistance to you, please feel free to contact me at
home or in Topeka. My office is still in the Docking State Office
Building on the 7th Floor, Room 722. 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.
If you need to directly contact a particular agency in state government,
you can find useful telephone numbers online at
http://da.state.ks.us/phonebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment