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Friends:
Thank you to the pages who worked hard this week! Hannah Johnston and Courtney Van Easton traveled from Colby, Kansas. Hannah is the granddaughter of Gordon and Mary Tempero. We also had Sydney Wilson and Keelan Terrell from Overland Park. Sydney is the granddaughter of Carolyn and Danny Long. Carolyn is my office assistant! Please see their pictures on the right.
What a busy, busy week! This week is known as "Turnaround Week." Bills must be out of their house of origin and acted upon. The Senate passed 46 bills to the House for their consideration. Some bills are "blessed" as they are referred to an exempt committee for a brief period of time to keep them viable after this week. The exempt committees in the Senate are Ways and Means AND Federal and State Affairs. As you might guess, now the Senate will have the bills passed by the House available and the same for the House with regard to Senate bills. The process begins again!
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Education and Personal Activities
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Communities in Schools (CIS) of Kansas has a proven track record with the students they serve. During the 2010-2011 school year, the CIS of Kansas network provided services in 53 schools, helping more than 15,700 student accomplish their goals and achieve real results. And these successes were achieved by students with documented risk in each of the categories in which they were tracked. Those successes included:
- 98% of students tracked as potential dropouts remained in school at the end of the year
- 89% of students tracked for promotion risk were promoted to the next grade
- 88% of students tracked as needing improvement in their behavior showed improvement
- 80% of students tracked for needing to improve their academic achievement successfully brought their grades up
CIS of Kansas is working to build a stronger Kansas, where every citizen is well-educated and capable of reaching their fullest potential! Thank you for your work!
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The Division of Vehicles in the Department of Revenue serves many Kansas citizens. Here are a few statistics with regard to their work in calendar year 2011:
- Issued 534,042 driver's licenses and non-driver's identification cards
- Issued 43,692 commercial driver's licenses and administered 16,678 Commercial Drivers License (CDL) tests
- Issued 41,210 concealed carry permits
- Processed 1,015,951 vehicle titles
- Posted 251,207 tickets and other violations to driving records
- Entered 139,337 driver's license suspensions
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Floor Activities
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Floor Activities
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Substitute for SB 393 was passed by the Senate. It will address workforce shortages in high-need areas, such as welding, auto repair, aircraft manufacturing, nursing and technology. Building on a plan put forth by Governor Brownback, this proposal will make sure more Kansas high school students graduate with the skills they need to enter college or the workforce. Under this plan, Kansas high schools and technical colleges will be better equipped to meet the workforce needs of Kansas employers and help Kansas attract jobs in emerging industries. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SR 1806 was approved by the Senate. It seeks to free Kansas from a restrictive federal law on vehicle size. Currently, barriers exist for farmers and other industries in getting their goods to market. Since Congress has exempted some of our neighboring states from the federal limits, it puts Kansas at a disadvantage and encourages transporters to bypass Kansas. If Congress will grant a similar exemption for Kansas, it will put our state on a level playing field with states like Nebraska and encourage more interstate commerce. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 345 will create the Kansas Management Company Registration Act, which would provide a process for registering and regulating appraisal management companies. It would place responsibility for registering and regulating these companies under the Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 358 will allow the holder of a manufacturer's license to serve free samples of alcoholic liquor by the licensee on the licensed premise. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 277 will create a micro-distillery license, which would allow a micro-distillery to manufacture, store, and sell no more than 50,000 gallons of spirits in a license year. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 276 will change current law governing licensure of clubs and drinking establishments. The bill removes the requirement for prosecution that a licensee "knowingly" hired a disqualified employee. SB 276 requires licensees to conduct background investigations on prospective employees prior to hiring based on rules and regulations established by the Secretary of Revenue. IT PASSED 39-1. I VOTED YES.
SB 277 will create a micro-distillery license, which would allow a micro-distillery to manufacture, store, and sell no more than 50,000 gallons of spirits in a license year. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SENATE RESOLUTION 1805 supports creating roads, streets, and communities where all users can feel safe, secure, and welcome. It recognizes that users of our state's transportation are people of all ages and abilities, bicyclists, disabled persons, drivers and commercial drivers and that our transportation network must continue to meet the needs of all users. IT PASSED THE SENATE 34-6. I VOTED YES.
SUB FOR SB 148 will allow the owner of a water right to divide the right into two or more distinct water rights without losing priority if certain conditions are met. IT PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 302 will set all registration fees for Meat and Poultry Inspection Program of the Department of Agriculture to $25. The bill also changes language to existing definitions to comply with federal law so the state inspection program is equal status to the federal program. In addition, the bill gives the Department temporary suspension authority to allow for voluntary inspection authority of non-amenable species. IT PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 310 states that a chief engineer shall review the plan whenever a groundwater management district recommends the approval of a local enhanced management plan within the district. Passed 40-0.
Senate Bill 375. This bill which adds a new exemption for a solid waste permit. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SUB FOR SB 39 will create the category of "aggravated sex offender." Any person who is convicted of any sexually violent crime after July 1, 2012, would be prohibited from living with 500 feet of any structure used for K-12 instruction or activities. IT PASSED 40-0. I VOTED YES.
SB 322 updates statutes related to expungements. These technical changes are designed to reconcile statutes. It would extend for one fiscal year the judicial surcharge the Legislature authorized in 2010 Senate Sub. for HB 2476 to fund non-judicial personnel. IT PASSED 36-4. I VOTED YES.
SB 425 authorizes the Kansas Supreme Court, on and after July 1, 2012, to impose a fee to fund the cost of establishing, operating, and maintaining electronic document filing, storage, and management for the Kansas court system (e-filing). IT PASSED 34-6. I VOTED YES. |
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Transportation:
HB 2441 will designate US-75 in Coffey County as the Floyd H. Robinson Memorial Highway Vietnam MIA. Mr. Robinson was drafted into military service in 1967. He was serving as point man for a five man reconnaissance team that was operating in Kontum Province, South Vietnam. During the mission his team became engaged in a firefight with enemy soldiers. Sgt. Robinson and two other soldiers were separated from the rest of their team while evading enemy fire. Several hours later, these three men were again ambushed by the enemy. During this encounter two of the soldiers were able to escape and return to friendly forces. Sgt. Robinson, however, was never seen or heard from again. To this day his exact fate and whereabouts are unknown. The bill passed out of committee. THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES.
Ethics and Elections:
Due to the floor schedule this week the committee did not meet.
Ways and Means:
HB 2453 amends the statutes with the Executive Reorganization Order (ERO) that moved the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) to relocated it in the Governor's office in 2011. There are no changes to the purpose or composition of the commission in this bill. The bill was moved to the full Senate on the Consent Calendar. A bill is placed on the Consent Calendar when it is deemed to be non-controversial.
SB 353 would shorten the current license restoration period from three years to two years without examination. The bill would also amend various statutes to strengthen the Board's ability to censure, limit, condition, suspend, revoke or refuse to issue or renew a license. The bill passed out of committee.
SB 435 establishes a conservation reserve enhancement program or CREP. The purposes of the CREP are to reduce withdrawal demands on the high plains aquifer, improve water quality, protect public water supplies and enhance wildlife habitat. More information on the CREP program is available at Kansas Department of Agriculture website located at http://www.ksda.gov/doc/?cid=1940. The bill remains in committee.
The committee received subcommittee reports on the following: - Department of Corrections
- Winfield Correctional Facility
- El Dorado Correctional Facility
- Ellsworth Correctional Facility
- Hutchinson Correctional Facility
- Lansing Correctional Facility
- Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility
- Norton Correctional Facility
- Abstracter's Board of Examiners
- Board of Technical Professions
- Board of Veterimary Examiners
- Kansas Board of Examiners in Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments
- Kansas Dental Board
- Real Estate Commission
- Off-Budget Items
Public Health and Welfare: HB 2525 will remove references to various levels of licensure since all licensees are now required to be licensed at the highest level possible. The bill would also give the Board the authority to require applicants for licensure or licensees under investigation to submit to background checks. The charges for these background checks would be paid by the applicant or licensee. The bill was passed out of committee and placed on the consent calendar. THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. Senate Sub for SB 397 was passed out of the committee. This is the bill that changes terminology from "mental retardation" and other similar terms to "intellectual disability" and other similar terms in our laws. The substitute bill is not yet available on line. SB 407 was passed out of the committee. This bill will require that an informational report form developed by the State Board of Healing Arts and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment be provided to patients who undergo mammography examinations. The bill passed out of committee. THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. |
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- Met with Dr. Ken Mishler, Lynne Valdivia, Michelle Sigmund and Connie Hubbell - Kansas Foundation for Medical Care (Please see their picture on right)
- Met with Nathan Eberline - Kansas Association of Counties
- Met with Jocelyn Lyons - Executive Director for the Jayhawk Area on Aging (JAAA)
- Met with Pat Terick and Pat Jonas - Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation
- Attended 3 subcommittee meetings on Natural Resources, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Environment Division), Kansas Water Office and Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
- Met with Dr. Annie Opat, Brooke Schmidt and Marcus Hix - Emporia State University (Please see their picture on right)
- Met with Phyllis Kelly, Ph.D. - Executive Director, Kansas Adult Care Executives
- Met with Brian Caswell, Pharmacist
- Met with Phyllis Gilmore, Acting Secretary of Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services
- Attended the KU reception
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Please do not
hesitate to contact me about issues of interest to you. I appreciate the
opportunity to represent you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Vicki
Schmidt
Assistant Majority Leader
20th District, Kansas Senate
vicki@vickischmidt.com
785-296-7374 (Senate Office)
Paid for by Schmidt for Senate, Brad Koehn, CPA,
Treasurer
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KANSAS FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL CARE
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Michelle Sigmund, Lynne Valdivia, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, Dr. Ken Mishler and Connie Hubbell |
EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
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Sen. Vicki Schmidt, Brooke Schmidt, Marcus Hix and Dr. Annie Opat |
PAGES
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Hannah Johnston, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, Gov. Sam Brownback and Courtney VanEaston |
PAGES
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Keelan Terrell, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, Gov. Sam Brownback and Sydney Wilson |
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