Other Votes

This past week, the Kansas Senate voted on a few other pieces of legislation, as we move through March on our way towards first adjournment.  I'm sorry to say I came down with a nasty intestinal flu bug and missed two days early in the week.  Here are the votes, some of which I voted for in committee but was absent for the floor vote:

SB 59

SB 59 clarifies the jurisdiction of district magistrate judges by adding jurisdiction over wildlife and park violations; reorganizing jurisdiction in uncontested divorces; rewording current law for petitions or motions to terminate parental rights under current state code, and; adding a list of certain action over which the judges would not have jurisdiction without consent.

The Senate approved the bill on a Final Action vote of 40-0.

SB 105

The Senate also considered a change to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), SB 105. UIFSA was enacted by Congress in 1996 to create uniformity between state's laws when collecting child support. Previous to its passage, two or more states might issue conflicting support orders for the same support payer and children. This made it hard to know how much support was owed, who the support was owed to and which state would be responsible for collecting and distributing the support.

In 2014, a federal law was passed requiring all states to enact the 2008 UIFSA guidelines by the end of 2015. Failure to do so would result in the loss of certain federal dollars to the IV_D child support fund and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant federal funding.

SB 105 establishes Kansas' compliance with UIFSA guidelines. This will provide universal, uniform rules for the enforcement of family support orders.

SB 105 passed on a Final Action vote on Wednesday, March 11 by 40-0.

SB 216

SB 216 brought the most controversial discussion Wednesday. The measure would enact the Kansas School Security Act, which would require local school districts to adopt and implement a safety and security policy, each school year, which would address the protection of students, teachers and other school employees while on school grounds, which include school vehicles and school-sponsored activities.

The bill also requires the safety and security policy be distributed to parents and employees upon completion. It would require the school safety officer or designee to meet annually with emergency medical responders or first responders and local law enforcement to discuss the plan in case of an emergency.

Opponents of the bill claimed schools are already using reporting methods that protect students and that certain provisions in the bill would be too hard for them to change their current reporting standards, but SB 216 will make a uniform plan and ensure districts that don't already have a process in place will work with local law enforcement and first responders to develop one.

The Senate approved SB 216 on a Final Action vote of 31-9.  I voted yes.

HB 2053

This week, the Senate corrected a Kansas Supreme Court decision that overturned the length of sentence of convicted felons with out-of-state criminal histories. The case stemmed from the arrest of Jimmy Murdock in a 1996 robbery. Murdock pled guilty and was sentenced. Murdock's previous criminal history included 1984 and 1990 robbery convictions, which were used to calculate his sentence for the 1996 crime. Because of the nature of the previous crimes, it was classified as a person crime in Kansas. The prison sentence was set at 20 years.

Murdock appealed and the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling on May 2, 2014. The ruling deals with how Kansas courts impose sentence lengths based on past criminal history. When judges consider past crimes committed outside of the state, they use the sentencing grid to match out-of-state crimes to similar in-state crimes. They are placed in two categories, person - which carries a longer sentence - and nonperson - which typically carries a shorter sentence. The Court found that since the Sentencing Grid was passed in 1993, all crimes before that must be considered nonperson crimes for the purpose of sentencing. The effect in the Murdock case was to allow a robber with two prior aggravated robbery convictions in Illinois, who was originally sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, to have his sentence reduced because the two prior offenses could only be categorized as nonperson felonies.

The Court did rule that in-state crimes committed before 1993 could still be categorized as person crimes. However, the net effect of the Court's ruling, according to the attorney general, could still affect between 250 and 300 dangerous felons currently in state prison.

HB 2053 was introduced by the Special Committee on Judiciary. The committee was tasked with recommending a response to the ruling to ensure that stiff prison sentences are kept in place for violent criminals. The legislation would amend state statutes governing the calculation of criminal history to specify that prior felony convictions committed before July 1, 1993 shall be categorized as a person or nonperson crime using a comparable Kansas offense. The committee believes HB 2053 will address all future crimes that rely on a criminal history before 1993 for sentencing.

The Senate passed HB 2053 on Wednesday March 11, 2015 on a vote of 40-0.  I voted yes.

Appointments

Wednesday the Senate approved 3 appointees issued by Governor Brownback. The most notable appointment was Kathryn Gardner to the Kansas Court of Appeals. After extensive review and discussion by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, the Senate approved her nomination on a vote of 31-9.   I voted yes.

Gardner's background includes working for Senior US District Judge Sam Crow as a law clerk, the assistant attorney general, and a research attorney for a state Court of Appeals judge. She also owned a private law practice for 12 years. She will fill the vacant seat left by Justice Caleb Stegall who was nominated by Governor Brownback and confirmed by the senate last year to the state Supreme Court.

The Senate also approved, unanimously, the reappointments of Jeffrey Leiker and Samantha Angell to the State Board of Indigent Defense Services.

Committee Hearings

Convention of States

On Thursday, the Federal and State Affairs Committee held a hearing on House Concurrent Resolution 163 (HCR 163). HCR 163 is a proposed resolution calling for a constitutional convention of the states.  Former Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) testified in favor stating, "But, today, we have an out-of-control federal government that diminishes the relevance of the Constitution daily." He also stated that the "founders established the "convention of the states" mechanism to ensure citizens would be equipped to resist federal encroachment upon states' rights and individual liberty." Amongst the matters that would likely be discussed would be for the establishment of a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment. The last time a constitutional convention was called was in 1787 to write the U.S. Constitution.  If passed Kansas would join Florida, Georgia, and Alaska in approving measures seeking a constitutional convention. Thirty-three more states would need to join in order for a convention to be called. The measure currently has 14 sponsors in the Senate. 

Public Funded Lobbying

On Monday and Tuesday, the Local Government Committee held informational hearings on the influence of public funded lobbying. The informational hearings spanned a two day session to educate committee members on such practices. Tuesday's meeting focused on a Texas house bill (HB 2157) that prohibits political subdivisions that impose taxes: cities, counties, and school districts from spending public funds directly or indirectly to influence the legislation. Members of the Texas Legislature provided information on how their bill will stop the practice of using taxpayer money to influence the legislation to pass policies that may contradict their own beliefs. Though it is a common practice, there is little documentation noting the amount of public resources expended by government entities to lobby for more taxpayer dollars. The committee will continue its study next week.

Real world cost of education - SB 193

The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 193 (SB 193). The legislation would require public universities to publish a degree prospectus for all programs they offer. The information would include: a description of the degree, the average amount of years it would take to obtain the degree; aggregate cost and cost per year that it would take to get the degree; average time it takes people to obtain a job after graduation; the average salary, and the amount of time it would take to pay off student loans. SB 193 also allows Universities to provide a $100 incentive so graduates would provide the information to them for a more accurate degree prospectus.  Proponents state that families making the important financial decisions of whether to invest in a higher education degree deserve a more transparent report on the real world costs. Additionally, they argue that empowering students with this information will help them to make a more informed decision when choosing a field of study and career path. The measure is now awaiting action by the full Senate.

Below is an example of a degree prospectus that would be attached to receive a Bachelor Degree in Accounting:

For more information on the above bills visit: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2015_16/measures/bills/

Kansas Wage Growth

The Kansas Department of Labor released the chart below that shows an increase of 4.1% in average weekly earnings. With the growing economy, Kansans are earning more money in their weekly paycheck. Once again, these are encouraging numbers for the working individuals and families of our state.  They also point to stronger economic growth to come.