Vicki's Voice Newsletter- February 23, 2013

Senator Vicki Schmidt's Newsletter

February 23, 2013

Dear Friends:

Thank you to the fantastic pages this week! On Monday were privileged to have Madison Gomez (WRHS), Francesca Kelly (WRHS), Alison Kempf-Haxton (WRMS) and Jordan Turner (WRHS). Wednesday we were honored to have Hayden Federico (Christ the King School), Kaitrin Francis (Topeka Lutheran School), Emma Turner (Robinson Middle School) and Matthew Wolfe (Christ the King School). Thank you for taking the opportunity to learn more about state government! Please see their pictures on the right!

Thursday the epic snow storm landed in Topeka. The statehouse was closed for business both Thursday and Friday. Due to the closure, Senate President Susan Wagle and Speaker of the House Ray Merrick delayed the calendar by one day for committees to complete their work. Next week the LAST OPPORTUNITY for committees to meet will be noon on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. "Turn around" will still be Friday, March 1st. This term means that all bills need to be out of their house of origin (Senate or House) and debated by their chamber in order to move on. Of course there are still bills exempt from the deadlines. In the Senate if the bill was introduced, or referred to, the tax committee, federal and state affairs or the ways and means committee it is not subject to the deadlines.

EDUCATION AND PERSONAL ACTIVITIES

SAVE THE CHILDREN is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children to survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities. In times of acute crisis, they mobilize rapid, lifesaving assistance to help children recover from war, conflict and natural disasters. In Kansas they have several core programs:

The Early Steps to School Success Program is designed to assist children, from birth to age 5, with language, social and emotional development; to equip parents with the skills and knowledge to successfully support their child's growth; and to develop strong home-school connections.
The Literacy Program provides children in kindergarten through eighth grade with the opportunity to increase their reading achievement by supplying the tools they need to develop reading skills and the guidance and support they need to grow as readers.
The Healthy Choices Program aims to increase children's information and access to regular physical activity and healthy snacks in a school environment.

For more information please visit the Save the Children website!

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Tiny-K serves all 105 counties! There are 37 local Tiny-K programs, also know as Infant-Toddler Services. Tiny-K identifies and provides intervention services to infants and toddlers (ages 0-36 months) with developmental delays or disabilities. Interventions and services believed to be necessary must be provided. These services are provided by highly qualified and specialized professionals that meet state approved or state recognized certification, licensing or registration requirements. Regulations PROHIBIT waiting lists and REQUIRE every eligible child in this age group be identified. The purpose of early intervention is to lessen the effects of the disability or delay. Adequate funding for Tiny-K services is a sound investment for the state. About one out of every four children (28%) successfully served by Tiny-K needs no further special education services as they prepare for school. For more information, please visit the Tiny-K website!

FLOOR ACTIVITIES

The Senate approved the appointment of Paul Beck to serve on the State Board of Indigents Defense Services by a vote of 39-0. I VOTED YES.

With the shortened week due to the snow storm, the Senate passed 20 pieces of legislation. Here are a few of the bills debated and passed:

SB 74 will prohibit the Department of Corrections from manufacturing or building homes that compete with manufactured or modular homes constructed privately. The Department of Corrections currently builds cabins for Wildlife and Parks. These cabins will NOT be effected by this legislation. The Department of Corrections may still build structures 1000 square feet or less. THE VOTE WAS 36-4. I VOTED YES.

SB 83 will enact service fees related to delinquent tax liabilities. All fees will be deposited in the Recovery Fund for Enforcement Actions and Attorney Fees. THE VOTE WAS 37-3. I VOTED YES.

SB 84 will enact "click-thru" nexus provisions with regard to sales and use taxation. The bill expands the definition of a retailer doing business in Kansas for purposes of sales and use collection to include the retailers who enter into agreements with Kansas residents. The cumulative gross receipts from transactions generated would need to exceed $10,000 during the previous 12 months. Multiple states have adopted this type of legislation. It seeks to level the playing field between online retailers and "bricks-and-mortar" retailers. THE VOTE WAS 30-9. I VOTED YES.

SB 22 will remove the current termination date of 6-30-2014 and extend the date by 3 years to 6-30-2017. The legislature established the Postsecondary Technical Education Authority in 2007. The Authority ensure that technical college curricula meet industry standards across the state. THE VOTE WAS 34-6. I VOTED YES.

SB 27 will change the definition of "qualified student" for the Military Service Scholarship Program. It will remove specific named military engagements and specific countries. Instead there will be general eligibility definitions that will allow scholarships to be available in the future to students who may be in combat operations outside of the specific countries and operations currently listed. THE VOTE WAS 40-0. I VOTED YES.

COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

TRANSPORTATION

SB 136 is a bill that I introduced through the Transportation Committee. This bill will create a designation stating VETERAN on Kansas drivers licenses. A similar bill was introduced in the House. The bill will take effect on 7-1-2015 to allow the State time to accommodate the changes. It will allow the placement of the word VETERAN to be decided by the Secretary of the Department of Revenue. It will be available to individuals who have an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions. It designates the DD 214 or equivalent as acceptable. In addition, it allows for the Director of Vehicles to provide an electronic list to the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs in order to notify veterans of the facilities, benefits and services available to veterans. It was an honor to work on this piece of legislation. Thank you to the Kaw Valley Chapter of Military Association of America (MOAA), the American Legion, and the Kansas Commission on Veterans' Affairs for their assistance. The committee passed the bill out favorably to the full Senate for their consideration next week.

Sub for SB 70 was sent to the full Senate for consideration after being amended and passing out favorably. This bill amends several definitions related to automobiles and other vehicles. The entire statue would be organized alphabetically with regard to definitions. The Kansas Automobile Dealers Association offered 3 amendments that were adopted to comply with current federal regulations with regard to the definition and use of motor home.

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND INSURANCE

SB 166 relates to the modernization and uniformity of a statute dealing with insurance companies and operates only in the unlikely circumstance when an insurer becomes impaired or insolvent. The language proposed is model language used in many other states and is recognized in the industry. It is consistent with federal bankruptcy laws. This bill will assure those that do business with Kansas businesses that Kansas law is consistent with federal law and the laws of other states. It assures them that transactions entered into with Kansas insurers will be handled like transactions entered into with their other business partners. There were no opponents. The bill was passed out favorably to the full Senate.

SB 139 will allow money transmitters to submit applications for licensure through a nationwide multi-state licensing system and registry that is developed and maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. The bill was proposed by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner. There were no opponents. The bill was passed out favorably to the full Senate.

SB 129 will allow the Office of the State Bank Commissioner to charge fees to recover the actual costs for conducting specific public hearings. The office would be allowed to charge fees to issue a letter of good standing, approve a revenue bond, or to relocate a bank or trust company. The bill was proposed by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner. There were no opponents. The bill was passed out favorably to the full Senate.

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EDUCATION

The Education committee will meet an hour earlier (12:30 pm) on Monday, February 25th, to complete the work.

SB 128 received a hearing. Currently high schools receive $1000 for each student graduating with an industry-recognized credential received through the Technical Education Incentive Program. This bill would expand the time frame by allowing students to receive the credential before graduation or by December 31st, immediately following graduation for high school. This will be beneficial for students who complete a program in May and also graduate in May but may not be eligible to complete the industry assessment until June. There were no opponents to the bill.

SB 131 received a hearing. This bill expands the definition and allowable uses of a school district's capital outlay fund. Specifically, this bill expands the statutory definition of capital outlay to include academic uses, maintaining school district property and equipment, and the acquisition of fixed assets. Supporters testified that it will help them manage the current budget crisis. Opponents argued that it would effectively allow a few districts with high property valuations to move expenditures into Capital Outlay and expand their purchasing power while the majority of Kansas school districts would not. Testimony also stated that since a mill levied in one school district can raise substantially more or less than in another school district, this bill would have a disequalizing effect between districts. Opponents argued that this bill widens the gap until equalization is fully funded again by the state.

SB 171 was also heard this week. This bill would change the current law regarding the Kansas Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Act. The bill would require the State Department of Education to publish annually on the internet the following:

Form 150
the budget and total and itemized expenditures for all extracurricular activities, including the revenues and expenditures for all activity funds
the budget summary of the current school year
a report on the amount of time pupils were not given classroom instruction because of participation in extracurricular activities during the immediately preceeding school year

This bill was supported by Dave Trabert, President of the Kansas Policy Institute (KPI). The opposition suggested that the current state budget forms be "remodeled" to address some common areas of confusion. Some of those suggestions included:

Add prior year "budget" for more accurate comparisons to proposed budget
Break out and list separately utilities, student transportation and food service
Add column for comments to give the reader a quick explanation, such as "eliminated the program" or "utility rate increase"
Add total spending per pupil
Change the "special reserve fund" to "self-funded insurance reserve"
Allow districts to book late state aid payments which cross the fiscal year as a receivable

The opposition classifies this bill as an unfunded mandate as the administrative efforts of ascertaining all this information on the costs of extracurricular activities will be very time consuming.

SB 137 received a hearing. The bill would require each local board of education to adopt a bullying policy and implement a plan to address bullying on school property, in a school vehicle, or at a school sponsored event or activity. There were no opponents to the bill. This exact bill passed the Senate last year, but never was addressed by the House.

GPSchmidt

Met with Andrea Quill and Jerrica Wallace - Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas
Met with Ron Gaches and Jim Hanni - AAA of Kansas
Met with Martha Neu Smith - Kansas Manufactured Housing Association
Met with Robin Clements - Health Access Coalition
Met with George Stafford and Jamie Oldani - Lilly
Met with Diane Gjerstad, USD 259 (Wichita)
Met with Jan Jenkins and Cindy Dowdy - American Cancer Society
Met with Francy Keearns, Dustin Brown and Mary Maroon - Golden Living Centers

DISTRICT MAP

Click here to see a copy of Senate District 20.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Please let me know if there are events in the community that you would like me to list.

Auburn Elementary - Kindergarten Roundup will be Friday, April 5, 2013. Call the school office at 785-339-4400 for more information.
The Second Annual Auburn Lions Club Plant Sale will be on Saturday, May 11, 2013 in the Apple Market Parking Lot.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Vicki Schmidt
Senator, 20th District
vicki@vickischmidt.com
785-296-7374

Paid for by Schmidt for Senate, Brad Koehn, CPA, Treasurer