Vicki's Voice Newsletter- March 9, 2013

Senator Vicki Schmidt's Newsletter

March 9, 2013

Dear Friends:

Please help me welcome BLAIR SPENCER TAYLOR to the office! Blair is in her final year of pharmacy school at the University of Kansas! As part of her rotations to various practice sites, she will spend the month of March with me in the Legislature. It has been my honor to know Blair since she was born. Her father hired me as a pharmacist when we first moved to Topeka! Her mother is a very active volunteer with the Multiple Sclerosis Society (MS) and is a good friend. Thank you Blair for spending the month with Barbara and I!

THANK YOU to Connie Jacobson, Government Teacher at Topeka West High School! Each year she brings her Government Class to the Capitol and the Kansas Judicial Center. Thanks for giving your students a great look at government in action! Please see their picture at right.

THANK YOU to the students, principals, parents and school board members from Plainview Christian School in Inman, Kansas for visiting the Capitol! Many of my father's relatives made the trip!

EDUCATION AND PERSONAL ACTIVITIES

SCAM ALERT!!!!!!!!

Please be aware!!! People have been receiving scam phone calls! The caller proclaims that your credit card has been compromised and then asks to receive your credit card numbers and personal information over the phone. DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR INFORMATION!!! Please be careful and guard this information!

*****************************************************************************

Remember those Winter Storms that were named Q and Rocky during the weeks of February 18th and 25th? Here is a rundown of the numbers from these two storms:

575 - Approximate number of Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) trucks used to clear roads
879,000 - Miles pre-treated and plowed. That's enough to circle the earth 35 times!
80,000 - Hours logged by about 1,200 KDOT employees
16,400 - Tons of salt used
540 - Tons of sand used
37,000 - Tons of salt/sand mix
1.2 million - Gallons of brine
3,500 - Gallons of magnesium chloride solution used for pre-treatment
$6.2 million - Estimated cost of both storms
$2.25 - Cost of both storms per registered Kansas vehicle
73,993 - Calls to 511 travel information
8,716 - Subscribers to "My Kansas 511" who received personalized road information
17,376 - Number of times road conditions viewed on mobile devices at 511.ksdot.org
9 million - Page views on the KDOT website

*************************************************************

FLOOR ACTIVITIES

The Senate was in "recess" on Monday and Tuesday. We returned on Wednesday. General Orders were scheduled for Thursday only this week.

The Senate confirmed the following appointments:

Suchitra Padmanabhan - Kansas Development Finance Authority
THE VOTE WAS 38-0. I VOTED YES.

Kelly Arnold - Kansas Public Employees Retirement System
THE VOTE WAS 37-0. I VOTED YES.

SB 176 will create the Coalition of Innovative Districts Act. It will authorize a process where a school district board of education could apply for authority to operate as a "public innovative district." The bill was amended by the full Senate to include 10% of the school districts as opposed to 10 school districts as originally proposed. THE BILL PASSED 31-7. I VOTED YES.

COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

TRANSPORTATION

This committee did not meet this week.

************************************************************************

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND INSURANCE

This committee did not meet this week.

************************************************************************

EDUCATION

The committee met one day this week. A hearing was held on SB 196. This bill would create the Kansas Public Charter School Act. It would allow the creation of innovative public charter schools (PCS) that could operate independently of state laws, or rules and regulations, other than those outlined in the bill. Any organization who wants to be a PCS authorizer may apply to the State Board of Education for a grant of authority. This bill would also allow an income tax, privilege tax, or insurance premiums tax credit in an amount equal to 100% of the amount contributed to a PCS. The credit would be non-refundable. The bill would require the add-back to federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income of the contributions for the state taxpayer. The Department of Revenue indicates that their estimate would be a loss of revenues by approximately $93.8 million in fiscal year 2014. The state credit added back to the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income would result in the state receiving approximately $5.6 million in additional income tax revenue (net loss of $88.2 million). Any fiscal effect associated with SB 196 is not reflected in The FY 2014 Governor's Budget Report. The supporters of the bill believe that this will provide parents and students with more educational opportunities. Opponents believe that the bill would be unconstitutional as it removes the right of people in each district to manage the public schools in their community, as provided in the Kansas Constitution. The bill itself is 27 pages in length and took our staff 35 minutes to explain it to the committee. Stay tuned.....I am sure the committee will be discussing this bill at length.

GPSchmidt

Met with John Larsen, Corey Grame and Katelyn Staab - All students at Washburn University
Met with Shelley Robertson - Go Red for Women - American Heart Association
Met with Bernie Koch - Government Relations
Met with Annie McKay - Kansas Center for Economic Growth
Met with the TWHS Students visiting at the Capitol
Met with the individuals from Plainview Christian School - Inman, Kansas

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.

Please join me on Saturday, March 9th! I will be at the Good Old Fashioned Kansas Barbeque to benefit Marian Clinic! The event will be held at Heritage Hall, Kansas Expocentre from 6 - 10 pm. Tickets are $75.00 and can be purchased at the door. Western wear is optional and encouraged! Last year Marian Clinic treated 4,800 patients!
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