The past week marked an intense time in the Kansas Legislature, as the deadline for bills to be heard in most committees was last Friday, with most legislation needing to be passed on the floor by Wednesday. With this tight time frame, many were justifiably concerned that some important legislation wouldn’t ever receive a vote on the Senate floor.

Typically, leadership holds the most controversial bills towards the end of the legislative session, so it becomes emotionally charged as concerns about running out of time exponentially increase day by day.

Due to the remarkable efforts by many, most notably Kansas citizens who made phone calls, sent e-mails, or attended hearings, I am happy to report significant progress on several key bills which many of us have been working many years to see enacted, only to see them blocked or vetoed. The Kansas Senate, just in the past three days, passed bills that will:

• Protect the rights of Kansas citizens to manage their own health care in the way they choose
• Further uphold the sanctity of life
• Protect the integrity of our elections
• Help law enforcement ensure violent offenders who are now probationers or parolees do not reoffend

HB 2067 – Voter ID – This legislation was brought to us by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and would require photo identification of most voters at every election. For advance ballots, it would require a copy of a valid photo ID OR the ID's number to be submitted with the ballot. In both cases, those 65 years of age or older could use an expired identification.

Exempt from this requirement are merchant marine or active duty military and their spouses, anyone with a permanently disability that prevents them from travel, and voters with religious beliefs that prohibit photographic identification. The bill also would require any person registering to vote on or after January 1, 2013, to submit evidence of U.S. citizenship.

HB 2218 -- Unborn Pain – This legislation limits abortions after the gestational age of 22 weeks to only cases where the mother’s life is in danger or where there would be substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. This was based upon medical evidence which indicates that unborn children respond to painful stimuli at least as early as 20 weeks after fertilization. See www.doctorsonfetalpain.com..

HB 2035 – Late Term Abortion & Parental Consent -- This bill has three critical components:

1. Implements a thrice-vetoed mandate that medical reasons be documented in late-term abortion reports
2. Adds the federal and constitutionally-tested language of the partial birth abortion ban which eliminates “mental health.” (Mental health was a broad term that was giving license to be used for abortion on demand.)
3. Protects parental rights by requiring two-parent consent for minors seeking abortion, with judicial bypass after need verification and documentation.

HB 2182> – Health Care Freedom ActTherefore, it would be a law instead of a constitutional amendment. It is now in conference committee, waiting for the House to concur.

We have been promised a Judiciary committee vote next year on the Health Care Freedom Amendment, the proposed Kansas constitutional amendment. If we can get it passed in the Senate, it would then be on the 2012 ballot, as the Health Care Freedom Amendment has already been passed by the House.

In the meantime, the Health Care Freedom Act would protect the liberty of Kansans by:

• Preventing the state from requiring any resident to purchase health insurance or preventing the state from interfering with a resident’s right to purchase health insurance.
• Allowing direct payment for health care services without penalty or punishment by the government.
• Prohibiting the state from requiring an agreement to participate in a health care system as a condition for a license.
• Making it clear where Kansas stands in regard to the federal health care bill, which could be a factor in the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the federal health care bill.

I want to emphasize that without the perseverance of many of my colleagues and most of all, Kansas citizens from every corner of our state who signed petitions, wrote emails, attended hearings, or called their individual legislator, these bills could not have been passed. This week’s results demonstrate that your voice is being heard.

However, despite these great victories, we will continue to need to hear your voice in the coming weeks, as we seek final approval of the above legislation, in addition to the very large and still unresolved issue of the state budget. There are some legitimate concerns that current proposals for the FY 2012 budget do not go far enough in limiting government and controlling spending, which simply must be done if we are ever to achieve long term fiscal health and economic growth in Kansas.

As we work through the closing weeks of the 2011 session, I encourage you to email me at mary@pilchercook.com or “like” me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/imwithmary, where I am posting more frequent updates as we continue to make progress in Topeka.

Thank you again for your words of encouragement and prayers. It means a great deal!

In honor of your liberty,

Mary Pilcher Cook