It is hard to believe we are already done with our second week in Topeka. Although the legislative session is still quite young, we are beginning to see the debate on several of the larger issues develop, including alternatives being proposed in the areas of school finance, taxes, KPERS, Medicaid and the budget.
I want to acknowledge the number of people who have written me in reaction to the Governor’s proposals and mention I’m taking all the thoughts and insight into consideration. School finance, taxes, KPERS and Medicaid are issues we must examine carefully before enacting law, and I look forward to continuing to hear your input as these proposals develop into actual bills and navigate their way through the legislative process.
This week, however, I want to take some time and discuss some “slightly off the radar” items that I will be focusing on this session. While not making as much press as some of the other subjects, these issues are nonetheless important this session.
1. First and foremost is the Health Care Freedom Amendment. This is a key constitutional amendment that as many of you know, I have been working on since the 2010 session. Last year, on Feb. 11, the House passed the Health Care Freedom Amendment 91-27, a tremendously favorable and bipartisan vote (HCR 5007).
- HCR 5007 has now been before the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost a year. We had hearings on the proposed constitutional amendment last year, and for some time now, many state legislators have been waiting patiently for a Senate committee debate and vote so the measure can be forwarded to the full Senate, where it deserves an up or down vote in enough time to have an impact on the written and oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
- If adopted by the Senate with 2/3 vote, the Health Care Freedom Amendment would be on the ballot for the voters in November of 2012 for their consideration.
- Arizona, Oklahoma and Ohio citizens have already voted to adopt the Health Care Freedom amendment for their states. The most recent, Ohio, enacted a constitutional amendment through Issue 3, a citizen initiated constitutional amendment. It passed 65.6% to 34.4%. Notably, this amendment passed by a wider margin than Issue 2 failed. Issue 2 being the collective bargaining referendum (61.3% to 38.7%).
- The proposed constitutional amendment has been without action by Senate Judiciary Chairman Tim Owens, who last year publicly announced he would delay it until this year. It is critically important that the Judiciary Committee forward this measure to the full Senate for adoption as soon as possible. Oral arguments will be made on the federal health care bill in front of the United States Supreme Court beginning on Mar. 26, with briefs submitted in February. Kansas is part of this lawsuit. Even though the voters would not yet have had a chance to vote for the Amendment, the Legislature forwarding it to the ballot would give the attorneys making the case another tool to use when making their case.
2. Last year I was able to get a parolee/probationer supervision bill passed in the Senate and hope to get it passed quickly in the House this year. It would give police and parole officers another mechanism to keep probationers and parolees on the straight and narrow, while providing more public safety for citizens, especially from violent sexual offenders.
3. I have drafted a resolution that recognizes the wonderful work that our Crisis Pregnancy Centers throughout Kansas have done towards promoting adoption and other alternatives to abortion. I anticipate we will honor these organizations this Monday, Jan. 23. Did you know we have over 60 of these helpful services throughout Kansas?
4. Working with other legislators on comprehensive pro-life legislation, I want to ensure that it would accomplish a number of common-sense goals to protect women and promote a culture of life in Kansas, such as signage in abortion clinics that will inform women of their rights and options. This legislation is currently still in the drafting stage, but I look forward to sharing its contents with you once it becomes final.
5. I was honored to be elected as Chairman of the Legislative Post Audit Committee. You can see more about the committee here: http://www.kansas.gov/postaudit/, but fundamentally the committee specifies and directs audits to ensure transparency and accountability for how tax dollars are used. We are recommending several audits, one of which would give oversight to every information technology project, to ensure each is meeting its milestones and target dates.
6. I am monitoring or considering legislation on many other issues as well, including ways to strengthen Health Savings Accounts in Kansas, constructing an exchange system for Kansas in the case of a currency collapse, protecting parental rights, and examining the issue of merit pay and teacher evaluation.
Of course, while most legislation has yet to reach the floor, we are extremely busy in committees with hearings. Here is a list of what we have done in my committees this past week:
Judiciary Committee. The committee held hearings on the following bills:
Senate Bill 249. This bill would allow the Legislative Division of Post Audit to require a person to be fingerprinted for a state and national criminal history record check for current and prospective audit and staff members.
Senate Bill 279. This bill amends current statute to amend the definition of unlawful sexual relations for people 16 and older to include agents or contractors of SRS as well as those in the custody of SRS.
Senate Bill 280. This bill addresses amendments to change the status of confidentiality, stating that interviews will be public record. Further, it states that parties may call for expert testimony in any proceeding, not just a trial.
Senate Bill 282. This amends the forfeiture law and extends rise of forfeiture to felony fleeing and evading.
House Bill 2070. This bill relates to eminent domain proceedings and would require that the plaintiff or their attorney notify the defendant within 14 days that the plaintiff has paid the appraiser’s award. This notification is currently carried out by the clerk of the district court. The House added an amendment that would remove KDOT’s right to appeal.
Natural Resources. The committee heard presentations by Tracy Streeter the Director of the Kansas Water Office and by Gary Harshberger the Chairman of the Kansas Water Authority.
Public Health and Welfare. The committee heard presentations on Agency Reorganizations and Executive Reorganization Orders by Secretary of Health and Environment Robert Moser, Acting Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services Jeff Kahrs, and Secretary of Aging Shawn Sullivan.
Finally, because I am Republican, I want to give you notice of the Kansas Republican Caucus, which will occur on Saturday, March 10 at 10:00 a.m. all across the state in 93 counties at 99 locations! One will be held at Shawnee Mission Northwest. You can see the full list of locations here: http://ksgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Caucus-Locations-71.pdf. This is your chance to have your voice heard in the presidential election.
I also want to mention that the Kansas Republican Convention will be held February 16-18 in Overland Park. For more information on this, please visit this link: http://ksgop.org/2012-state-party-convention-feb-17-18/
That’s it for this week. I look forward to hearing your feedback.
In honor of your liberty,
Mary Pilcher-Cook
