Welcome to the 9th edition of Ronnie’s Report – my regular update for the 2008 Legislative Session.

The last week before “first adjournment” is like a new season in the legislative session. We pressed hard, worked late, with both the House & Senate holding two-a-day sessions, working into the late evening hours debating multiple bills and holding conference committees to negotiate differences in bills passed by each chamber.

This report contains more legislative jargon than normal. I love to teach the legislative process to the student pages, legislative shadows, and friends from our district who come to visit me in Topeka . So, here goes … I hope this is helpful.

A conference committee is made up of six legislators, three from the Senate, and three from the House. Usually, the make-up of the conference committee consists of a chair, vice-chair and ranking minority from each chamber – from the appropriate committee related to the bill’s subject.

During the last week, we finished up debating bills on the House floor and began hearing conference committee reports. As each committee reaches an agreement the conferees return to their respective chambers to explain the compromise. After some debate, the conference committee's recommendation is then voted up or down. It is a lengthy process that can sometimes take many attempts to reach an agreement between the House and the Senate.

Also, during this time legislation often gets “bundled” a term used meaning that several bills can get combined into one. This process can get dizzyingly fast and confusing. It also becomes very frustrating in that the bundling will sometimes pair two bills; one which you oppose with one you favor. This makes for tough decisions.

In addition, there can be multiple floor amendments brought forward as legislators see a particular bill on the floor as a last chance vehicle for a particular bill that they see as really important.

Many times, the amendment is actually a bill that never made it out of committee in the normal process, so it is always a challenge for us to fully understand the amendment and its ramifications, listening carefully to the floor debate.

When a legislator is bringing an amendment, the amendment must be germane (of the same subject matter) to the base bill. Any legislator can challenge the germaneness of the bill. That calls for the rules committee to come forward and make a ruling.

Another part of the process that happens quite a bit in this part of the season is to divide the amendment. This allows the amendment to be divided, then each section can be voted up or down in sections. Again, the rules committee is summoned to make a ruling of the division. We saw a couple amendments get divided into as many as seven parts. As you might expect, this process becomes long and tedious.

If a legislator wants to see a bill heard on the floor that has stalled in committee, he can seek to call it up from the committee. That was attempted unsuccessfully a couple times this year.

Another fascinating procedure in the amendment process is “the gut and go,” where an amendment actually strips out the entire base bill and wholly substitutes the text to create an entirely new bill. This obviously requires a lot of work to communicate the details of the extensive amendment to the entire body with the culmination of an up or down vote on the bill. With all this in mind, it is easy to see how a single bill could be on the floor for debate for 4-5 hours straight.

Following is some of what we accomplished…

A new anti-funeral picketing bill
Because the Supreme Court killed last year’s bill, we passed a new anti-funeral picketing bill, which was subsequently passed by the Senate, and the measure has been sent to the governor. The bill is similar to last year’s effort but without a provision requiring the Kansas Supreme Court to hold the bill constitutional before it formally becomes law.

It is clear that the whole legislature desires to stop the actions of these picketers, but it is a difficult thing to do without violating the picketers 1st Amendment rights to free speech. The new law prohibits protests from being within 150 feet of a funeral for one hour before, during, and two hours after the service. It will also be unlawful to block a public street or sidewalk. Violators will be subject to fines and six months in jail.

Governor Sebelius has already signed the funeral picketing bill into law.

Photo ID required to vote and a Presidential Primary for 2012

We passed a bill that would require photo ID for voters in the 2010 elections, except for some older voters who would be exempt. When debating the bill, we added a measure that would establish a Kansas presidential preference primary on the first Saturday in February 2012. This will be interesting, because it moves away from our customary Tuesday election day. I also see it as an experiment, seeking ways to increase voter turnout by voting on a Saturday. Do you like that idea?

Missouri Tax Repeal
Even though they promised to do so, the Missouri legislature has not yet repealed the statute they passed last year that unfairly taxes Kansans working in Missouri . This issue is of great concern to me, because of our district’s proximity to Missouri . We have many district 24 residents who are affected.

I have also talked to several tax preparers who are frustrated with the situation, because until the measure is actually repealed by the Missouri Legislature, tax preparers must advise their affected clients to file as though the law will not be repealed. Likewise, if and when the measure is repealed, the taxpayer will have to file an amended return. The Kansas bill would place similar Kansas tax laws into effect on any state that borders Kansas .

Our legislative leadership has intentionally left this measure until the last part of the session to give our counterparts in Missouri time to act. If Missouri refuses to do so, we will be forced to enact this legislation. There is about 5 million dollars annually that is in play.

Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Act For at least two years now, we have talked about the dilemma of senior citizens on fixed incomes that are having an increasingly difficult time paying their ever-increasing property taxes. HB 2928 would allow seniors who have an income of $60,000 or less and who have lived in their homes at least 10 years to defer up to $2,500 a year of their property tax. The tax, plus interest would be paid upon the sale of the property. This bill would become effective January 1, 2009 and would end December 31, 2013 unless reconsidered.

I voted for this bill because I feel we must do something to give relief to our seniors. There are safeguards in the bill; such as the owner would be required to sign up for the optional program each year and they would be prevented from opting in if the accrued deferred taxes ever reached 50% of the value of the home. If you have questions about this measure please ask me. There are more details that one should consider.

Property Tax Assessment of Newly-Constructed Residential Property
The home building industry is the only industry in Kansas that is required to pay a tax on their inventory. In their inventory are homes that are either under construction or have not been sold. This bill stops the punitive treatment of the homebuilding industry, by removing the tax on their inventory.

This bill would allow for the equal and fair treatment of all buyers of residential properties. It fixes the current system that asks the purchaser of an existing home to start paying taxes on the full value of their home immediately, while their neighbor who had theirs built, gets a tax holiday.

The bill is especially important in the KC area because it levels the playing field for our builders on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Data proves Kansas is losing new home starts to communities across the Missouri state line, because Missouri has a law in place to give them this of tax relief advantage.

It is important to recognize that there is no fiscal note to the state, and as evidenced in Missouri , counties and school districts will have revenues available to them sooner. This bill is a triple win for counties, schools, and builders.

Credit Card Convenience Fee Approval for Cities
This bill will authorize cities to pass the surcharge on to a resident who pays the city using a credit card. This provision is already in place for counties but not for cities. For example, a person can pay their vehicle registration and property taxes with certain credit cards, but only if the resident is willing to have the credit card surcharge passed through to the taxpayer.

This bill will recoup a lot of money for our cities. For example, Overland Park loses over $160,000 each year because of this issue. Currently, cities are not authorized to pass the surcharges through to the taxpayer. As always, the taxpayer can pay by check without extra surcharges.

Health Care Reform Act of 2008
Following is good information written by a fellow representative, Rep. Kenny Wilk:

We recently passed the Health Care Reform Act of 2008. Everyone agrees that the biggest health care problems faced by all Kansans are cost and access to care. If health insurance is cheaper, more people and small businesses can buy it. And in tight times keeping your insurance either because you lost your job or because of cost is especially important.

We have worked diligently to make health insurance more affordable and improve access to health care services for all Kansans.

This bill builds on previous legislation and keeps health care reform moving forward. It is comprehensive – provides more accessibility to health care; begins to address the need for prevention and early health interventions; and improves portability and coverage for those who face losing their insurance.

Big businesses can deduct their health insurance saving 15% or more. Unfortunately small businesses, especially sole proprietors, don’t get the same break unless they create a complex plan called a Section 125 plan. The Kaiser Foundation estimates that 60% of Americans don’t take advantage of this 15% savings.

With this legislation, we make it simple for thousands of small businesses to save 15% or more by requiring insurance companies to offer a cheap and simple way to use the tax deduction.

There are also Kansans who face losing their insurance coverage because of a job loss or illness. And it improves the portability of insurance and protects Kansans who lose their insurance by extending the state Cobra policy from six to 18 months of optional coverage.

This bill helps uninsurable Kansans by increasing lifetime benefits from $1 to $3 million.

Thousands of Kansans have little or no health insurance. This forces many to emergency rooms and passes on the costs to those who do have coverage. It is clear our state’s health care system must be reformed for the betterment of all Kansans.

Thousands of uninsured Kansans struggling to make ends meet get the coverage they need. This bill will help insure more Kansas children by requiring new efforts to enroll those eligible in programs for low-income families. It also establishes the Premium Assistance Program so the poorest Kansas families (up to 50% of federal poverty level) get the help they need to afford health insurance.

When it comes to prevention and early health intervention, the bill increases cancer screening available at Safety Net and Rural Clinics. It also will improve the health of poor expecting mothers by expanding Medicaid and providing dental care and stop smoking programs for them.

Budget restraints kept us from doing everything but we are pleased with the work the Kansas House was able to accomplish. Overall, the bill satisfies 15 of the 21 goals of the Kansas Health Policy Authority.

Inaction of the federal government has made the challenges for state government much greater. The Kansas Legislature is committed to using our tools to make a difference in providing affordable health care for all Kansans. It is an issue that has the highest priority for the Kansas Legislature.

Next Town Hall Meeting
Our next “Town Hall” Meeting will be at Lucky Brewgrille , 5401 Johnson Drive in Mission on Saturday April 26, from 8:30 to 9:30 AM. We will provide complimentary coffee and pastries. Come be a part of the discussion.

I will write you again to update you on other very important issues, such as energy, the state budget, annexation, education funding, immigration reform, the Gardner Kansas intermodal hub, the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) and more.

I am a 5th generation Kansan and have lived in District 24 for over 50 years, and truly believe it is not what I think, but what you think that matters. This is the essence of representation. As always, I am looking forward to seeing and hearing from you.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to others you know in our District.

Thanks for your time…