Month: March 2016

Democrats issue their own letter asking Obama not to send prisoners from Gitmo to Leavenworth

Today, the members of the Kansas Senate Democratic caucus, in a letter to President Obama, requested that the President not transfer prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth.

The letter, which addresses safety and security concerns, notes the facility in Leavenworth is a medium-security facility and does not provide maximum security measures “which would provide long-term segregated housing for the extremely high-risk prisoners who would be transferred from Guantanamo Bay.”

This letter is in stark contrast to HCR 5024, which passed the Senate earlier this week.

“The resolution contained polarizing and uncivil rhetoric that was meant to purposely disrespect our nation’s commander-in-chief,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley. “This issue is about national security and the safety of the Leavenworth community – not about playing political games.”

The letter sent to the President:

“We are writing today in regard to your upcoming decision on closing Guantanamo Bay. It is our understanding that the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, is under consideration for placement of current Guantanamo prisoners. We would like to outline several of the concerns expressed by our constituents regarding this potential action.

“United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, (USP Leavenworth) is a medium-security prison and, therefore, lacks the high security level used by maximum-security prison systems. We are unaware of any current maximum or super-maximum security measures at USP Leavenworth which would provide long-term segregated housing for the extremely high-risk prisoners who would be transferred from Guantanamo Bay. These detainees represent the ‘worst of the worst’ criminals and pose a grave threat to our state and country.

“Because the individuals to be transferred are connected to terrorist groups with a proven history of horrible atrocities against humanity, it is possible that the placement of their comrades in USP Leavenworth would increase the likelihood that Leavenworth or other less secure areas around Kansas would be targeted by terrorist groups.

“We are also concerned that USP Leavenworth does not have the necessary basic facilities to hold and care for these detainees. The prison does not have a full-service medical facility and would have to transport these detainees to the City of Leavenworth for medical care, which is unavailable at the prison. In addition, the surrounding community does not have the law enforcement, emergency response resources, or physical capability to provide the level of protection required to assure the safety of Kansas citizens who live and work in the area.

“Kansas has always shared the burden of defending our country from enemies, both foreign and domestic, including the imprisonment of enemy combatants during times of war. However, for the reasons outlined above we do not believe that USP Leavenworth is an appropriate destination for Guantanamo Bay prisoners.”

The letter was signed by Democratic senators including Sen. David Haley and Sen. Pat Pettey of Wyandotte County.

Modified hemp oil bill heads to full Senate

by Megan Hart, KHI News Service

A bill that would legalize hemp oil for treating seizures advanced Thursday to the full Kansas Senate, but not before a committee made extensive changes.

The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee amended Senate Bill 489 to forbid in-state hemp oil production, create different standards for adult and child patients, require doctors who want to prescribe hemp oil to pay for a different certification and specify that the state’s Health Care Stabilization Fund wouldn’t be liable if patients are injured while taking hemp oil.

The amended bill would require that hemp oil prescribed to people younger than 21 contain no more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the chemical that produces a sense of euphoria or “high” in recreational marijuana users.

Sen. Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, introduced the amendment to lower the limit for minors while allowing THC content of up to 3 percent for adults.

A second amendment, from Sen. Jacob LaTurner, a Pittsburg Republican, would stipulate that the hemp oil must contain at least 15 percent cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical in marijuana that doesn’t cause a high.

Advocates see health benefits

Medical marijuana advocates converged Wednesday on the Statehouse to plead their case, but the committee delayed working the bill due to limited time.

Sara Weber was among those who said allowing hemp oil could make a significant difference in her life.

Weber, 27, of Washington, said she has had multiple types of seizures since she has was 18, and taking variety of medications hasn’t substantially reduced them.

A doctor she visited in Colorado said she would benefit from taking a high-cannabidiol hemp oil as a maintenance medication and a hemp oil with a higher tetrahydrocannabinol content for times of heightened seizure activity, but she and her two children can’t easily pick up and move from their family’s support system.

Weber said she takes four medications but still has 20 to 50 seizures per month, and hopes hemp oil could change that. The seizures have kept her from driving, working in her parents’ restaurant or even taking care of daily activities without someone present to make sure she isn’t injured, she said.

“Maybe I would be able to take my daughters to the park,” she said. “Maybe I’d be able to cook dinner without someone in the kitchen. Maybe I’d be able to go back to work.”

No in-state production

During Thursday’s committee hearing, LaTurner also offered an amendment striking language that would allow facilities to produce hemp oil in Kansas. States such as Oklahoma also have taken the route of importing from states with looser restrictions, and forbidding production in Kansas would address law enforcement’s concerns about explosions in facilities creating the oil, he said.

“This is in line with what Kentucky, Iowa and others have done,” he said.

The Colorado explosions mostly have happened in homes where amateur cooks attempted to make hash oil. Hash oil differs from hemp oil in that it is created to maximize THC content for recreational users.

Rep. John Wilson, a Lawrence Democrat who testified before the committee, said the amendment banning in-state production could make the bill unworkable because hemp oil remains illegal under federal law.

“You are asking them to break federal law by bringing a controlled substance across a state border,” he said.

Federal authorities have opted not to aggressively enforce drug laws against medical marijuana users, but a future president could change that informal policy.

Denning also offered amendments that would:

• allow patients a 30-day supply instead of a 60-day supply.
• require providers to pay $2,000 for an annual certification if they want to prescribe hemp oil and have an office in a state-licensed medical facility.
• hold the state’s Health Care Stabilization Fund harmless if patients are harmed after hemp oil, meaning any compensation would have to come from the doctor’s malpractice insurance.

Denning said a higher license fee is necessary to pay to set up the framework to regulate hemp oil.

But Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City, Kan., Democrat, said he thought it was “discriminatory” to charge doctors who want to prescribe hemp oil more than the state charges those looking to reinstate their licenses after losing them.

“We’re just getting started. We have no pay-fors,” Denning said.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

– See more at http://www.khi.org/news/article/modified-hemp-oil-bill-heads-to-full-senate#sthash.olZDsPKq.dpuf

Head of employees union says bill could open door to privatization of state hospitals

KDADS secretary says he needs flexibility to fix problems at the hospitals

by Megan Hart, KHI News Service

A bill changing how state hospital superintendents can be appointed would open a back door to quietly privatizing state hospitals, according to the head of the state employees’ labor union.

Language approved by both the House and the Senate earlier in a budget bill passed earlier in the session prohibited the state agency that operates the hospitals from entering into privatization agreements without the approval of the legislature.

However, Rebecca Proctor, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, said a bill now under consideration could essentially provide that authorization. If the administration wants to privatize the state hospitals, it should hold Legislative hearings and public meetings first, she said.

“We think this process should be open, it should be public, it should be transparent,” she said. “This bill allows any privatization to happen very quietly, with only a few people involved and no public hearings.”

Tim Keck, interim secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said the measure in question – Senate Bill 460 – would simply allow the agency to explore privatization by issuing a request for proposals. The bill ensures legislative oversight, Keck said, by requiring the agency to get the approval of the State Finance Council before issuing the RFP.

“We need this bill to have a legitimate review of the RFP process,” Keck said. “We want to take as many RFPs as possible so we can provide the best for patients.”

The agency needs “flexibility” in order to receive serious offers from private groups to run Osawatomie State Hospital, Keck said, and needs to have all options on the table to improve care. Osawatomie is the state’s largest mental health hospital. It lost its Medicare payments in December after federal inspectors found the environment wasn’t safe for patients.

The bill would appear to at least take a step toward allowing privatization of the two state psychiatric hospitals and the two hospitals serving people with severe developmental disabilities. It states that if a hospital superintendent, physician or other staff member were appointed by a person or organization contracting with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, he or she wouldn’t be under the state’s civil service system.

Currently, superintendents and physicians are under the civil service, but the positions are unclassified, meaning they don’t have the same employment protections that classified workers do.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican whose district includes Osawatomie State Hospital, said she thought the bill would run afoul of the Legislature’s requirement that it approve any attempt to privatize the hospitals. Placing the issue before the Finance Council would allow a “hand-picked” few to decide for the rest of the Legislature, she said.

Recent events have made many legislators cautious about inadvertently handing over authority to the administration. At Wednesday’s committee meeting, some members referenced a controversial contract by the Department of Administration to build a new power plant to replace one under the Docking State Office Building, which the state intends to implode. They said the administration exceeded its authority by entering into a $20 million contract to build a new power plant.

The bill also would change how new employees are categorized even if the state doesn’t privatize the hospitals. Hospital staff and some KDADS administrative staff hired or appointed after July 1 would be automatically categorized as unclassified. Current workers would remain classified unless they change jobs.

That provision isn’t necessary, Proctor said, because state agencies already have the right to make open positions unclassified.

“The agency has authorization to do everything but privatize,” she said.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

– See more at http://www.khi.org/news/article/head-of-employees-union-says-bill-could-open-door-to-privatization-of-state#sthash.9hTHpOUu.dpuf