Month: April 2022

BPU members call for meeting with UG over ‘misinformation’

Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities members called for a meeting with the Unified Government, saying at Wednesday night’s meeting that the BPU wants to correct “misinformation.”

There is “misinformation” being discussed by UG committee members, according to Rose Mulvany Henry, BPU vice president.

She said that members of a UG committee recently gave a presentation to a local business group, in which the committee members gave out incorrect information about the PILOT fee on the BPU bills.

The PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fee is an 11.9 percent fee that the UG places on BPU customers’ bills. The BPU has no authority in approving the fee, according to board members.

“Literally, all we do is collect the PILOT fee and remit the fee to the UG,” Mulvany Henry said at the meeting.

The BPU has no say in how the funds are spent. The funds go into the city general fund of the UG, she said. The UG Commission votes on how much the PILOT fee will be every year at budget time. BPU bills are just used to collect the funds for the UG.

At a recent UG Commission meeting, a UG commissioner asked where the PILOT fee on Bonner Springs and Edwardsville residents’ bills go. Any funds collected from there would go back to Bonner Springs and Edwardsville cities, according to Bill Johnson, BPU general manager.

There was general agreement among the rest of the BPU board that the board needs to meet with the UG Commission and mayor.

Mulvany Henry said although the UG’s website describes the PILOT fee as a franchise fee, it really is not, and that needs to be corrected, also. She said it is a payment in lieu of taxes, different from a franchise fee.

According to BPU officials, the UG gets 11.9 percent of the amount that the BPU bills. If customers are slow to pay their bills, the UG will get its funds right away from the BPU, while the BPU will have to wait for the customers to pay.

According to Mulvany Henry, the UG legal department has looked into the PILOT fees and has determined that the BPU is handling them correctly.

In other discussion, the BPU heard a report about the utility’s electric supply operations. BPU board members said they hoped the BPU was protected against cyber attacks in the wake of the UG website being hit by a cyber attack last weekend. BPU officials assured them that although it could happen to anyone, the BPU is well protected against cyber attacks.

Kansas governor approves budget including extension of postpartum coverage

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Gov. Laura Kelly signed Wednesday a $16 billion state budget backed by most lawmakers from both parties, including an extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage, a fully funded water plan and rainy day money.

The budget for 2022 and 2023 places $500 million in the state’s budget stabilization fund. This record deposit leaves the fund five times higher than ever before, providing a cushion should revenue falter. In addition, the budget fully funds the state water plan for the first time since 2008.

A notable inclusion is the extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months, which advocates hope will reduce pregnancy-related complications. More than 30% of Kansas births are covered by KanCare.

“We commend Gov. Kelly and the Kansas Legislature for extending postpartum KanCare coverage to 12 months,” said David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. “This will positively impact 9,000 Kansas mothers each year — reducing maternal mortality, improving health outcomes, and reducing disparities.”

Representatives backed the budget, 104 to 12, and senators followed suit, 33 to 5. The governor vetoed two items: an allocation of $200,000 to the Benedictine college engineering program and an opportunity for legislators to reverse their decision not to join the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

The budget does not include funding for the Kansas State Department of Education or school districts, about $6.4 billion. Lawmakers are still at odds over allowing students to enroll in out-of-district schools if there is space, among other matters.

The added postpartum coverage provides an extension of temporary federal aid in response to the pandemic to provide 12 months of coverage. Proponents of added postpartum coverage say this extension will lead to early identification and intervention of conditions among infants and, in turn, improved health outcomes.

In addition to the extension of postpartum coverage, the budget will increase funding for mental health services in home and community-based services and behavioral crisis stabilization for Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It also approves enhancements for emergency medical services, newborn screenings, cancer screenings and more.

Gov. Kelly, who is running for reelection, was optimistic about the changes made to improve Kansans’ health, but she said there was more to push for.

“With all the budget does accomplish, it could do more to ensure that all communities in the state have the access to healthcare that Kansans deserve and that prospective new residents expect,” the governor said. “Given how new business growth requires a healthy workforce, I will continue to urge the Legislature to make the commonsense decision to expand Medicaid and return Kansas’ federal tax dollars to our communities.”

A rare budget surplus eased contentious budget debates and allowed for the appropriation of $16 billion in the next fiscal year, in addition to $1.2 billion of largely federal funds in the current year ending June 30.

As of April 1, the state has accrued just over $300 million, or 5%, more than anticipated in total tax revenue.

Additional allocation in the budget includes increased funding for the Office of Broadband Development, and the Kansas Highway Patrol will also have $20 million to purchase two aircraft and replace the executive aircraft used to transport officials around the state. The budget restores higher education funding, including one-time investments in need-based aid and workforce development efforts at community and technical colleges. It also provides a 5% pay increase for state workers, their first bump since 2018.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said this was one of the better starting points for a budget during her tenure in Topeka.

“I’m particularly proud of the investments in intellectual and developmental disability services, higher education, and public safety,” Sykes said. “I’m anxious to return for veto session to address K-12 education funding and to come together to eliminate the sales tax on food.”

Kansas Reflector stories www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/20/kansas-governor-approves-budget-including-extension-of-postpartum-coverage/