Category: Opinions

Legislative update from State Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist.
Jan. 24, 2015

No matter how old you are, it is never easy when you lose a parent. My dad, Richard Horton, passed away on Jan. 13. He was a strong, independent and wise man with a great sense of humor, and he lived life on his own terms to the very end. On behalf of my family, thank you for your expressions of sympathy and comfort and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers at this time. He will be truly missed by those that loved him.
As your state representative, one of my top priorities is ensuring that I remain accountable and accessible to the people I serve. In order to do this, I attend community meetings and events, and I meet with our neighborhood and business leaders throughout the year. While the Legislature is in session, I do my best to stay in touch and keep you informed by email, and I spend countless hours every week helping my constituents solve problems.
The 2015 legislative session is just getting underway, and I am looking forward to serving on the following committees: Children and Seniors, Local Government, Vision 2020 and Judiciary. This year I am very pleased to have an intern, Kelly Cordingley from the University of Kansas, and an assistant, Pam Parker, working with me during session.
It remains an incredible honor to represent our community in the Kansas House of Representatives. If I can be of service to you or anyone you know, call my office at 785-296-7371, or email me at [email protected].
Pam Curtis
State representative, District 32

In this edition:

• Budget cuts
• Taxes
• KPERS
• KDOT
• Education funding
• Judicial selection
• Changes to Kansas elections

Budget-cuts
Acknowledging that the current budget trajectory is unsustainable and that difficult decisions need to be made, Gov. Brownback released his budget proposals for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
To help fill the $1 billion budget shortfall over the next five years, Brownback proposed:
• Raising taxes to generate $211 million in income for the state,
• Reducing scheduled investments to KPERS (Kansas State Employee Retirement System) totaling $132 million,
• Raiding $300 million from the State Highway Fund,
• Making additional cuts to state agencies budgets, and
• Holding investments in education flat.
Gov. Brownback’s proposal serves as starting point for the legislature to debate and draft a final budget.

Taxes
In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Brownback made it clear that he would continue his failed experiment no matter what the cost, and his budget proposal reflects that. The governor has proposed a four-part tax plan that raises $211 million in revenue by:
1. Freezing income tax rates rather than allowing scheduled tax cuts to go into effect in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
2. Increasing consumption taxes on cigarettes by an additional 15% (or $1.50 a pack) and on liquor by an additional 4 percent.
3. Instituting a tax amnesty program that encourages delinquent taxpayers to pay by removing penalties and fees for tax accrued prior to Dec. 31, 2013.
4. Accelerating the gradual reduction of income tax deductions to 50 percent in 2015.
All four sources of revenue are a one-time only means to an end, and are not stable sources of revenue. Brownback’s proposal fills the self-created budget hole, but does not address the systemic problems that have created the shortfall.

KPERS
The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System trust fund is scheduled to mature in 2033 if the state continues to make its planned investments. Gov. Brownback’s proposal includes changes to the current system to help cover the projected $1 billion budget deficit. The proposal suggests that the state:
1) Reduce the state’s statutory contribution rate for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 fiscal years and,
2) Issue $1.5 billion is pension obligation bonds.
Reductions to the state’s contribution would force the fund’s maturity date into 2043, and would cost the state an additional $3.7 billion in interest. To put that number into perspective, that is half of the state’s annual budget.
Issuing bonds to cover such a large debt is also concerning, as it is the equivalent of using one credit card to pay off another. So while this proposal will push back payments and free up some cash to help cover the budget deficit in the short term, eventually the debt will have to be paid plus interest. With thousands of Kansas seniors already relying on our pension fund and an entire generation of Baby Boomers on the verge of entering the system, it is critical that the Legislature ensure the retirement security of public servants.

KDOT
Gov. Brownback has proposed raiding more that $300 million from the State Highway Fund to help cover the projected shortfalls over the next three years.
FY 2015 $608 million
FY 2016 $636 million
FY 2016 $718 million
Total $1.96 billion
The ten-year transportation plan is one of the biggest jobs creators in our state. Should we continue to rely on transportation funds to cover the state’s budget shortfall, projects will be not just be delayed, but canceled. Additionally, the safety of our roads and transportation infrastructure and our state’s economic recovery and growth will be put at risk.

Education funding
Citing the complexity of the current formula and the growing cost of education, Gov. Brownback proposed throwing out the current school finance formula and replacing the formula with block grant funding to school districts until a new formula could be written.
His proposal would in essence freeze the amount of money being invested in K-12 education, despite a court order last month finding the state to be inadequately funding public education by at least $500 million. We will know more about how the block grant funding will work and the impact on individual school districts when a bill is introduced in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, I will continue to fight to properly fund our schools so our students receive the high-quality education they need and deserve.

Judicial selection
In 1958, the Kansas electorate amended the Constitution so that it reflected the state’s views that the process of appointing justices should be fair, ethical, and free of political games. In his State of the State address, Gov. Brownback called for a change in the way we select state Supreme Court justices. Currently, a nine-person commission nominates three qualified candidates, and the governor chooses from those candidates. Three concurrent resolutions have been introduced in the House to change the nominating process.
• The first bill establishes partisan judicial elections, which would take place during the general election immediately following the vacancy of a seat.
• The second bill grants the governor the power to appoint a judge subject to confirmation by the Senate.
• The third bill restructures the nominating committee; the speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, and the governor would each appoint three people for a total of nine, and the governor would select a chair. Currently the committee is made up of four non-attorneys appointed by the Governor, four attorneys selected by attorneys in each of the state’s four Congressional Districts, and a chair of the commission who is an attorney elected by attorneys in a statewide vote.
Allowing the governor or legislators to appoint justices compromises the non-partisan nature of the court, which plays a critical role in the system of checks and balances.

Changes to Kansas elections
Last week, Secretary of State Kris Kobach proposed three initiatives that would drastically change elections in Kansas.
• His first proposal would reinstitute straight party voting, an outdated measure which would allow voters to check a single box to cast a vote for every member of a political party on the ballot.
• Kobach’s second proposal would grant him the ability to prosecute voter fraud in Kansas. The measure failed in 2013 before the House of Representatives because the prosecuting authority lies with the respective county and district attorneys.
• Kobach also sought to make death the only allowable circumstance a candidate could remove their name from a ballot.

Gov. Brownback is also championing an initiative that would change Kansas elections by moving local and municipal elections to November to coincide with the general election. Local governments have almost unanimously come out opposed to this issue out of fear the move would politicize currently non-partisan offices.

Legislative update from Sen. Pat Pettey, D-6th Dist.

Jan. 20, 2015
In this issue:

• 2015 session convenes
• New committee assignment
• Governor delivers Inaugural Address
• Governor delivers State of the State Message
• Democrats respond
• Budget outlined
• Kansas ranks Among the “Terrible Ten” for regressive taxes
• President Obama’s visit

2015 session convenes

The 2015 legislative session is underway. Legislators ceremoniously convened Monday, Jan. 12, and awaited the annual State of the State address on Thursday, Jan. 15. Committees continue to meet this week to review proposed legislation.

Legislators will have full plates this year, as we debate a number of important issues including education funding and the budget deficits created by the governor’s reckless economic experiment.

I welcome your input on any of these issues. Please feel free to visit or contact me at 785-296-7375, if you should have any questions. Or stop by my legislative office, located in room 125-E of the Topeka Statehouse.

Daily calendars, committee and district information, and full text and summaries of bills are all available online at www.kslegislature.org. To hear legislative proceedings, just click on “Listen in Live.”

New committee assignment

Senate leadership created a new committee to help relieve the Judiciary committee’s workload. This committee is the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee. I am serving on this committee as the ranking member. I am the only Democrat who serves on this seven-person committee. The committee meets daily at 9:30 a.m.

Governor delivers inaugural address

Gov. Brownback was sworn in for his second term on Monday and delivered his Inaugural address. While he finally recognized that the state is facing severe economic problems, he gave blame to a “crisis of the family” rather than taking responsibility for the results of his disastrous economic experiment.

There is a big difference between a “crisis of the family” and a “family in crisis.” The governor’s policies have created the latter. Gov. Brownback needs to recognize the impact his tax policy has had on average, hardworking Kansans.

Governor delivers state of the state message

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Gov. Sam Brownback delivered his fifth State of the State Address before a joint session of Senate and House members, cabinet secretaries and dozens of state dignitaries.

In his speech, Gov. Brownback outlined his 2015 legislative priorities, including:
• Overhauling the school finance formula
• Continuing on the “glide path to zero” income taxes
• Moving local elections to November
• Changes to the selection of Supreme Court justices

Unlike in his Inaugural address, the governor placed blame on the state’s self-imposed budget crisis on the “increases in K-12 spending since Fiscal Year 2014.” The reality is Brownback and his allies have cut statewide funding by nearly $442 million over the past three years.

From 2007 to 2009, the state lost $600 million due to the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Last year, our state’s revenue dropped by $700 million and it is the direct result of Gov. Brownback’s disastrous “real live experiment.”

Democrats respond: The state of our state is bad

As is tradition, the minority party outlined its own legislative priorities during an official response to the State of the State. This year, the response was given by Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley.

The Kansas Legislature faces one of the most serious and significant situations the state has seen in a long time, if ever. Democrats remain committed to finding real solutions that embrace our shared Kansas values:

• Ensuring all Kansas children – regardless of where they live or how much money their parents make – receive the first class education they deserve.
• Creating good paying, quality jobs that allow Kansans to support their families. This means continuing to oppose raids of the highway funds. Studies have shown our current transportation plan will create 175,000 jobs. This is more certain that what might be created by the governor’s experiment.
• Easing the burden on low-income and middle-class families as well as those living on fixed incomes.
• Maintaining a solvent pension fund for Kansas public employees.
• Opposing further cuts to important state investments that have yet to recover from the Great Recession.

I also remain committed to being fiscally responsible and making sure everyone pays their fair share. I believe our state will prosper when we invest in the people of Kansas.

Budget revisions outlined

Gov. Brownback released his proposal for the FY 2016 and FY 2017 budget on Friday, Jan. 16. The proposal includes some very concerning components, including eliminating the school finance formula established in 1992 and replacing it with a block grant. However, very little information is provided as to how the grant would work. It is very likely, though, that would significantly increase the burden at the local level – property taxes.

I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date in the coming weeks as legislators begin to work through specific budget issues. In the meantime, to access the Governor’s Budget Report in full, visit the Kansas Division of Budget’s website at http://budget.ks.gov.

Kansas ranks 9th for regressive taxes: report

A 2015 report released by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy that evaluates fairness of state and local tax systems by measuring the taxes paid by different income groups ranked Kansas as the ninth in their list of “terrible ten” most regressive tax state. The report found that in Kansas the poorest 20 percent pay more than 11 percent of their income to taxes—three times what the top 1 percent of earners pay in taxes on their income.

President Obama’s visit

I am honored to have the opportunity to attend the speech that President Obama will be delivering at the University of Kansas on Thursday. I look forward to providing all of you with highlights of his speech in my next newsletter.

by William Crum

Last Friday night I had an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to ride along with Officer Mike Henderson in the East Patrol division of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.

It was 10 o’clock; roll call was made by the watch commander. As I watched I often thought of the old TV show called Hill Street Blues, which many of you will remember. After roll call the watch commander briefed the officers on duty informing them of what is going on in the area that they will patrol. The officers on duty had very few questions to ask, each officer listened closely and they all took notes on what was going on in the area by which they will patrol. At the end of the roll call, the watch commander told everyone to back each other up.

Afterwards, Officer Henderson and I went down to get the patrol car which we will be riding in. Officer Henderson checked everything that was in the car including all firearms. As we both entered the patrol car we put our seatbelts on. Officer Henderson has roughly 50 pounds of safety equipment on him including a bullet proof vest. As I put my seatbelt on I could feel a sense of anticipation of what I’m soon to see. “You are afraid are you? You be OK,” Officer Henderson said.

As we left the building Officer Henderson checked the siren to make sure it works properly and off we went on our first call. First call was for someone was stopped for speeding. There was several other patrol cars there as well backing each other up. “We expect the worst always. This is why we back each other up,” Officer Henderson said.

As we drove our next call I really got know Officer Henderson. What I found out is he’s a family man who likes being a police officer and likes the community which he patrols.

Our second call was a woman who called the police because someone was knocking on her door. When we got there were several other officers there as well. I talked to them. Every one of the officers that was there was a lot like Officer Henderson. They, like Mike, enjoy being a police officer and enjoy their community where they live. They are a total team and you could see this in their actions and how they interact with each other.

Things were slow at this time so Mike decided to do a patrol. As we drove by we ran across an elderly woman who was parked by the side of the road. Her tire was flat and you could tell she was frightened sitting in her car. Officer Henderson got the car and asked her, “Ma’am are you OK?” “Yes,” she said, “but I’m really scared!” “You will be OK, you have anybody coming to fix you tire?” Officer Henderson said. The woman said, “My son is on his way.” No sooner than she said it, her son pulled up behind the vehicle. Her son got out of the vehicle and said to Officer Henderson, “Thanks for watching my mother till I got here, I really appreciate it, we will be OK. Thank you so very much.”

Officer Henderson said that a lot of people don’t realize that police officers are people too.
“We care about the people in our community, after all they are our friends and neighbors,” he said.

He said he and many other officers chosen this profession because they care about the community, a lot of them don’t like being tied down to desk jobs, and the feeling of helping someone else out when they are in need gives them a sense of purpose in life.

Many of the officers have been working together as a team for 12 years and know each other very well, he said.

As we drove along a call came, this time it was a domestic violence case, where the couple is not getting along with each other. These cases like this are the worst kind’ you really don’t know what to expect, Officer Henderson said. As we got there were other patrol cars as well, keeping an eye on the situation in case someone gets unruly.

As the night progressed not much was going on, everything was quiet for the most part.

We did 11 calls, the reason is the winter months and everything is quiet, Officer Henderson said. During the summer months, the workload triples. “We really get extremely busy during the summer months,” Officer Henderson said.

As the night ended we pulled into the police garage and went upstairs to check out with the watch commander. Come back another time when we are busy and you can really see what we do, this is been a slow night, said the watch commander.

What I learned was police officers are people too. They have families like you and me. They’re going to make mistakes, after all, everyone is human. As I walked to my car I felt a sense of gratification and honor to be a part of one of the most compelling experiences in my life. He gave me a new perspective on life a sense of appreciation and admiration for every officer. This was truly one of the most enlightening experiences I’ve ever had in my life. To be a police officer takes a certain breed of individual, a person who not only cares about himself but about their community as well. I salute every officer for what they’re doing for our community as well. I also want to do thank Officer Mike Henderson and the East Patrol division and others of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department for what they are doing in our community.