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Legislative update from Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist.

by State Rep. Pam Curtis

A very exciting week as the House passed Medicaid Expansion (see report below) which now heads to the Senate. Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore (from Wyandotte County) did an excellent job carrying the measure on the House floor.

Expanding Medicaid will provide about 150,000 working Kansans, that fall in the coverage gap, with access to much-needed health care options. It will also return our already paid federal dollars to Kansas, provide support to hospitals and clinics as well as stimulate our economy.

The REACH Healthcare Foundation sponsored the Wyandotte-Leavenworth Delegation Luncheon on Tuesday. Brenda Sharpe, president and CEO, spoke about REACH’s commitment to addressing health care coverage and access to quality health, mental health and oral health services as well as the need for Medicaid expansion. We appreciate Brenda Sharpe, Pattie Mansur and Todd Jordan joining us for this important discussion at our lunch and learn.

Many thanks to Amanda June Smith and Sara Rust-Martin for testifying in support of HB 2279 to help arm victims of domestic violence with the information they need at time of arrest to make safe decisions. HB 2279 is the bill that Rep. Ponka-We Victors and I co-sponsored. We appreciate everyone’s help and support with this effort. The bill passed in the House unanimously and on Friday passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It will now advance to the full Senate.

I want to give a shout-out to the young adults from Wyandotte County that have been actively involved in this year’s Kansas legislative session. Having young people from our community at the Statehouse testifying on issues they are passionate about makes me proud. Appreciate their involvement, which is so important because the laws we pass today will affect them and their voices must be heard.

It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I value and appreciate your input on issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address at the Statehouse is: Room 452-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at 785-296-7430 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. You can also e-mail me at: pam.curtis@house.ks.gov

House passes Medicaid expansion
On Wednesday, March 20, after almost eight hours of debate on the House floor, the House voted 70-54 to advance Medicaid expansion. In arguably one of the most action-packed debates this session, Democrats offered an amendment to replace the contents of House Bill 2066, a controversial bill to expand the practice authority for registered nurses, with Medicaid expansion. Though the amendment was ruled non-germane by the rules chair, a bipartisan coalition came together to overrule the chair and finally have a real debate on expansion on the floor.

Medicaid expansion offers innumerable benefits for Kansas. Presently, more than 150,000 Kansans fall within the health coverage gap—most of whom are employed, but whose incomes are narrowly outside the threshold to qualify.

This would broaden the current threshold to include Kansans earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $17,236 for an individual or $35,535 for a family of four. Expanding Medicaid will return billions of our taxpayer dollars back to Kansans, stimulate the Kansas economy, create thousands of jobs and maintain thousands more, help over 150,000 hardworking Kansans, including children and military veterans, and keep Kansas hospitals and clinics open. This is critical for rural hospitals because many disproportionately serve poorer, sicker, and older patients.

After a 69-54 final action vote on Friday, the bill now advances to the Senate. It is expected to have a narrower margin, but we remain optimistic that the Senate will do what is right for Kansans. In a nonpartisan study, over 70 percent of Kansans support Medicaid expansion. Newly elected Gov. Laura Kelly ran on Medicaid expansion as a top issue, receiving overwhelming support. We are thankful to our Republican colleagues for working alongside us. We look forward to continuing this bipartisanship moving forward.

Here are a few resources to learn more:
• Why Medicaid Expansion Matters to Kansas, https://www.expandkancare.com/why-expansion-matters/
• Kansas House Approves Medicaid Expansion, But The Fight Isn’t Over Yet, https://www.kcur.org/post/kansas-house-approves-medicaid-expansion-fight-isnt-over-yet#stream/0

House Democrats meet with Department of Children and Families Acting Secretary Laura Howard
On Thursday, the House Democratic Caucus played host to Acting Secretary Laura Howard, of the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Aging and Disability, at our Thursday summit. Secretary Howard spoke on issues important to child welfare in Kansas. She brings an extensive background in social services to the table.

House Democrats have been continuously advocating for reform of DCF, especially within the foster care system. We look forward to working with Secretary Howard to address these necessary reforms and programs.

School funding update
The Kansas Senate passed SB 142, the school funding bill proposed by Gov. Kelly, through the chamber, but the House K-12 Budget Committee will not kick the bill out to the House floor despite bipartisan support of the plan. Rather, House Bill 2395, a Republican bill that removes funding for the last two years of the finance plan passed last session, is now the focus of the House.

On Thursday, after voting down SB 142 in committee, the K-12 Budget Committee used the gut and go procedure to insert HB 2395 into Senate Bill 16. HB 2395 contains no new funding and will not meet the requirements established by the Kansas Supreme Court ruling in the Gannon case. The state has a deadline of June 30, 2019, to pass a plan that meets the requirement.

HB 2395 passed on an 8-4 vote and heads to the House floor. House Democrats remain staunch supporters of fully funding K-12 education, and will continue to work towards a constitutional solution.

This week on the floor
This week, the House worked several bills on the floor. All of these bills passed through the chamber. They include:

HB 2188: Dissolves the White Clay watershed district no. 26, city of Atchison assumes obligations and amending the tax lid relating to the dissolution of any taxing subdivision

SB 40: Removes expired warning provision for approach of an emergency vehicle traffic violation.

SB 41: Clarifies that a violation of the statute requiring seat belt use is a traffic infraction.

HB 2041: Prohibits certain unfair or deceptive acts or practices under a life insurance policy for a living organ donor.

HB 2066: Expands Medicaid eligibility by enacting the KanCare bridge to a Healthy Kansas program.

HB 2082: Allows pharmacists to administer drugs pursuant to a prescription order.

State Library of Kansas
Consumer Health Complete covers all areas of health and wellness. Did your doctor prescribe a new medication? Recently diagnosed with a condition? Look it up here. Designed for the everyday consumer, this online database provided by the State Library of Kansas offers popular reference books, medical encyclopedias, fact sheets, and magazine articles. This full-text database covers topics such as aging, nutrition, cancer, fitness, drugs and alcohol, even yoga. https://kslib.info/ConHealth.

If the page above asks for a Kansas Library eCard number, you may get one at any library in Kansas. Most people will be automatically recognized as being in Kansas and will not need this step. Questions: kslc@ks.gov or 785-296-3296.

Resources

My Legislative Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PamCurtisKCK.
My Twitter account, https://twitter.com/pcurtiskck
My website, https://www.curtisforkck.com/
Kansas Legislature website, http://kslegislature.org/

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

by Rep. Pam Curtis

There was a lot of activity and events at the Capitol this past week including Theatre in Our Schools Advocacy Day, W.E.A.L.T.H. Day, Mental Health Advocacy Day, Kansas Ag Day, Nonprofit Day on the Hill and the State Refugee Update.

SportingKC was the sponsor for the Wyandotte-Leavenworth Delegation Luncheon. Even though the debate on the floor extended into the lunch hour most members were able to take a few minutes to visit with Marty Nevshemal, chief financial officer for Sporting KC.

It was such a pleasure to have former Mayor Joe Reardon, president-CEO Greater Kansas City Chamber, as the speaker for a joint Johnson-Leavenworth-Wyandotte County Luncheon. He gave a very informative presentation focusing on regional issues including early childhood learning, workforce development and transportation.

This past week, I joined my fellow legislators to promote a resolution to condemn the separation of children from their families at the border. Kansas House and Senate Democrats presented a resolution and hosted a press conference on the Keep Families Together Act. Resolution 1260 urges the federal government to end their separation and detainment practices of children and their families. We felt compelled to speak out because it affects many of our constituents.

School funding finds traction

Late into the evening on Thursday, the Senate approved a clean K-12 education bill on a 32-8 vote.

The bill, which is in line with Governor Kelly’s education plan, will add roughly $92 million into the general state aid to public schools. The measure is hoped to meet the Kansas Supreme Court’s order requiring the state to provide “adequate” funding for K-12 education.

The bill will head to the House. House Democrats have repeatedly advocated to address school funding this session and are eager to resolve the continuous cycle of litigation, providing Kansas children with the quality education they deserve.

Meanwhile, a Republican bill was worked in the House K-12 Education Committee that is essentially a private school voucher bill poorly disguised as a public-school funding bill. It would actually remove around $200 million from base state aid that passed last year. Essentially, it would make policy changes and cut money from schools, all but guaranteeing an unconstitutional ruling if passed.

House Democratic caucus meets with Mexican consulate
This week, for the House Democrats’ monthly summit, they played host to the Kansas City based Mexican consulate delegate. We learned how beneficial Kansas’ relationship is with Mexico.

In 2018, Mexico became Kansas’ largest export market. $2.8 billion in goods are traded between Kansas and Mexico. 18.2 percent of Kansas’ worldwide exports go to Mexico. Mexico is also Kansas’ second largest export market for transportation equipment, particularly aerospace components and parts, with over $300 million in export revenue. 97 percent of worldwide corn exports, 26 percent of worldwide pork exports, and 16 percent of fresh beef from Kansas all head to Mexico.

They also advocated for labor rights and protections, explaining that they are at the core of USMCA, the new agreement between United States, Mexico and Canada. We enjoyed speaking with them on how to continue this successful relationship.

The ‘do-nothing’ Kansas Republican-led Legislature

The turnaround deadline two weeks ago officially marked the halfway point of the 2019 session.

With the deadline, over 40 bills and issues were left to die. These are bills that had passed through committees but were never brought to a floor debate by the House Majority Leader. The bills covered a range of issues, such as removing the spousal exception from sexual battery, medical marijuana, due process for teachers, and more.

Furthermore, Democratic attempts to address some of the most critical issues facing Kansans, like school funding, have been met with partisan games. These issues deserve serious deliberation and the development of policy alternatives to pursue the best path for Kansas. It is not a race, but the deadlines are real.

In 2011, the first year of Gov. Brownback’s administration, the Legislature debated and acted on 99 more pieces of legislation by this point in the session than they have this entire year. Under the direction of the ultra-conservative Republican leadership in both the House and Senate, only one piece of legislation has reached the governor’s desk.

We have deep respect for the legislative process. The Democratic House caucus started this session ready to reach across the aisle to get things done.

There are dire issues facing Kansas — our schools are severely underfunded, children are missing and dying in our mismanaged foster care system, rural communities are struggling, hospitals are closing, and our prison system is dangerously underfunded. Instead, we have spent a significant amount of session trying to give giant tax giveaways to giant, multi-national corporations and discussing issues that impact other states.

This past week, the House had a lengthy floor debate on SCR 1606. House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer released a statement:

“Today, 32 Kansas House Democrats voted ‘present’ on SCR 1606 in protest. Rather than focusing on the condemnation of New York’s policies, House Democrats believe we should be working toward funding our children’s educations, expanding Medicaid, and toward resolving the many issues facing our state. We were elected here in Kansas to serve the people of Kansas, not to waste time worrying about what other states decide to do for their constituents. The resolution brought to the floor today was further demonstration of a do-nothing Republican-led legislature.”

Senate Bill 22 update

The Senate concurred on Senate Bill 22 with a 24-16 vote. Senate Bill 22 is the massive tax giveaway to giant, multi-national corporations.

The bill will now head to the governor’s desk for either a veto or passage. The governor said shortly after the Senate’s passage saying, “Just two short years ago, the state of Kansas was on the brink of financial disaster. Our state faced a massive, self-inflicted budget crisis that caused three credit downgrades and devastating budget cuts. The consequences of those cuts were real and painful…In 2017, we defied the odds, acknowledged the mistake, and ended the experiment in a historic act of bipartisanship. Since then, Kansas has seen a gradual recovery. My administration has only just begun to repair the severe damage done in the last eight years. Our recovery is tenuous; our budget is fragile. This is not the time to make significant changes to our tax code.”

This week on the floor

This week, the House worked several bills on the floor. All of these bills passed through the chamber. They are as follows:
SB 17: Requires class M driver’s licenses when operating a motorcycle registered under a temporary permit.
SB 39: Compensation for warranty services under the vehicle dealers and manufacturers licensing act.
HB 2133: Required reporting for entities who deliver alcoholic liquors to consumers.
SCR 1606: Condemning the reproductive health act of New York.

State Library of Kansas
Early Learning Resources from the State Library
BookFlix is an online resource from the State Library of Kansas for children in grades PreK-3 that pairs video storybooks with related nonfiction e-books. Imagine Curious George paired with a nonfiction book about monkeys. The read-along storybook highlights each word as it is read. This option can be turned off. Related games reinforce early learning reading skills. BookFlix requires Flash.
Britannica E-Stax (PreK-6) features nonfiction books that can be read online or downloaded to any Internet-enabled device.
Britannica School has a Pre-K component called Britannica Learning Zone. This engaging online tool covers colors, letters, words, numbers, and more.
All are available at no charge through the State Library’s web site http://kslib.info/kids

Resources
My Legislative Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PamCurtisKCK.
My Twitter account, https://twitter.com/pcurtiskck
My website, https://www.curtisforkck.com/
Kansas Legislature website, http://kslegislature.org/

Legislative update from Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist.

by Rep. Pam Curtis

It was a pleasure to visit with students from Schlagle High School who were at the Capitol for “Kick Butts Day” to talk with lawmakers about smart tobacco policies and to advocate for tobacco prevention.

They were very well informed and talked about education and access being key to prevention. I appreciate Rebecca Garza from Healthy Communities Wyandotte bringing this group of young people by to visit with me.

Gov. Laura Kelly held a news conference on Thursday with business leaders and kicked off a seminar on the economic benefit of Medicaid expansion. “Carolyn Watley, an executive with the Kansas City Chamber, said expansion would add 600 jobs in her region and bring in tax revenue and economic benefits that would total $126 million in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.” Medicaid expansion is an important issue in our community and in our state and I remain hopeful that we will be able to move this issue forward this session.

If you are interested in advocating for Medicaid expansion, a “Rally at the Capitol – Expand KanCare Now! is planned for 2 p.m. March 19. Additionally, a meeting “Time to Act! Medicaid Expansion in Kansas” is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 19 at Tapatio Mexican Grill, 151 S. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Both of these events are sponsored by Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a statewide coalition focused on increasing access to healthcare through expansion of KanCare. Additional information about medicaid expansion is available at: http://ExpandKanCare.com.

Brownback tax plan 2.0 passes House

Senate Bill 22 made its way to the House floor this week. As previously described, Senate Bill 22 is a repeat of the failed Brownback tax experiment. It is a massive tax giveaway to giant, multi-national corporations, at the expense of working Kansans.

It will cost Kansans a minimum of $207 million in the first year alone and will fester to over $493 million over the next three years. That is half a billion dollars and could be far more if corporations exploit it. We should wait until at least April for the Consensus Revenue Estimates to come out before we make any significant changes to our tax code.

In the House Taxation Committee, two amendments were added as an attempt to dress up this monstrosity of a bill. The first addition is an internet and digital goods sales tax. The digital goods provision was removed. Internet sales tax warrants valid discussion on its own, not latched onto a bad bill. The second amendment is a 1 percent food sales tax reduction, which was added as a thinly veiled attempt to make it more difficult for the governor to veto the bill. Kansans need thorough discussion and meaningful change, not a political ploy.

On the House floor, amendments were attempted and struck down that further showed the true colors behind this bad bill. Democratic representatives posed amendments to reinstate working class deductions, eliminate the corporate tax handout, and substantially increase the food sales tax cut. This shows that many of our Republican colleagues are not really interested in addressing the needs of working Kansans.

Overall, Senate Bill 22 is a disastrous return to the failed Brownback tax plan that bankrupted Kansas. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.

This week on the floor

This week, the House worked several bills on the floor. All of these bills passed through the chamber. They include:

HB 2160: Provides sales tax authority for Wabaunsee county.

SB 22: Kansas itemized deductions, election, providing for deferred foreign income, global intangible low-taxed income, business interest, capital contributions and FDIC premiums income tax modifications; sales and compensating use tax, imposition of tax, nexus, remote sellers, marketplace facilitators, rate of tax on food and food ingredients.

State Library of Kansas

Getting ready to apply for college? Improving your test scores just got easier with LearningExpress Library, available from the State Library of Kansas. LearningExpress Library is an easy to use online resource that includes practice tests and tutorials for PSAT, ACT and SAT as well as AP. There is no charge to use LearningExpress and no limit to the number of times you can take the practice tests. Becoming familiar with and comfortable with the testing format and the types of questions helps to improve test scores. Go to https://kslib.info/LearningExpress click on College Preparation Center.