The candidates for  State Treasurer, Senate District 13 and Commissioner of Insurance were among the 25 candidates to speak at the July 31 Candidate Forum at Fort Scott High School.

Following are excerpts from their responses to questions submitted to the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce and read to the candidates by the moderator, Tim McKenney.

Marci Francisco, a candidate for state treasurer, said she received a warm welcome from Fort Scott when she completed the Bike Across Kansas this summer.

Francisco is a 4th generation Kansan,  had a career at KU,  was on the  Lawrence City Commission in 1979, mayor of Lawrence from ’81-’83, has non-profit involvement,  serves as a tax partner for a small business, State Senator from 2004-2018 serving on the ways and means and assessment and tax committee.

“The state treasurer has the responsibility for overseeing the receipts and expenditures of the state. We should ask for those reports to be placed on the website and ….provide search tools for those reports.”

She said the recent governors have spent more than the state took in. She wants to promote financial literacy and also help return unclaimed property.

Commissioner of Insurance: Two candidates answered questions at the forum.

Although not present, candidate Clark Shultz sent a spokesperson to say to the forum that Schultz is pro-life, pro 2^nd Amendment and has Insurance experience, served in the  House and Senate and is currently the state assistant insurance commissioner.

Candidate Vickie Schmidt is married, has two sons and two grandsons, has been a pharmacist for 40 years, and is a Kansas Senator representing Shawnee County and Wabaunsee county. “I know first hand what our rising health care costs have done to our families and our seniors.

Nathaniel McLaughlin said he came to Kansas in 1983…The Kansas State emblem caught his attention..a picture with a man with hands on the plow. His background is hard work, faith in God and respect for neighbor.

The moderator asked the candidates to tell what the position does, with the following responses:

Schmidt: The Insurance Commissioner enforces the regulations that insurance companies are required to abide by and should be an advocate for citizens. She has a track record of fighting for taxpayers, she stated. She said she has the support of Bob Dole.

McLaughlin: Regulate, advocate and educate is the mission statement of the insurance commissioner.  McLaughlin has a business background with Marriott. He has a concern with the way Medicare is spent and said he would promote for private insurance.

Two candidates are in the Kansas Senate District 13 primary, Richard Hilderbrand and Bryan Hoffman.

Following is excerpts from their opening remarks at the forum:

Richard Hilderbrand has been the District 13 Senator for two years. There needs to be a fiscally accountable representative, and he believes he has been.

Bryan Hoffman said he was raised on a farm, is a carpenter,  is a rancher with100 head of cattle and has never been in politics.

Question 1: Funding the educational system?

Hoffman: Adequately fund the education system but hold them accountable.  We have been dismantled by the Brownback administration.

Hilderbrand:  The biggest cuts were pre-Brownback. There was a 13.5- percent cut in k-12 education by the governor at the time. We have to make sure the funding is going into the classroom. We have to improve our economy.

Question 2: Anything that can be done to lower property taxes?

Hilderbrand: The legislature must stop passing unfunded mandates to schools, cities, and counties, which puts the burden farther down the road.

Hoffman: We have given away 2.5 billion dollars that the citizens… have paid in federal taxes. We can use that to fund these things and still lower our property taxes. Better-paying jobs are needed in Kansas.

Question 2: Are you in support of funding abortions?

Hoffman: No

Hilderbrand: Absolutely not.

Closing remarks:

Hildebrand: The right to vote shouldn’t be taken for granted.  I do appreciate your vote. Look at previous voting records.

Hoffman: I will fight hard for Southeast Kansas, if I have a question about teachers, I’m going to call a teacher, etc.

The following are comments from the Kansas Secretary of State candidates at the forum held July 31 at Fort Scott High School.

Opening remarks:

Keith Esau: He has been a State Representative for six years from Olathe. He has a carerr of developing and designing comupter software. He believes  the position requires technology expertise and he would bring that.

Dennis Taylor: He is a businessman, was a county commissioner, ran the state dept. of labor and state dept. of administration, and ” nobody else in this race has those credentials.”

Craig Mccullah: Has been the deputy secretary of state.” we’ve saved the agency $400,000 a year.”  He made it “easier to start operating and growing your business in Kansas.”

Question 1: What is the extent of voter fraud in Kansas and what can be done about it?

Esau: Voter fraud is less frequent in Kansas.  Voter ID stopped much of voter fraud. There is prosecution now to deter voter fraud.

Taylor: No one really knows, because nobody checks.  We need to audit eligibility.

McCullah: He went through the 2016 Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center to become the first voter fraud investigator in the history of the secretary of state’s office, and found that there is some malicious double-voting.  Voter education is key.

Question 3: What can be done to streamline business filings in the state?

Taylor: Work on each agency doing ” its own thing.” More cooperation between agencies, less infighting.

McCullah:  He built a system form finder to simplify.  If elected he is going to streamline it further to where one only has to fill out a name once and pay all fees in one spot.

Esau:  He will make forms easier to use and share info between agencies. This is where his expertise lies. He wants to improve interface on the web.

Question 3: What is the most important function of the Secretary of State?

Craig:  Leadership to make it easier, and get out front of the problem before it happens.

Esau: Keep accurate records and make them accessible. He got a bill through to audit electronic ballot machines with a paper trail.

Taylor: Management and he has 30 years of management experience in private business and county and state government.

Closing remarks:

Esau: He is a software engineer, has been in the state legislature where he sponsored election bills for fair elections. A technology professional, he knows how to work with government and citizens.

Taylor: There is a need to audit elections, and back it up with paper ballots, and to verify systems security.

Mccullah:  He will  protect the electoral process. He sees the opportunity to make the state the best to do business in. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of the job and loves the agency.

KDHE Announces HHS Grant For Adolescents and Young Adults

The grant will be used for the Lifting Young Families Toward Excellence Program

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has been awarded a $941,475 grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Adolescent Health to provide parent education and life-skills support to pregnant and parenting teenagers and young adults through the Lifting Young Families Toward Excellence (LYFTE) project.

Key partners in delivering LYFTE services include the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation and Baby Talk Pregnancy and Newborn Education of Sedgwick County. Program goals include developing a support network for young parents and their families, integrating strategies that reinforce parenting skills and enhance family relationships, fostering the economic stability of young families through education completion and employment, and improving relationship-related skills among young parents.

A comprehensive process and outcome evaluation conducted by the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (KU-CPPR) will ensure accountability through quality improvement and performance monitoring throughout this project. Grant writing support for this application was also provided by KU-CPPR.

“The LYFTE project provides support for young families to navigate systems, achieve health goals and move toward self-sufficiency,” said Rachel Sisson, Director of the Bureau of Family Health at KDHE. “We are excited to partner with several communities across Kansas to help young families thrive.”

The HHS Office of Adolescent Health awards grants to provide education and life-skills supports through a competitive application and review process. The opportunity, formally known as Support for Expectant and Parenting Teens, Women, Fathers, and Their Families grants, provides funds for programs that implement evidence-based and evidence-informed practices to help young families live full, healthy lives.

Governor’s Office Receives Grant for Statewide Broadband Mapping Project

TOPEKA—The Information Network of Kansas (“INK”) Board of Directors has approved a $300,000 grant request by Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. to complete a Statewide Broadband Mapping project.

The project, which will be undertaken by non-profit Connected Nation in partnership with the Governor’s Office, will prepare a statewide broadband map of wireline and wireless coverage. This map will provide the Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force, created when Governor Colyer signed Sen. Sub. for House Bill No. 2701 into law, with a snapshot of broadband coverage in the state. The map will assist the Task Force in its efforts to identify and close broadband coverage gaps in Kansas.

“Access to quality broadband services is vital for Kansas communities to compete for jobs and people, and we can’t improve what we don’t measure,” said Governor Colyer. “Producing this statewide broadband map positions our state for long-term growth in the rapidly expanding digital economy and helps us ensure that all Kansans are benefitting from these new opportunities.”

Connected Nation will produce a granular statewide broadband availability map through a data collection process in collaboration with the state’s broadband service providers, for use by the general public and the Task Force.  Connected Nation will also collect public feedback on the initial draft of the map and will deploy engineers into the field to validate service availability (or the lack thereof) based on the feedback received in order to improve the map over time.

“Just as roads, bridges, water systems, and the electrical grid serve as critical infrastructure today, so, too, is fast and reliable broadband access,” said Brent Legg, Vice President of Government Affairs at Connected Nation.  “Unfortunately, information collected on broadband at the federal level isn’t accurate or granular enough to effectively guide policymaking and get broadband to the areas that need it.  Governor Colyer recognized this need, and thanks to INK’s grant, we will now have the resources to identify and map the areas that still lack service across Kansas.”

In addition to tackling a number of broadband-related issues, the Task Force will evaluate and provide input to the mapping process based on preliminary feedback and results of Connected Nation’s work later this year.

“As Co-Chairs of the Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force, we strongly commend Governor Colyer for his initiative with this grant application and are excited to hear about the funding of the vital statewide broadband mapping project. This map will assist the Task Force as we work to expand broadband infrastructure and increase statewide access to broadband services for our fellow Kansans,” stated Senator Rob Olson and Representative Joe Seiwert, who also both chair their respective legislative chamber’s telecommunications issue committees.

Governor Colyer selected Rich Felts, President of Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB), as his at-large appointment to the Task Force. KFB was recently granted a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to challenge its Mobility Fund Phase II (MFII) eligibility map, which will determine where $4.53 billion in subsidies for LTE broadband service buildout will be directed across the country over the next 10 years. KFB is working with their members and Kansans from all over the state to conduct speed tests to show the need to increase the number of eligible areas in Kansas (see www.kfb.org/ConnectingKansas).

“Kansans in every county of the state know where the shortcomings on broadband connectivity reside,” KFB President Rich Felts said. “Having an up-to-date map that accurately reflects areas that lack connectivity in both wired and wireless broadband will allow for future broadband development to improve public safety, and enhance agricultural technology, education, telemedicine and economic vitality.”

In June, the Governor’s Office received another grant from the INK Board in the amount of $225,000 to conduct professional mobile service drive testing and file its own challenge to expand eligible areas under the FCC’s MFII program. Alongside KFB, the Governor’s Office will dispute areas that are currently considered ineligible for MFII buildout support. If the challenge is successful, it could potentially unlock millions of dollars in MFII support for LTE service buildout in rural Kansas. The Governor’s Office will be working with Connected Nation to administer the drive-testing process in targeted areas believed to have limited or no cellular service today.

Also in June, Governor Colyer appointed Stanley Adams as Director of Broadband Initiatives at the Kansas Department of Commerce to work on continuing to identify broadband needs and solutions across Kansas—focusing heavily on broadband access issues facing many rural areas across the state.

“It’s critical that we have good data to understand where gaps in broadband coverage exist, with a level of detail sufficient to develop effective strategies that will result in all Kansans having access to the high quality broadband services needed to grow our economy and enhance our competitiveness” stated Mr. Adams.

The first draft of the statewide broadband availability map will be ready by December 31.  Challenges to the FCC’s MFII eligibility map are currently due on August 27, although FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has signaled that the agency may extend the deadline to November 27.

July tax collections show sustained revenue stability

TOPEKA—Tax collections show a continuation of the revenue stability displayed last fiscal year, with total taxes more than 10 percent above last July, according to the latest monthly revenue report released Wednesday.

July tax collections total $499.04 million, which is 10.03 percent over last year, and 2.33 percent, or $11.35 million over revised estimates.

“The fiscal year 2019 is starting much like we saw in the 12 months of the fiscal year 2018, with collections above estimates, and above the previous year’s intake,” Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said. “We anticipate we will keep seeing this trend in the coming months.”

Because it’s the first month of the fiscal year, July is the only report where the numbers for the month and the fiscal year are the same. Individual income tax collections were $227.69 million, or $39.21 million above last year, exceeding estimates by $7.69 million.

Sales tax collections totaled $205.75 million, which is growth $2.25 million over last year and $753,000 above estimates.