TOPEKA – The state’s August collections are slightly above estimates with total tax collections at $497.2 million; $2.9 million or 0.59% more than the estimate. Those collections are also $2.8 million more than the same month in Fiscal Year 2019.

Retail sales tax collections were $205.3 million; up 3.67% from the $198.0 million estimate. Compensating use tax collections came in at $32.6 million; $2.4 million below the estimate.

Individual income tax collections were $231.3 million. This is $6.3 million, or 2.78%, more than the estimate and $10.5 million more than August 2018. Corporate income tax collections were $6.6 million; $5.4 million below the estimate.

“We continue to hold steady with the estimates,” Secretary Mark Burghart said. “I’m encouraged by both the improved sales tax collections and the stability of individual tax collections as we have now finished the second month of the fiscal year.”

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is announcing a call for projects for the 2021 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program.

KDOT’s TA Program provides funding for a variety of alternative transportation projects. These include the construction of pedestrian and bicycle facilities and infrastructure for non-driver access to public transportation, projects that enhance safety and mobility for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders, projects that improve scenic or environmental assets in the state, Safe Routes to School projects and more.

“We know how important these projects are to quality of life.” said Julie Lorenz, Secretary of Transportation. “We are hearing from Kansans at recent local consult meetings around the state about how much these projects matter to them for improved safety and mobility.”

An estimated $7 million in federal funds are anticipated to be available to award for Federal Fiscal Year 2021. All selected projects will be required to meet a minimum 20 percent local match and cover all non-participating expenses (e.g. right-of-way, utilities, design, etc.).

Important Dates:

• Aug. 29 – TA Program materials, which includes the TA Program guide, the project application form and frequently asked questions with answers, are available for download at: http://www.ksdot.org/bureaus/burtransplan/TransAlt.asp

• TA Program Workshops – KDOT will host two workshops to inform applicants about program requirements and expectations. Space is limited – please RSVP by 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, to [email protected] or (785) 296-5186 and indicate which workshop you would like to attend.

o Topeka: Sept. 20 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eisenhower State Office Building, 4^th Floor Auditorium, 700 SW Harrison, Topeka, KS 66603.

o Salina: Sept. 27 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Kansas Highway Patrol Academy, Classroom 58, 2025 East Iron, Salina, KS 67401.

• Nov. 1 – Applications are due and must be postmarked by this date. Please submit one paper copy and one digital copy in PDF format on a USB flash drive, mailed to:

KDOT headquarters/Attn: Jenny Kramer, 700 SW Harrison St. 2^nd Floor,

Topeka, KS 66603.

• December 2019 – January 2020 – KDOT staff will conduct site visits.

• Spring 2020 – Project selections and public announcement of awards.

For more information, please contact Jenny Kramer at [email protected] or call (785) 296-5186.

Safe Kids Kansas, State Farm and KDOT partner up for safety message

Thousands of vehicles will be traveling the Kansas roadways during the Labor Day weekend.  Many families will head out on one last camping trip or getaway as the school year begins.  Safe Kids Kansas, (sponsored in part by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment), State Farm and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) want to encourage families to buckle up and drive safely to protect their most valuable assets, their families.

This year, August 25 through September 8, a safety belt awareness campaign called “Bucks for Buckles” is being held in 51 cities across Kansas.  Dollar bills are being distributed by local volunteers to drivers who have all occupants buckled up securely in their vehicle.  Those riding unrestrained will receive educational materials about the effectiveness of seat belts and child safety seats in saving lives and reducing injuries.

“No one can predict when they will be involved in a motor vehicle crash, yet almost all of us will be involved in an automobile crash in our lifetime.  In 2017, 461 people lost their lives on Kansas roadways and 56 percent of them were unbuckled,” said Cherie Sage, State Director for Safe Kids Kansas.  “The single most effective means of protecting the lives of you and your passengers is wearing seat belts and using appropriate child restraints every time you ride in the vehicle – even short distances.”

According to the 2017 KDOT Seat Belt Survey, 88 percent of Kansans surveyed were wearing their seat belts.  This compares to the national average is 90 percent.  Kansas ranked 43rd in belt use in 2017, among 50 states and the District of Columbia.

An average of 102 people die each day in motor vehicle crashes nationally; that’s an average of one death every 14 minutes.  “Seat belts are the single most effective device you can use to save your life during a vehicle crash,” said Sage.   “They also reduce your chances of having a serious injury by as much as 50 percent.  It’s such a simple thing, so take your life into your own hand and buckle up.”

For more information about safety belt or child safety seat use, call 785-296-1223 or visit www.safekidskansas.org, www.safekids.org and www.facebook.com/safekidskansas.

Prisoner Review Board changes Topeka location for public comments in September

The Kansas Prisoner Review Board (PRB) will hold the Topeka public comment session on September 20, at 8:30 a.m., in the Florentine Room of the Jayhawk Tower, 700 SW Jackson St.

Previously, the session was scheduled to be held at the Topeka Municipal Court House, which will be closed September 20.

Members of the public who would like to comment on any of the offenders eligible for parole in November 2019 may attend.

To view the list of offenders, visit the Kansas Department of Corrections’ website at: https://www.doc.ks.gov/prb/public-comment-sessions/listed.

The two other public comment sessions held in September will be:

• September 16: Kansas City City Hall, One McDowell Plaza, 701 N. 7^thSt., from 10 a.m. to noon; and
• September 18: Derby Police and Courts, first floor, 229 N. Baltimore, from 10 a.m. to noon.

TOPEKA – Today, the National Immunization Survey regarding Teens released its annual report for 2018 which shows Kansas is improving in vaccine rates for HPV and MenACWY and remaining consistent with Tdap. This report is available in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey, which is conducted among teens ages 13 to 17, monitors the vaccines received by adolescents, specifically HPV, MenACWY and Tdap.*

“In 2014, Kansas had the lowest coverage in the nation for the HPV vaccine with only 34.4 percent of respondents reporting one or more doses received,” said KDHE Secretary Lee Norman, MD. “I’m very pleased to report that Kansas is now at 62.3 percent coverage in 2018, up significantly from 52.4 percent in 2017.”

Activities that have contributed to the increase in HPV Vaccination coverage, include:

• Education for vaccine providers throughout the state during Vaccines For Children program site visits
• Education provided at Kansas Immunization Conferences
• Development of HPV Toolkit by the Immunize Kansas Coalition funded by the KDHE
• Multiple partner organizations conducting efforts to increase awareness and importance of the HPV vaccine
• Focus on the importance of provider recommendation to patients to receive the vaccine

Kansas has seen an average increase in HPV coverage of 6.3 percentage points annually since 2014 while the national average increase has been 4.4.

“One of the most significant factors to successful vaccination against HPV cancer appears to be a recommendation from a medical provider,” Secretary Norman said.

The survey demonstrates that, in Kansas for 2018, of those who received the recommendation from a medical provider, 69.5 percent received the vaccination while only 35.8 percent received the vaccination without a provider recommendation.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) routinely recommends HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12. In addition, ACIP has recently updated their recommendation to include some adults up to age 45 based on the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine against some HPV cancers.[1]

The MenACWY vaccine coverage increased from 72.1 percent in 2017 to 75.3 percent in 2018. This school year, MenACWY has just become a required vaccination for school entry.

*Vaccine Description:

• Tdap – protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Recommended for ages 11-13. Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent coverage. Kansas 2018 rate is 89.4 percent.
• MenACWY – protects against certain strains of meningococcal disease. Recommended for ages 11-13 with a booster dose at age 16. Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent. Kansas 2018 rate is 75.3 percent.
• HPV – protects against HPV related cancers. Two dose series recommended for ages 11-13. Doses administered six months apart. If first dose is not given before 15^th birthday, a three-dose series is needed. Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent. The Kansas 2018 rate is 62.3 for one or more doses, 40.7 percent.

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) is collecting data and analyzing recent injection well activity in Reno County in an effort to uncover the cause of a series of earthquakes in the Hutchinson area. Amid damage reports and a concern for public safety, the KCC is conducting an investigation and will evaluate whether additional action is needed to safeguard Kansans.

In 2015, the KCC issued an order reducing injection rates in portions of Harper and Sumner counties after the number of earthquakes in that area began to trend upward. In 2016, the Commission issued a second order limiting injection in additional areas of Harper and Sumner as well as parts of Kingman, Sedgwick and Barber counties when earthquake activity there started to rise.

The area currently under study in Reno County focuses primarily on Arbuckle Formation depth wells and involves both Class ll oil and gas industry injection wells regulated by the KCC and Class l wells regulated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

Class ll wells are used to inject fluids associated with oil and natural gas production into deep confined rock formations. There are two types of Class ll injection wells: disposal wells and secondary/enhanced recovery injection wells. Disposal wells are used to inject produced fluids into rock formations that do not produce oil or gas. Typically, the injection formations are isolated from usable quality groundwater and are sealed above and below by cementing steel casing into the unbroken and impermeable well bore and rock formations within the well. Secondary/enhanced recovery injection wells are used to inject produced fluids back into formations/reservoirs that contain oil or gas. These formations are also isolated from usable quality groundwater. The injection of produced fluid back into potentially productive formations often allows for the increased recovery of oil or gas reserves.

Class l wells are used to inject hazardous and non-hazardous industrial and municipal wastewater into deep, confined rock formations. Disposal typically occurs thousands of feet below the lower most underground source of drinking water (USDW). Industries that utilize Class I wells include: refining, metal production, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry, commercial disposal, food production and municipal wastewater treatment.[1]  Nearly all Class I disposal wells in Kansas inject into the Arbuckle Formation.[2]

To fully evaluate all injection activity in Reno County, the KCC staff is working with other state agencies to collect information regarding well construction, depths, injection volumes, pressures, maintenance practices and any new injection well activity in the area.   This investigation and evaluation process is ongoing and dependent upon the complexity of the evolving fact finding process.  Accordingly, a precise timeline for completing the investigation has not yet been determined.

[1] http://www.kdheks.gov/uic/

2 Id.

Governor Laura Kelly names Secretary DeAngela Burns-Wallace as  new Chief Information Technology Officer

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that Kansas Department of Administration Secretary DeAngela Burns-Wallace will be the new Chief Information Technology Officer for the Kansas Office of Information Technology Services (OITS). The appointment is effective immediately, with the OITS duties done in addition to her work leading the Kansas Department of Administration.

“Secretary Burns-Wallace has the leadership skills and executive experience necessary for a successful Chief Information Technology Officer to possess,” Governor Kelly said. “Our state’s computer systems are vulnerable to both domestic and international security threats. Secretary Burns-Wallace understands these threats and will ensure that our state’s infrastructure is prepared to handle them and keep Kansans’ information secure.”

Prior to joining the Kelly administration earlier this year, Burns-Wallace served as vice provost of undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas. Previously, Burns-Wallace was assistant vice provost for undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University, a master’s degree in public policy and international affairs from Princeton University and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

“I’m honored to be selected by Governor Kelly to serve in this important role,” Secretary Burns-Wallace said. “I believe in public service and I look forward to working with Governor Kelly, the Legislature and the OITS and Department of Administration teams to serve the people of Kansas. We must ensure that the state has the IT systems in place to conduct its daily business and maintain the safety and security of our data in today’s ever-changing and interconnected world.”

OITS was created under Governor Sam Brownback. Previously, OITS was known as the Division of Information Systems and Communication (DISC) and was a division of the Kansas Department of Administration. OITS is an independent agency, but the two agencies still maintain close operational relationships in several areas because the transition was never completed.

Governor Kelly went on to say: “The relationship OITS has had with the rest of state government has been challenging, and communication between the agency and its customers has been difficult. This was not the fault of the agency’s previous leadership. It is, however, a direct result of the fact that the previous administration split OITS from the Department of Administration and then failed to properly support the move, convey its mission and get buy-in from the rest of state government.”

Burns-Wallace replaces Lee Allen, who has decided to leave the agency.

“I appreciate the work Lee has done for OITS, and thank him for his service to the State of Kansas,” Governor Kelly said.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) requests comments on an amendment to the FFY 2019-2022 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) document.

The STIP is a project specific publication that lists all KDOT administered projects, regardless of funding source, and includes projects for counties and cities as well as projects on the State Highway System. The list of projects being amended to the STIP can be viewed at http://www.ksdot.org/bureaus/burProgProjMgmt/stip/stip.asp

The approval of the STIP amendment requires a public comment period, which concludes Sept. 4. To make comments on the amendment, contact KDOT’s Bureau of Program and Project Management at (785) 296-2252.

This information is available in alternative accessible formats. To obtain an alternative format, contact the KDOT Office of Public Affairs, (785) 296-3585 (Voice/Hearing Impaired-711).