Governor Laura Kelly Vetoes Junk Insurance Bill; Calls for Medicaid Expansion

~Protects Kansas families and Kansans with a preexisting condition~

TOPEKA – The following statement is attributable to Governor Laura Kelly on Senate Bill 29:

“We already know the solution to provide health care for 165,000 Kansans, bring thousands of jobs to our state, save small businesses money, protect rural hospitals, and inject millions into our economy is to expand Medicaid.

“Junk insurance – which doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions or provide consumer protections – is just that, “junk.” Signing this bill would cause more Kansas families to go bankrupt over medical bills. If the Legislature wants to get serious about improving access to health care, they should join 38 other states and the District of Columbia and pass Medicaid expansion.

“Therefore, under Article 2, Section 14(a) of the Constitution, I hereby veto Senate Bill 29.”

Governor Laura Kelly Signs Several Pieces of Bipartisan Legislation into Law

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly signed 3 pieces of bipartisan legislation into law.

“By expanding certain alcohol licenses and telemedicine opportunities, these bills will support our hospitality industry and continued economic recovery, along with the health and well-being of all Kansans,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “I’d like to thank my colleagues in the legislature, on both sides of the aisle, for their efforts to pass these bipartisan bills.”

House Bill 2137

Making amendments regarding licensure to sell alcoholic liquor and cereal malt beverages, authorizing transfers of bulk alcoholic liquor by certain licensees and authorizing the sale of alcoholic liquor and cereal malt beverages on specified days and times and subject to certain conditions by licensees under the Kansas liquor control act and the club and drinking establishment act.

Senate Bill 78

Updating the national insurance commissioners credit for insurance reinsurance model law, codifying the national insurance commissioners credit for reinsurance model regulation and updating certain terms and definitions relating to the insurance holding company act, service contracts and surplus lines insurance. Eliminating certain requirements relating to the annual submittal of certain documents by out-of-state risk retention groups, extending the time frame to submit certain documents by professional employer organizations, abolishing the utilization review advisory committee and replacing it with URAC.

Senate Bill 238

Requiring emergency medical services operators be overseen by medical directors or physicians; clarifying duties and functions of the state board of pharmacy; providing for confidentiality of investigations, inspections and audits; establishing fees on out-of-state facilities; defining telepharmacy and requiring the adoption of rules and regulations related thereto.

U.S. 54 overpass replacement (red) and state detour route (blue)

Tuesday, June 1, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to begin work on a project to replace the U.S. 54 bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad at Moran. The overpass is

one-quarter mile east of the U.S. 54/U.S. 59 junction.

The highway will be closed at the work zone. U.S. 54 traffic will be placed on a state route detour along U.S. 59, K-31, and K-3. KDOT awarded the $3.7 million construction contract to A.M. Cohron & Son Incorporated, Atlantic, Iowa. Weather permitting, the project should be completed by early 2022. Persons with questions may contact Iola Area Engineer Troy Howard, (620) 901-6557, or Public Affairs Manager Priscilla Petersen, (620) 902-6433.

Governor Laura Kelly Signs Several Pieces of Bipartisan Legislation into Law

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly signed 7 pieces of bipartisan legislation into law.

“Today, I signed seven bipartisan bills that will enhance consumer protections and protect Kansas families from mistreatment and extortion,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “This is the kind of success that can be achieved when we work together – not as Republicans or Democrats – but as Kansans. I want to thank my colleagues in the legislature, on both sides of the aisle, for their efforts.”

House Bill 2077

Extending the Kansas closed case task force, providing for staff assistance and renaming the task force the Alvin Sykes cold case DNA task force, extending the Kansas criminal justice reform commission, limiting the commission’s scope of study and adding a public defender, and authorizing the crime victims compensation board to waive application time restrictions for certain victims to receive compensation for mental health counseling and adding certain children to the definition of victim.

House Bill 2121

Increasing the criminal penalty for mistreatment of a dependent adult or elder person when the victim is a resident of an adult care home, adding definitions related to defendants who abscond from supervision in the criminal procedure code and for parole and clarifying that bond agents seeking discharge as a surety are required to return the person released on bond to the court in the county where the complaint subject to the bond was filed, requiring the department of corrections to develop guidance to be used by parole officers when responding to violations of parole and postrelease supervision and that incentivize compliant behavior, and authorizing court services officers and community corrections officers to provide a certification of identification to offenders for use to obtain a new driver’s license.

House Bill 2187

Enacting the first-time home buyer savings account act.

Senate Bill 39

Senate Bill 39 changes Kansas department of agriculture division of animal health license, permit and registration renewal deadlines and allows the animal health commissioner to recover the actual cost of official calfhood vaccination tags.

Senate Bill 47

Enacting the Kansas taxpayer protection act requiring the signature and tax identification number of paid tax return preparers on income tax returns and authorizing actions to enjoin paid tax return preparers from engaging in certain conduct, exempting compensation attributable as a result of identity fraud, extending the dates when corporate returns are required to be filed, providing conformity with the federal return due date for returns other than corporate returns, providing a temporary withholding option for certain teleworking employees, establishing the Eisenhower foundation contribution credit and the friends of cedar crest association contribution credit, extending the time period and expanding eligibility for the single city port authority credit, extending the time period for eligibility in the loan repayment program and income tax credit related to rural opportunity zones and defining rural opportunity zone on the basis of population.

Senate Bill 60

Creating the crime of sexual extortion and requiring an offender to register under the Kansas offender registration act, prohibiting a court from requiring psychiatric or psychological examinations of an alleged victim of any crime, increasing criminal penalties for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer when operating a stolen vehicle, committing certain driving violations or causing a collision involving another driver, defining proximate result for purposes of determining when a crime is committed partly within this state, removing the spousal exception from the crime of sexual battery and making fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer evidence of intent to commit theft of a vehicle.

Senate Bill 170

Enacting the psychology interjurisdictional compact to provide for interjurisdictional authorization to practice telepsychology and temporary in-person, face-to-face psychology and enacting the physical therapy licensure compact and authorizing criminal history record checks in the physical therapy practice act.

Governor Laura Kelly Directs Flags be Flown at Half-staff for Peace Officers Memorial Day

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly has directed that flags be lowered to half-staff throughout the state effective from sunrise to sundown on Saturday, May 15, 2021 to honor Peace Officers Memorial Day. Peace Officers Memorial Day pays tribute to local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or been disabled, in the line of duty.

“Kansas peace officers put their lives on the line to protect their communities,” said Governor Kelly. “Their many sacrifices to keep us safe do not go unnoticed. On May 15th, and every day, we honor their service.”

To receive email alerts when the governor orders flags to half-staff, please visit: https://governor.kansas.gov/newsroom/kansas-flag-honor.

Governor Laura Kelly Announces Kansas Economic Development Week; State Surpasses $5 Billion in New Capital Investment

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced Kansas will participate in Economic Development Week, an annual celebration hosted by the International Economic Development Council.

“Over the last two years, we’ve rebuilt the Department of Commerce and reinvested in critical services like education, transportation, broadband, and health care,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “With over $5 billion in new capital investment, our efforts are paying off in real-time. We’ll continue to reinvest in our foundation and recruitment tools to keep Kansas open for business.”

Since Governor Kelly took office, Kansas has experienced historic economic development success – recently surpassing over $5 billion in new capital investment by businesses since 2019. Of the $5 billion brought to the state, $2.5 billion was invested in 2020 alone, making 2020 the most successful economic development year in Kansas history.

“Governor Kelly has ushered in a new era of economic development in Kansas,” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said. “Major business investments ripple through the state by bringing new visitors, residents and dollars to the state. Kansas companies expanding strengthen their communities and provide new opportunities for their neighbors. Our new way of doing business has made Kansas stronger, more secure and more prosperous – period.”

Selected investments since the beginning of the Kelly administration include:

• Schwan’s Company, Inc. – building a new 400,000-square-foot expansion at its pizza-manufacturing facility in Salina, totaling $600 million in capital investment;
• Hilmar Cheese Company – building a new production facility in Dodge City, totaling $460 million investment;
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. – building a new 880,000-square-foot omnichannel distribution center in Wyandotte County, totaling more than $400 million in capital investment;
• Amazon – two new fulfillment centers in Kansas City and Park City, totaling $210 million in capital investment;
• Merck Animal Health – new facility expansion/enhancement in DeSoto, totaling $100 million in capital investment;
• Pretzels, LLC – building a 146,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Lawrence Venture Park, totaling $88 million in capital investment;
• Great Plains Manufacturing (Kubota) – new manufacturing facility in Salina, totaling $43 million in capital investment.

For more information on the recent $5 billion capital investment milestone, read Governor Kelly’s recent op-ed in the Wichita Eagle here.

To read more about Kansas’ recent economic development successes and the team behind business recruitment and expansion, follow the Kansas Department of Commerce on social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

About Economic Development Week

Economic Development Week was created by IEDC in 2016 to increase awareness of local programs that create jobs, advance career development opportunities, and improve the quality of life in communities everywhere. Over the years, more than 450 campaigns have been created throughout the United States and Canada, creating millions of impressions, hundreds of news stories, blog entries, videos, events and other activities. Campaigns occurred in all 50 American states in 2018, with more than 40 communities officially proclaiming Economic Development Week.

About the Kansas Department of Commerce

As the state’s lead economic development agency, the Kansas Department of Commerce strives to empower individuals, businesses and communities to achieve prosperity in Kansas. Commerce accomplishes its mission by developing relationships with corporations, site location consultants and stakeholders in Kansas, the nation and world. Our strong partnerships allow us to help create an environment for existing Kansas businesses to grow and foster an innovative, competitive landscape for new businesses.

May 7, 2021

Veto Session Overrides

The first day of veto session the legislature overrode five of the Governor’s vetoes, making the bills law.  The first was addressing income tax allowing the option to itemize and increasing standard deductions. We then overrode two vetoes for bills that protected elections and another override that lowers concealed carry age restriction to 18 and increases reciprocity with other states. The final override was a bill that has several options for customized license plates.  There was a failed attempt in the Senate to override a veto limiting women’s sports to biological women.  It failed by one vote.

Article V Convention

The U.S. Constitution Article V allows for amendments to the Constitution to originate in two ways.  The first way most people are familiar with – through U.S. Congress.  The second path is through 2/3 of the state legislatures passing an application for a call of a convention of states.  The convention would propose amendment(s) according to the application.  An Article V convention has never been called in the history of our country.

The Convention Of States (COS) is a group working to pass an application in several states on a couple of topics; fiscal restraints, limited power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and term limits for Congress.  The COS convinced the Senate President to attempt to pass the COS application, SCR 1611, based on the U.S. Constitution, which based on their logic, would lower the required Senate votes to 21, not 27.

The COS attempting to pass an application at the simple majority (21) could have serious consequences (the Kansas Constitution requires a 2/3s majority).  What if the Senate President was far to the left and was working to pass an application for a convention to remove the 1st or 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?  Would you want that application to require simple-majority (21) or a super-majority (27) of yes votes?  It is a gamble for short-term gain and long-term consequences.  A gamble I am not willing to take.

Tax

The Senate tax committee, which I chair, produced some great work this year and Senate Substitute for HB 2313 was another example.  It passed the Senate 33 to 6.  The bill would have allowed small businesses a rebate on a portion of their property taxes for the COVID government shutdown; exempted property tax on businesses during future emergency shutdowns; froze property tax for low-income seniors and disabled veterans through another rebate program; and exempted property tax for up to two vehicles for active national guard members, like other service members get in Kansas.  Instead of keeping the bill as it was, leadership decided to try to attach the unpopular HB 2445, exempting all health clubs from property tax, a bill that had not passed out of any committee.  I did not support this effort.  A majority of Senators didn’t support it either and sent a strong message voting down CCR 2313 after that change, 11 yes to 27 no.  The legislation was sent back to conference committee. Instead of just pulling out the health club portion (HB 2445), the Senate’s lead negotiator also removed the rebate program for small businesses that were shut down and the property tax freeze for low-income seniors and disabled veterans.  It made no sense because the House did not ask for them to be removed and the Senate position obviously supported the legislation based on the first vote (33 to 6).  It is a good example of personal interest games getting in the way of good legislation.  Disappointing as it was, there were still good things (exempted property tax on businesses during future emergency shutdowns, exempted property tax for up to 2 vehicles for active nation guard members) in the legislation and the final version passed 35 to 0.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your 12^th District State Senator.

Caryn