February 14, 2020 ∙ Week Five

HARD FACTS

KDOT’s FORWARD

KDOT estimates the following cost breakdown during the lifetime of the FORWARD plan from 2021 through 2030 fiscal years. Total cost: $9.9 billion

·      Preservation $5.0 billion

·      Preservation Plus $300.0 million

·      Modernization and Expansion $2.3 billion (not including delayed T-WORKS projects)

·      Economic Growth Projects $200.0 million

·      Modal Programs $200.0 million

·      Cost Share/Strategic Safety/Local Bridge Programs $300.0 million

·      Special City County and Highway Fund Distributions $1.6 billion

*KDOT’s estimates assume that the transfers to the State General Fund are phased out by FY 2023 and that the State Highway Fund issues approximately $1.2 billion in bonds.

I prefiled SCR 1601 prior to the 2019 Legislative Session. This is a Constitutional Amendment that would permanently close the “Bank of KDOT”. It was scheduled to have a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee earlier this year, but the chair of that committee cancelled that hearing. The bill was recently moved to the Senate Transportation Committee, the chair of that committee has said that he plans on having a hearing and working the bill.

Find reliable and age appropriate information online with Britannica – Public Library https://kslib.info/ebpublic from the State Library of Kansas. Three levels of learning (Children, Young Adult, and Reference Center) offer continually updated entries, multimedia, primary –source material, maps, and links to expert websites. Double–click any word in the article for the definition to pop up with audio pronunciation. Also available, Britannica – Academic https://kslib.info/ebacademic, includes content that is more scholarly. Another link https://kslib.info/kids takes you to Britannica – School, a PreK-12 resource with multi-media content for all grades and reading abilities.

Every school and home in Kansas has access to Britannica, but if the webpages above ask for a Kansas Library eCard number, you may get one at any library in Kansas. Questions: [email protected] or 785-296-3296.

FLOOR ACTION – February 12, 2020

February 17

The following bills all received unanimous support and were passed Yea: 38 Nay: 0

SB 277 Clarifying the authority of healing arts school clinics to provide healing arts services.

SB 302 Granting the secretary of revenue the authority to set letters and numerals for license plates and removing the requirement that plates be shipped to the county treasurer.

SB 304 Establishing a process by which a reciprocal may convert to into a mutual insurance company.

SB 326 Increasing the age for eligibility to renew drivers’ licenses online to 65.

SB 288 Designating a portion of United States highway 77 as the Cpl. Allen E. Oatney and SP4 Gene A. Myers memorial highway.

SB 315 Providing for the love, Chloe foundation license plate.

February 20

The following bills all received unanimous support and were passed Yea: 39 Nay: 0

SB 285 Extending the existence of the UST redevelopment fund and compensation advisory board to 2032.

SB 306 This bill would exempt motor vehicle odometer reading recording requirements when such recording requirements are exempted by federal law. This would replace an exemption from acknowledgement of mileage for vehicles ten model years and older and for trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 16,000 pounds. SB 306 was introduced by the Kansas Department of Revenue at the request of the Director of Vehicles.

SB 270 This bill would expand the opportunity for the establishment of multi-year flex accounts (MYFAs) for groundwater water right to water right users who do not have historical water use before 2009. The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Chief Engineer testified as proponents of the bill in committee. There were no opponents.

SB 342 This bill would allow drivers’ license renewal notices to be sent electronically should the Department of Revenue get authorization from the license holder to do so. This bill was amended in committee to allow the license holder to opt-out at any time and have any subsequent notices sent by mail.

The following bill received unanimous support and was passed Yea: 37 Nay: 0

SB 305 This bill would increase the bond required for licensure as a dealer of used or new vehicles from $30,000 to $50,000. The bill would take effect January 1, 2021. Senate Bill 305 was introduced by the Kansas Department of Revenue at the request of the Director of Vehicles.

The following bills were passed Yea: 38 Nay: 1 ( I voted in favor of these bills)

SB 287 This bill would amend the Kansas Storage Tank Act by extending the time for certain petroleum storage tank owners and operators to apply for reimbursement for the replacement of single-wall underground storage tanks from June 1, 2020 to June 30, 2030. It would also extend from June 1, 2020 to June 30, 2030 the time for owners and operators to apply for reimbursement for the replacement of underground singe-wall storage tank systems with a secondary containment system. Finally, Senate Bill 287 would increase the reimbursement limit to an amount no more than $100,000 per facility per replacement work completed on and after July 1, 2020 and before July 1, 2030 and clarifies the $50,000 limit in current law would apply to replacement work completed on or after August 8, 2005 and before July 1, 2020.

SB 286 This bill would amend the Kansas Storage Tank Act by increasing limitations on the liability from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 for the Underground Petroleum Storage Tank Release Trust Fund and by the same amount for the Above ground Petroleum Storage Tank Release Trust Fund. Senate Bill 286 also extends the sunset on both funds from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2034.

The following bill was passed Yea: 28 Nay: 11(I voted in favor of this bill)

SB 58 This bill would amend law related to grand jury proceedings summoned by petition to refer to such proceedings as “citizen-initiated,” and would specify such petitions are citizen-initiated throughout the section. Senate Bill 58 would state the person who filed a citizen-initiated petition, and whose name, address, and phone number appear on the petition, is immune from civil liability for any good faith conduct under the section and would clarify that such person would be the first witness called to give testimony should a citizen-initiated grand jury be impaneled. Written-only opponent testimony was provided by the League of Kansas Municipalities, stating concerns over the potential increase of false or insufficient allegations in citizen-initiated petitions.

SPORTS WAGERING

The sports wagering bill, SB 283, left the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs with uncertain odds and a lot of interest still on the table. The bill essentially amends the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act to allow sports wagering to be conducted through existing gaming facilities. The bill does not extend to Kansas Lottery ticket merchants and other retailers and contains several amendments since its introduction.  It could be debated on the floor this coming week.

The state would apply a tax rate of 10% on revenue from online sports wagering and 7.5% on revenue made from each of the state’s four licensed casinos. Each casino will be allowed to contract with two betting platforms. The Kansas Lottery would continue to have oversight, which is consistent with current legislation. A bill in the House extends sports wagering far beyond the Senate bill by allowing as many as 1,200 licensed retailers to participate.

 FIREWORKS SALES YEAR-ROUND IN KANSAS

On Monday, SB 362, the bill to allow year-round sale of fireworks, was worked in the Committee on Federal and State Affairs. The bill only had two changes made before it passed through committee. The first change stripped out the language regarding bottle rockets, keeping them as an illegal firework. The second amendment aims to extend the selling period for seasonal retailers from June 15^th to July 6^th to be similar with Missouri statute. The original language had the selling period from June 20^th to July 5^th. The bill still leaves power to the counties and cities to regulate fireworks and firework sales as each municipality sees fit.

Monday, February 24

Ø Final action: SB 449 — Removing cannabis products that contain up to 0.3% THC from the list of controlled substances listed in schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act. (8:30, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 159-S)

Ø Hearing: SB 398 — Providing a refundable food sales tax credit and discontinuing the nonrefundable food sales tax credit. (9:30, Assessment and Taxation, 548-S)

Ø Hearing: SB 399 — Requiring marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and compensating use tax. (9:30, Assessment and Taxation, 548-S)

Ø Hearing: SB 364 — Expanding newborn screening services and increasing transfers from the medical assistance fee fund to the Kansas newborn screening fund. (9:30, Public Health and Welfare, 118-N)

Ø Hearing: SB 379 — Authorizing the secretary for children and families to request a waiver from certain limitations under the food assistance program. (9:30, Public Health and Welfare, 118-N)

Ø Hearing: SB 440 — Providing an additional option to fulfill work participation requirements under the cash assistance program. (9:30, Public Health and Welfare, 118-N)

Ø Hearing: SB 420 — Requiring registration as a sex offender for certain violations of the crime of breach of privacy. (10:30, Judiciary, 346-S)

Ø Hearing: SB 409 — Making permanent the quality care assessment imposed on skilled nursing care facilities. (10:30, Ways and Means, 548-S)

Ø Final action: SB 255 — Appropriations to the University of Kansas Medical Center; creating the Cancer Research and Public Information Trust Fund. (10:30, Ways and Means, 548-S)

Ø Discussion and action: SB 271 — Repealing the sunset provision for the high-density at-risk weighting. (1:30, Education, 144-S)

Ø Discussion and action: SB 353— Requiring the allocation of sufficient school district moneys to improve academic performance of underachieving students. (1:30, Education, 144-S)

Tuesday, February 25

Ø 10 a.m. session, on floor all day.

Wednesday, February 26

Ø 10 a.m. session, on floor all day.

Thursday, February 27

Ø Turnaround Day! All bills from non-exempt committees must be heard by their house of origin or are considered dead for the session.

Ø 10 a.m. session, on floor all day.

Friday, February 28

Ø No session! Enjoy the first break of the 2020 Legislative Session. We will see you on March 4!

Thank You for Engaging

Thank you for all your calls, emails, and letters regarding your thoughts and concerns about happenings in Kansas. Constituent correspondence helps inform my decision-making process and is taken into great consideration when I cast my vote in the Kansas Senate. I hope you’ll continue to engage with me on the issues that matter most to you, your family, and our community. If you are on Twitter or Facebook, I encourage you to follow along with the #ksleg hashtag for real-time updates on legislative happenings in Topeka.

Please know that I am fully committed to addressing the current issues in our state, and I am proud to be your voice in the Kansas Senate.