This week has been spent working on wrapping up several pieces of legislation as we approach the time when we will have to address the really heavy topics of immigration and budget. I have not had a lack of input from many of you.
We have approved a health reform bill that expanded premium assistance for poor adults, provided a small subsidy for health insurance for children under the HealthWave program that is a little short on federal funding. The Senate and House are worlds apart on this issue and when the conference committee meets there will be plenty to trade off.
There is language that requires lifestyle changes for those receiving entitlements, such as stop smoking, stop drinking, requiring exercise, and mandatory job training.
The house approved a senate bill that would authorize issuance of up to $105 million in bonds for construction of a power supply for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility we hope will be placed near Manhattan. The money will not be available if we are not selected, no facility, no bonds.
The Dept. Of Homeland Security has identified Kansas as one of the 5 finalists for this multi-million dollar facility that will work on defeating terrorist attack on our food sources. We are in the running and as such have to lay out some incentives to entice the fed’s to choose Kansas.
SB 492 has language that would eliminate the basic shield from obscenity-to-minors prosecution for school teachers, who may use in their art or literature classes, materials that some parents believe to be obscene.
The bill would require school boards to sign off on materials that might be considered obscene when used in an educational setting. I served on school boards and I do not remember this ever being a big issue, I put faith in the faculty and administration to do the proper thing. I think that must not be the case in some Kansas City School Districts.
SB 577 would have created the Radon Awareness Act and the Radon Certification Law. This proposed legislation was heard in the House Commerce and Labor Committee. After several days of testimony from the many sides of the issue, we discovered that Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, radioactive gas which comes from uranium in the soil.
Radon is everywhere in the environment, and when entering the homes and other buildings, builds up to higher concentrations. Radon is reported to be the leading cause of lung cancer in those that have never smoked. and the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. Some reports state; 200 cases annually of lung cancer in Kansas from exposure to Radon.
The bill would have imposed license requirements on tester’s, mitigators, business’s that do either or both, testing labs, and required Realtors to state in all sales contracts that Radon could cause cancer. There would be no requirement for a test of property, however if a test had been conducted those results would have to be provided to prospective buyers and the general public..
Current law requires notice by the seller or their representatives of any known defects on the property. Under this bill the KDHE would require registration of providers and build a data base of test results. They would set fees for permits and certification standards and have authority to impose fines for non compliance. Enforcement ability by the department was not properly addressed.
The department nor the real estate industry could not provide adequate proof that this was an issue that is causing a problem that required this law to be passed. Our committee voted to table the bill and request an interim study after the session is over. The Realtors and KDHE will work on educating the public on the dangers of Radon. Current Federal legislation has the requirement to notice the presence of lead paint in an older home, perhaps the feds should require Radon testing as well.
SB 458, the immigration issue will come to the floor of the house on Thursday the 27th. I am scheduled to preside as chairman over that debate and we will probably see many amendment proposals and hear some heated arguments. Tune in to www.kslegislature.org to listen in.
Our neighbors have made attempts at limiting their illegal immigrants from residing in their states. There have been reported many consequences from this action. Crops not harvested, building projects shut down or delayed, business’s closing for lack of employees, etc.
The Senate version of the bill was amended so as to remove a lot of language that many like. We will look legal status verification, penalty for knowingly hiring, housing or transporting illegal aliens. The final version is hard to predict, I will keep you posted.
We have received much advice on how to treat these people, everything from compassion to imprisonment in a barbed wire tent city enclosure and immediate deportation.
The Department of Revenue has no data on how many undocumented aliens are currently employed in the State of Kansas. KDOR also states that with the passage of SB 458, companies would no longer be able to hire new undocumented alien workers which would affect their revenue and profit margin. This in turn would reduce State General Fund balances.
More next week, I consider it an honor to be your representative in Topeka, contact me at the State Capitol, room 411-S, 785-296-7655. Thanks, John
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