“I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God’s grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.” “My Wish”, Rascal Flatts.”
This past week was very busy in the legislature with budget committees providing final recommendations for the Appropriations Committee and other hearings being conducted in every spare conference room in the capitol.
I had the pleasure of hosting 4 Boy Scouts from El Dorado Troop 222 who served as Pages for the legislature. The young men participated in a building tour and I took them to the House and Senate Floor for up close and personal look.
We had a nice lunch and discussed items of mutual interest. The opportunities for Capitol Page duty are rapidly closing.
Next week I will host two teachers from Augusta who will serve as “shadows” for a day. I always enjoy having constituents come and see what we do as we go about the work of the people.
On the 17th, I attended an informational hearing on the use of medicinal marijuana in the Committee on Health and Human Services. Some individuals that suffer from various diseases such as cancer, MS, Fibromyalgia, presented the testimony. While some state have embraced this form of treatment, Kansas’s remains reluctant to move forward.
HB 2590 deals with medical gas piping and licensure of those installers. This issue comes to us stemming from an incident in Lawrence that a dental patient was having a procedure and when the dentist thought he was administering oxygen he in fact was giving nitrous oxide (laughing gas). The young man in question has suffered brain damage and will never fully recover.
The issue is one of mislabeling and no requirement by local authorities for field-testing of the piping installation. What had happened is that the two pipe discharge connections had been mislabeled. While this is a very serious incident, I am not too sure we need to have a change in our statute in place of the local authorities requirements for testing and inspection.
SB 430 Historic Tax Credits. This proposal was to correct a couple of small errors from last year, which resulted in an unintended cut of 70%. Currently every dollar invested in the state tax credit program leverages five dollars in private investment. Since 2002, Statewide the historic tax credit has created over 4300 jobs and produced $138 million in labor income.
The main focus of the historic tax credit program is to revitalize older structures, many of which are downtown. The refurbish of these buildings and the resulting increases in sales tax revenue, property values, new businesses, and many new full time and part-time jobs.
HB 2697 would make changes to the sale of alcoholic beverages by allowing sales of strong beer in grocery and convenience stores. In Commerce and Labor Committee we heard from the big industry and the mom and pop operators. Depending on what side of the issue you are on the testimony can be very convincing. I think we probably will take no action this year.
March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Colon Cancer is highly treatable if found in its early ages. The most important thing you can do to prevent colon cancer is to get tested. If you are 50 or older, talk to your doctor about getting tested, even if you have no symptoms…it could save your life.
FYI, The Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City has just completed roughly 3 months of operation and report the following: $10 million in gaming revenue, 22% of which went to the State of Kansas general fund, $1,600 a day to the City and Ford County.
The casino currently employs 260 full time with an additional 100 employees needed for this summer. The hotel construction should begin within the next 120 days and when fully operationa,l the complex will employ close to 600.
We are in our last two weeks of the session and the time is accelerating as we compress our schedules to get all our work done. If there is anything you care to ask about please get in touch with me.
I consider it an honor and privilege to serve as your Representative in Topeka and I do want to know what you think.
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