“Life is like a blanket too short. You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but the cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night.” Marion Howard
The 2010 Session of the Kansas Legislature is almost over, May 28th at 10:00 am the House of Representatives will officially gavel out and we will return to our full time civilian pursuits. The Budget and Tax Bills are awaiting the governors’ signature
The full impact of our actions may not be realized until long into the future, short-term affects can be seen today and certainly after July when most budget items officially become law of the land. Were all the decisions made the right ones? Time will tell.
Certainly the naysayers and doomsday proponents have declared the worst is yet to come, the more forward looking and confident legislators are saying, “bring it on”. I am confident that no matter what side of an issue any legislator was on he/she used their best judgment to decide how to vote.
This time of year even though the votes are counted, there are still a lot of questions to be answered and clarified. During the final days of the session many reports from the conference committees had to be read and voted upon. A conference committee is assigned to negotiate differences between the Senate and House versions of any given legislation.
The real orneriness may be yet to come. By that I mean when all the rules and regulations are written by the agencies come into play. During the past year we voted on many items and now some of those with fiscal notes will become law too. Make no mistake we all will pay for these in the long run.
We voted for increases in court docket fees, additional fees for traffic citations, inspections livestock and dairy facilities, restaurant inspections, day care facilities, heavy truck license fees and the list keeps growing. Also the unemployment fund needs reloaded at the tune of over $158 million that will be paid for by employers.
The one-cent sales tax is expected to help fill a budget shortfall of close to $350 million or so. In reality the budget is not really balanced if we do not achieve an economic growth of 4% and in fact with that level of growth leaves us with a deficit of $216 million at the end of FY 2011.
Oh yes, the federal stimulus money (ARRA) runs out next year and that hole will need to be filled too.
Many of us believe we should take a hard look at all the tax exemptions out there and perhaps redefine what is appropriate and necessary. Why not ask for proof of a drug and alcohol free life if you are receiving government assistance? Why not teach drivers Ed in middle school (Jr. High) like we used too? What is wrong with a private company getting paid to teach our children how to drive?
A private provider could teach drivers education, have classes, hire instructors, pay taxes and benefits and that private school could run year round in all seasons. If this is an expense that school districts want to eliminate, the private sector could pick it up. What do you think?
Since our state has turned mostly urban this past year; our children have fewer opportunities to learn how to drive. I remember my dad letting me drive the truck to the landfill or to the sand pile to learn how to shift and stay within the power lines. Mom let me drive her to work at the hospital in the early morning and bring the car back home so my older sister could drive us to school. I was not quite 12.
Many of you, at age 12 helped with the harvest by driving a grain truck to the elevator, remember the free cokes? I suspect many of the readers had a similar experiences as these and I think we could do pretty well turning back the clock.
Next update I will provide you with a list of some additional costs that we can expect because of passed legislation. I can tell you for almost any issue I had people contact me either for it or against it. Not all my contacts were lobbyists, many were individual citizens that just had a real passion for their viewpoint, and I want you all to know, I do use your comments and opinions when I develop my voting position, we all do.
Next week I will meet with the Susan B Anthony Hospital Ladies Auxillary, the Frontier Refinery Citizen Advisory Panel, The Kansas Cooling Contractors Association, see my cardiologist, travel to Denver for a National Conference of State Legislators Executive Committee Meeting, and discuss some homeland security issues with the federal representatives.
I hope to make the rounds of area high schools to distribute copies of law books for their government classes to use. We voted to not provide any more of them to legislators because the printing costs have become prohibitive.
I am available to meet with your groups to discuss issue that are important. Good luck to our graduates, I wish you all the best, as you go out into the world; whether you continue your education or join the military or the work force, do not forget us here at home.
If I can be of assistance please do not hesitate to call me. I consider it an honor and privilege to be your Representative in Topeka. My office phone and email are turned off.
Back to Updates
