“A GREAT, GREAT DEAL HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT THE WEATHER, BUT VERY LITTLE HAS EVER BEEN DONE”. MARK TWAIN.
For all of you that wanted a hot summer, I would say we are off to a great start. The weather has been pretty miserable and I just hope you all can find some relief.
As with all legislative action that makes the headlines there could possibly be 10 times as much goes on that never makes the news, but still has an impact on your daily lives.
During the 2010 Session, 592 bills were introduced; 248 in the Senate and 344 in the House. In addition 248 Senate bills and 319 House bills were carried over from the previous year, for a grand total of 1,159 bills that were alive during the 2010 Session.
Of these, 1,159 bills, 165 (14.2%) became law; 76 from the Senate and 89 from the House. Of the 149 becoming law, 149 (90%) were introduced by committees and 16 (10%), were introduced by individual legislators. www.kslegislature.org/klrd/.
The Governor vetoed seven bills and 5 line items. All vetoes were sustained and no bills will be carried over t the 2011 Session of the Legislature. The two-year maximum life cycle is always broken by the election year.
What all this means that when a bill is proposed for introduction it is best to get it brought up as a committee bill. Many times when individual legislators want to get some legislation passed they will suggest a committee bill rather than place his or her own name on it.
Since everything needs a majority support to get passed by the relevant committee prior to moving to the floor for possible debate, you might as well see if the support is there. Another option is to ask for co-sponsors which means having others place their name on the issue too. This works well especially if you can get both parties to sign on.
Another reason to ask for a committee bill is that with the procedure called “Gut and Go” any bill can be used as a “vehicle” to move legislation that otherwise has been abandoned. There are filing deadlines to be met for most bill introductions, if that deadline is missed, the opportunity for passage has passed. The “Gut and Go” removes most if not all the original language and inserts the new language. Many do not want their name on a piece of legislation that they now do not support.
As you know the legislature recently passed the sales tax increase so starting July 1st our state sales tax is 6.3%, up a penny. I told you there would be other increases not so visible that will cost you as you live and do business in our State of Kansas.
To balance the budget some agencies had their bank account attacked by what is called a fee sweep. In the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner there is a fee called Investor Education Fund, $1,250,000 was swept into the State General Fund. This money comes from fee payments to the Securities Commissioner and is used in their daily operations. It will have to be replaced.
The money that was in the fee account came from providing services to the consumer. The banking institutions pay a fee for regulation and when their money is taken away for deposit in the State General Fund without any specific spending notification then their member banks have to pay more to keep the inspections.
Fee increases will be spread across almost every state agency. In the Department of Health and Environment, the fee for a Maternity Center License will increase from $75.00 to $150.00, Child Placement Agency License; Child Care and Resource Referral Agency will go up by the same amount. A fee for late renewal will go from $10.00 up to $150.00.
The Board of Regents will be paying more fees for their operations too. Everything from evaluation of degrees ($1,000 to $5,000) to Branch Campus fees ($1,500).
In the Department of Agriculture new fees will appear this year. A Milk tank truck cleaning facilities license is $100.00, Milk tank truck inspection fee will be $50.00, and a Dairy manufacturing plant license will increase from $150.00 to $200.00. Milk and dairy manufacturing inspection fees are increasing, as are beef facility inspection fees.
The livestock auction houses will see increases for their operations too. Fees will be assessed for the facility based on the number of head they process. If they move $1,000 to 2,999 the annual fee climbs form $150.00 to $350.00. if they sell 10,000 to 17,999 head the price climbs to $1,100 from $450.00.
Motor Carrier examination and inspections will cost more too. Farm trucks under 16,000 pounds will go up an additional $20, all other trucks over 12,000 lbs. will increase $100.00 over two years.
What this tells us is that the costs of inspections, evaluations and licensing will increase the cost of doing business. If you happen to be a consumer that eats beef or other animals, if you own a pet that stays at a kennel, if you own a vehicle and travel our road you can expect to pay more. If you stay in a motel or eat in a restaurant, the additional inspection costs on the owner/operators will most likely be passed on to you.
I admit the increases seem relatively small but they do indicate a cost increase could be possible. This is nothing new, it has been done annually forever, it all adds up though
Remember when you could buy a car or home and have only a few papers to sign? Well it is not that way anymore is it? With the amount of regulation and oversight we are now facing, there has to be more money paid to the government to provide oversight on that regulation. It is a vicious cycle and one that apparently can only grow. What are your thoughts?
I consider it an honor and privilege to be your Representative in Topeka and I do want to know what you think.
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