LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #32 -- August 11, 2009

I continue to spend a great deal of time working on constitutent issues, such as SRS payments, Unemployment Insurance Benefit payments, and the like. My recommendation to those requesting help is to have good records that will identify the date, time of day, and to whom you spoke with.

Questions should be written down prior to any call and responses should be detailed. I find more often than not, there has been a misunderstanding between the citizen and the state agency employee response. Occasionally I can find there has been a misinterpretation of the statute or rules and regulations.

In my approach I seek to gain as much information that I can and call the Secretary of the Agency with the data that I have accumulated and ask if I could get a staff person to help me and the constitutent understand the process or answers that were provided. I have never been denied access to the right answer.

Right now the majority of questions comes from the expanded unemployment insurance (UI) division of the Department of Labor. Eligibility of extended benefits, vocational or job training is the most often asked questions. Most answers and filing for benefits are available on line at, www.dol.ks.gov.

On August 14th Jim Garner, the Secretary of Labor is coming to my El Dorado office to discuss the improvements and operation of the DOL. The secretary has other appointments in the area and has asked for some time to provide me with an update on the UI benefits and stimulus package. We see each other regularly as he testifies before the House Commerce and Labor Committee, of which I am the Vice-Chairman.

This past week I accompanied a group of visitors to the El Dorado Correctional Facility (EDCF) where we were provided a tour of the almost completed Spiritual Life Center. This facility built with donations, volunteer and inmate labor will be a state-of-the-art chapel that is being built within the walls of the EDCF.

The facility is almost complete and is being done without the benefit of public funds. The cost to date is nearly $950,000 and is just $50,000 short of having enough money to complete the project. We are hoping for a Christmas 09 completion. The State of Kansas is running a correctional facility and this center will serve the spiritual needs of the inmates from all denominations and religious persuasions.

In addition to local use the facility will have the ability to broadcast worldwide as it strives to minister other correctional institutions outside of the El Dorado area. Everything to provide music, worship, and fellowship, counseling and training will be available while maintaining tight security.

To see a virtual tour and access contribution information go to www.ckpm.org, or call 316-733-1537.

SB 44 creates a civil cause of action for perpetrating a specified fraudulent claim on the state government or affected political subdivision under the newly created Kansas False Claims Act. The following, actions if intentional, are defined as fraudulent claims under the act:

• Making a false claim for payment or approval;
• Using false records or submitting a false statement for payment
• Using false records or submitting a false statement to conceal, avoid, or decrease an obligaton to pay;
• Delivering less property or money than commissioned;
• Falsely certifying the receipt of property;
• Buying or accepting an obligation for public property from a person not authorized to sell or pledge the property;
• Benefiting from a fraudulent claim and failing to disclose the false claim;
• Conspiring to commit any of the above violations.