I am preparing this update on Christmas Eve with the hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Leaving church yesterday several of us were talking about the miserable weather and blizzard conditions of the day before and the discussion turned to our youthful memories. I recall when growing up we used to sled and slip down the section of 2d street between Denver and Taylor, AKA “Catholic Hill”. I remember a fire barrel and large crowds of kids and adults, seems like we used that stretch of street for weeks.
I remember we also went to the Bluestem Lake Dam and did the same thing only we also used cardboard as well as sleds with steel runners! How did we survive without “Gortex” and “Thinsulate”?
It is hard to believe the 2008 Session begins on January 14th. I will be moving to Topeka on the 13th and spend each week through mid-April. Our session is limited to 90 days and that is why we have been having interim committee meetings to sort out what is important and what issues need addressed.
The Kansas attorney general and the chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s division of water resources have written their Nebraska counterparts to put them on notice that Nebraska has been using more water than it is supposed to under the Republican River Compact.
At stake is the use of 143,000 acre-feet of water that should be flowing into Kansas. We want Nebraska to stop taking water from the river and shut down irrigation wells within 2 miles of the Republican River. The water office says that the overuse of water for just the last two years would be enough to supply a city of 100,000 for a decade.
If a mutual agreement cannot be reached Kansas can take the issue to dispute resolution. We have in the past won water and cash settlements from Colorado for its overuse of river water.
Kansas has three levels of liquor taxation, each of which imposes different rates and provides for a different disposition of revenue.
The Gallonage tax is 30 cents a gallon and is the first level of taxation and is imposed upon the person who first manufactures, sells, purchases, or receives the liquor or cereal malt beverage. Gallonage receipts in FY 2006 were approximately $19.7 million. Of this amount, over $10.3 million was attributable to beer and cereal malt beverage (CMB).
The distribution of these receipts from alcohol and spirits is divided between the State General Fund (SGF) (90%) and the Community Alcoholism and Intoxication Programs Fund (CAIPF) (10%). All other gallonage goes to the SGF. Liquor Gallonage rates have not been increased since 1977.
The second level of taxation is the Enforcement Tax. This tax is an in-lieu-of sales tax imposed at the rate of 8 percent on the gross receipts of the sale of liquor to consumers and on the gross receipts from the sale of liquor and CMB to clubs, drinking establishments, and caterers by the distributors. If you purchase a $10 bottle of wine at the liquor store you pay 80 cents for the enforcement tax.
CMB purchases in a grocery store or convenience stores are not subject to the enforcement tax, but rather are subject to state and local sales taxes. State of Kansas sales and local taxes can range between 5.3 and 8.3 percent. Besides the rate differential between sales of strong beer and other alcohol by liquor stores and CMB by grocery and convenience stores there is a major difference in disposition of revenue.
Enforcement tax receipts in FY 2006 were approximately $44.2 million. Sales tax collection in grocery store and convenience stores for CMB purchases are unknown. The enforcement tax is all sent to the SGF, while state sales tax is divided between SGF (92.%) and State Highway Fund (8%). This is scheduled to change slightly in FY 2008 to send 12.5% to the State Highway Fund. The Enforcement Tax has not increased since 1983.
The Liquor Drink Tax is imposed at the rate of 10% on the gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic liquor by clubs, caterers, and drinking establishments. On top of all the other taxes the owner of a club has paid during the purchase of the alcohol, he will now charge an additional 10 % for each drink. For a 4.00 glass of wine you now get charged an additional $.40 cents to cover the tax.
Liquor drink taxes in FY 2006 were about $32.0 million of which $8.0 million was deposited into the SGF. The disposition of the revenue is 25% to the SGF, 5% to the CAIPF, and 70% to the Local Alcoholic Liquor Fund. The liquor drink tax rate has not increased since imposition in 1979.
On behalf of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NCAC), I am pleased to announce two new free college planning guides. “Tips for Parents with Middle School Teens” and “Tips for parents with High School Teens” are available in bulk and free of charge to high school counselors, community groups and other organizations that help students prepare for college.
The initiative teens take in middle school will lay the foundation for their high school years. The student must understand the steps they must take- academic, social, and financial to ensure a successful school experience. For more information go to www.nacacnet.org, or contact legislative@nacacnet.org.
I appreciate hearing from so many of you on such a wide variety of issues. I hope the above is of use. I do appreciate the opportunity to serve you in Topeka and I want to know what you think. You may contact me in person, or at home 1115 Rim Rock Road, El Dorado, 316-321-2087, or at grange@house.state.ks.us, or johng@carlisleinc.net, or www.johngrange.net
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