VICKI'S VOICE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE  May 3, 2016


Welcome to the new design of "Vicki's Voice!" Many of the updates are read on a mobile device and this new design should make that much easier!

The Legislature adjourned about 3:30 AM on Monday, May 2, 2016. This was the fourth shortest session in state history.

Many of the bills that were voted on in veto session were part of a Conference Committee Report, known as a CCR. Conference Committee's are made up of 6 legislators. Three from the Senate and three from the House. Each chamber places their respective committee chair, vice-chair and ranking minority member on the committee. Joint rules state that no more than FIVE bills may be in one CCR. Each bill that is considered must have passed one chamber or the other. Having written that, please note that the "subject matter" can become part of the CCR if the subject matter was part of a passed bill. The Conference Committee requires all 6 signatures the first time around. If two people decline to sign, a motion is then made in each chamber to "agree to disagree." If both chambers adopt that motion, the CCR only requires 4 signatures instead of 6. When a CCR is voted on in the Senate and House it is an up or down vote only. NO amendments or changes are allowed to the CCR. If the CCR passes both chambers it then moves on to the desk of the Governor for his consideration.

A motion to concur also can be voted on. In this case, the Senate passed a bill and the House changed the bill in some way. The Chair of the Senate committee will then study the change or changes made and decide if the change is significant enough to take the bill to the Conference Committee process. If the change is minor and the Chair believes it is a good change, the Chair may offer a motion to the Senate to concur with the change. If that motion passes, the bill proceeds to the Governor's desk for his consideration.

And yes, it is confusing. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Here is a breakdown of the votes taken by day.

Wednesday - April 27th - No Votes
Thursday - April 28th - Voted on 10 CCR's
Friday - April 29th - Voted on 11 CCR's and 3 bills (On General Orders)
Saturday - April 30th - Voted on 18 CCR's
Sunday - May 1st - Voted on 14 CCR's and 2 Motions to Concur

Now keep in mind that EACH CCR could contain up to 5 bills. So many, many bills were passed in a short amount of time!

Don't forget that you can ALWAYS look up any bill, amendments offered and any Conference Committee Reports on the Kansas Legislature Website!



Allison Nichols and Sen. Schmidt
NEWS FROM OUR DISTRICT

The Legislature sponsors the annual "Shrimp Peel" for the Kansas Special Olympics! The event was held on April 27th at Heritage Hall. It is a well attended event and I am always delighted to see many of my constituents and friends at such a worthwhile event. And what fun it is to see the athletes with their medals and hear their stories aout their participation in the competitions. Thank you to all who participated and helped raise funds for this fantastic organization! Please visit the Kansas Special Olympics webpage for more information!




Ruby Mullholland and Sen. Schmidt
The fifth grade classes from Most Pure Heart of Mary School visited the State Capitol for a tour of not only the Capitol, but also the Dome! What a great group! Thank you to Mrs. Bassett and Mrs. Dodd for the field trip. It looked like everyone enjoyed the event!! This is a great way to learn about the Capitol and all of the history!




Emma Waters, Sharon Ngibuini, Sen. Schmidt, Madelyn Hill and Grace Kessler
PAGES

Thursday, April 29th was the LAST day for pages! I was fortunate to have four young ladies serve as pages. They were the ONLY pages in the Senate, so they were busy. Madelyn Hill, Grace Kessler, Sharon Ngibuini and Emma Waters are all students at Washburn Rural Middle School. Soon they will begin High School and I know they will be successful in the transition. Thank you for taking time to page, learn about the Capitol and participate in the legislative process. We were so glad to have you!



Wichita South High School Girls Basketball Team with Sen. Schmidt and Sen. Petersen
WICHITA HIGH SCHOOL SOUTH GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM - 2016 STATE CHAMPIONS

SR 1793 recognized Wichita High School Girls Basketball Team for their FOURTH consecutive 6A State Basketball Championship! I am a proud graduate of Wichita High School South so it gave me great pleasure to participate in the recognition. Thank you to Sen. Petersen for doing the resolution. Congratulations to Coach Antwain Scales! The team is the first 6A girls' team in history to capture four state titles in a row. And Coach Scales coached each one along with assistant coaches Wayne Riddle and Heidi Dreiling. Best wishes to each of you and congratulations!


David Earl, Sen. Schmidt and Mike Miller
RECYCLED RIDES

Washburn Tech's Recycled Rides program rolled out more opportunities for folks in need today! They gave away two vehicles! State Farm donated a 2007 Saturn Aura and the Nature Conservancy donated a 2007 Chevrolet Impala. State Farm Insurance presented a check for $15,000 as an additional donation! This will mark State Farm's 4th consecutive grant, for a grand total of $60,000 to date, in support of the Recycled Rides Program. The lucky recipients were David Earl and Mike Miller.

Students in auto collision and auto service technology work with licensed technicians to refurbish cars for families in need. The program is a National Auto Body Council program in which students and their mentors repair donated vehicles. It's real-world world work that's touching real lives.  

Topeka State Farm Agent Brandon Aldridge, Rep. Fred Patton, Topeka State Farm Agent Joe Gutierrez, State Farm Sales Leader T Kinning-Pflueger, Sen. Schmidt, Topeka State Farm Agent Jim Garrison, Holton State Farm Agent Gus Suarez
Washburn Tech was the first college in the nation to participate in the Recycled Rides program. These were the 15th and 16th cars to be donated in the program's history. Miriam Krehbiel, President and CEO, of the United Way was present along with Governor Brownback, Congresswoman Jenkins and President Jerry Farley (Washburn University). Clark Coco, the Dean of Washburn Tech, spoke about the time and effort the students dedicate to the cars. This work is done on weekends and evenings.


 




Bob Davis and Sen. Schmidt
ON THE FLOOR

The Senate honored and recognized the legendary Bob Davis with SR 1792. Bob has been with the Jayhawk Radio Network since 1984. He also was a member of the Kansas City Royals' broadcasting team for 16 seasons starting in 1997. He has called 372 KU men's football games and over 1,160 KU men's basketball games as the Voice of the Jayhawks. He retired this year after the college basketball season to spend more time with his family. Bob was named Kansas Sportscaster of the Year 14 times and is a member of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) and the Fort Hays State Athletics and Topeka West High School Graduate Halls of Fame. In 1991, KAB presented him with its Hod Humiston Award for Contributions to Sports Broadcasting. Best wishes to Bob and his wife, Linda, in retirement. You will be missed, but what a career it has been!

GENERAL ORDERS

HB 2739 will establish the framework to modify the current budget process that would be completed on or before January 14, 2019. The bill lays out a three-step approach:
  • Creates a program service inventory that would identify: agency programs and subprograms; authorizing state or federal statutory citation; mandatory or discretionary programs, history and interaction with other programs, federal financial requirements; priority of programs; and consequence of not funding the programs. This step would be completed on or before 1-9-2017.
  • Would integrate the budget fiscal process through common accounting procedures that would be consistent beginning with budget development and ending with actual expenditures by fund. This step woudl be completed on or before 1-6-2018.
  • The final step would be to establish outcome-based performance measures that also would improve the capacity to compare program effectiveness across all programs.

THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. The bill also passed the House 119-0 and is now on the way to the Governor.

 

Senate Substitute for HB 2285 is the annual bill that allows the reconciliation of amendments to statutes that have been amended more than once during the prior legislative session. THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. The bill passed the House 119-0 and is now on the way to the Governor.

 

HB 2662 is the annual Claims against the state bill. THE BILL PASSED THE SENATE 38-2. I VOTED YES. 

 

 

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORTS (CCR)

CCR 2615 is a combination of HB 2615 (passed the Senate 38-0 - I voted YES); SB 363 (passed the Senate 38-2 - I voted YES); SB 449 (passed the Senate 33-7 - I voted YES); HB 2456 (passed the Senate 40-0) AND SB 402 which was HB 2732 (the Senate never voted on this one!). So now you see how complex the CCR can be. By topic this CCR includes the following: 
  • Charitable healthcare providers and adds the definition of "community mental health center" to the Kansas Tort Claims Act and exempts the community mental health centers and the employees of those centers from liability under the Kansas Tort Claims Act
  • Inserts the language to the Acupuncture Practice Act and the Physical Therapy Practice Act
  • Adds the definition of "licensed master's addiction counselor" to the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board definitions
  • Allows Kansas to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
  • Adds the Independent Practice of Midwifery Act

THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. The House passed the CCR 115-7. The Governor will now receive the CCR.  

 

CCR 402 is a combination of SB 341 and SB 372. SB 341 is also known as the STEP Therapy Bill while SB 372 is known as the Welfare Reform Act. As a practicing pharmacist, I have very strong opinions about STEP Therapy. When the bill was originally offered in the Senate, I offered several amendments during the original floor debate and one was adopted. In the Conference Committee, several of my amendments were adopted in various forms. Even with these changes, I could not support this CCR. STEP Therapy requires a patient to "fail" on a medication before allowing the patient to move to a different medication. The timeline is 90 days on the first drug, unless it is a medication for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS drugs require only a 30 day trial. Prescribers (Physicians, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants) will have to provide documentation of failure to the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) in order utilize the drug regimen for their patients if the drug is a part of the STEP therapy protocol. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 27-13. I VOTED NO. The CCR passed the House 79-43. The Governor will now receive the CCR.

 

CCR 128 would change the law regarding municipal courts and the filing of judicial vacancies. The CCR includes SB 128 which was HB 2652, portions of Sub for SB 22 and SB 197. HB 2652 will increase the current limit of at least two to three and from the current maximum of three to five for the number of nominees a district judicial nominating commission would be required to nominate for each vacancy. Sub for SB 22 was introduced at the request of the Kansas Judicial Council and addresses the provisions regarding certified copies of expungements and notices of conviction, dismissal, or acquittal in municipal courts. SB 197 would create law related to the roster of Kansas attorneys, the selection of the chairperson and lawyer members of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, selection of lawyer members of the judicial district nominating commissions and the applicability of the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) and Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). I do support the KOMA and KORA portions of SB 197, but have concerns with the other parts of the legislation. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 35-3. I VOTED NO. The CCR passed the House 72-50. The Governor will now consider the CCR.

 

CCR 2456 is a combination of HB 2369 and HB 2471. Neither of these bills were voted on in the Senate. HB 2369 creates the Kansas Tanning Facilities Act and would prohibit a tanning facility from providing access to a tanning device to anyone under 18 years of age. HB 2471 updates several provisions related to the Kansas Board of Barbering, including the qualifications for a person to receive a license; the renewal process for a barber, instructor or operator of a barber shop whose license has expired; the disciplinary procedures the Board is allowed to follow; and the Board's duties to include increased authority. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 30-9. I VOTED YES. The House passed the CCR 71-42. Again, it is on the way to the Governor's desk.  

 

CCR 318 is actually SB 318! This bill abollishs the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority (KETA) and the KETA Development Fund and transfers all liabilities of those funds to the Public Service Regulation Fund of the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). In addition the bill transfers $45,000 from the KETA Administrative Fund to the State General Fund. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 39-1. I VOTED YES. The CCR also passed the House 98-26 and will be on the Governor's desk shortly.

 

CCR 2622 is a combination of HB 2622, House Substitute for SB 193, SB 388 and HB 2483. Here is a synopsis of the bills contained in the CCR. HB 2622 changed the fee for processing and issuing GED credentials to $24. House Substitute for SB 193 is the bill I did not support. This bill requires the Board of Regents to create the degree prospectus information with several data requirements, including: data field of the aggregate degree investment incurred by an individual to obtain the degree by subtracting grants and scholarships awarded and to remove references to "pay off student loans" and replace with "recoup degree investment." The prospectus to graduates required data sets is to be published after the graduate is employed for six months. The original bill had a fiscal note of $6.6 million as the cost for state universities, Washburn University, community colleges , and technical colleges. The bill also contained incentive payments to graduates that provide the information. The fiscal note for the changes in the bill was never available. SB 388 addressed the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). It would require each state education institution to award credit hours to enrolled students who have successfully passed a CLEP exam. HB 2483 changes the postsecondary career technical education performance-based incentive funding law by adding Johnson County Community College to the definition of eligible postsecondary educational institution. With House Substitute for SB 193 included in this CCR I voted no. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 34-6. I VOTED NO. The House passed the CCR 109-8. The Governor will soon receive CCR 2622.

 

CCR 2049 contains only the contents of SB 375. This bill changes the statutory definition of "significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning" to require that a standardized intelligence test used to determine this condition must take into account the standard error or measurement. The definition of "intellectual disability" would be changed to remove the ages during which the condition must manifest. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 40-0. I VOTED YES. The House passed the CCR 121-0 and will soon be on the Governor's desk.

 

CCR 2112 contains only HB 2713, which is 170 pages in length. The Senate never voted on this bill. The bill is the re-codification of the Kansas General Corporation Code and conforms with the Delaware code. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 39-0. I VOTED YES. The House passed the CCR 122-0 and the Governor will have the CCR shortly.

 

CCR 249 is the budget bill. This includes funding for FY 2016, FY 2017 and FY 2018 expenditures for most state agencies. While the bill has some items that I think are excellent, it is a budget that will require the Governor to make $82 million in cuts and will again sweep $115 million from the state highway funds next year. It also delays about $96.5 million in payments to KPERs. The bill does prohibit any additional cuts to K-12 public education. It also mandates a greater burden to the University of Kansas and Kansas State University over the other state universities if the Governor cuts higher education. It does, however, remove the cap on tuition increases. The estimated ending balance in FY 2016 is $27.3 million (0.4%). Due to the concerns listed above, I could not support this budget. THE CCR PASSED THE SENATE 22-18. I VOTED NO. The House passed the CCR 63-59. Remember that the Governor does have line item veto power with this CCR. And also please note that the minimum votes for passage in the Senate is 21, while the minimum in the House is 63. 

 



Contact Vicki Schmidt

5906 SW 43rd Court  |  Topeka, Kansas 66610
785.267.4686  |   Vicki@VickiSchmidt.com