Truth Report Week 3 2024

THE TRUTH REPORT

A Weekly Rundown of Important Activity in Topeka, from a Principled Perspective

Week Three - January 28, 2024

"It's the people's money not the government's money

and the money should follow the child."

-House Representative

Kristy Williams-

Topeka, KS- From curbing the governor's budget, preparing for the 2026 World Cup, and facing the verdict of a veto override, this week in the Capitol has set many things in motion!

Curbing the Govenor's Budget

The Truth Caucus has been making significant efforts to curb the governor’s budget. This year, Governor Laura Kelly plans to increase expenditure by 1.6 billion dollars–nearly twenty percent of our state's annual income. Kansas Truth Caucus members are pushing back in three ways:

In House Appropriations, KTC members are refusing to add more full-time government employees. Already, they have eliminated certain unnecessary positions from agency budgets.
KTC members are analyzing each individual agency’s budget–eliminating wasteful spending and justifying proposed increases.
Kansas Truth Caucus members are educating each other on the workings of the budget so that everyone can understand how taxpayer dollars are being spent and how to push back against Governor Kelly’s overspending.

Tax Relief Bill - HB 2284

Despite the ceremonial signing of Tax Relief Bill HB 2284 on Tuesday, Governor Kelly vetoed the bill on Friday. In an attempt to ease the financial burden placed on Kansans by inflation, HB 2284 would have made changes to income tax, lowered property taxes, eliminated food sales tax, and given personal exemption increases, among other things. Since its veto, HB 2284 has been returned to the House, where Republicans are determined to pass the bill. In his response to the governor's veto, House Speaker Dan Hawkins promised that "House Republicans will remain focused on delivering tax relief to the people of Kansas by overriding the Governor's veto."

Restrictions on Advance Voting Ballots - SB 343

SB 343 had its hearing in the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Wednesday. The bill protects against election fraud by restricting advance voting ballots to persons who have been approved by a county official. Those who wish to vote in advance may request an application for an advance voting ballet through the local election official. In the application, they will be required to provide certain identification information. Should information be lacking, the voter may still vote a provisional ballot which will be reviewed by the county's board of canvassers before being counted. In this way, SB 343 balances the right to vote with the need for fair and accurate elections.

Other regulations ensure that advance voting applications are filed within an appropriate time frame. Unless the county decides otherwise, applications for advance ballots sent to the voter by mail must be filed by the Tuesday before the election, and applications given to the voter in person must be filed by noon the day before the election. However, these regulations do not apply to those who are sick, disabled, or not proficient in English, and those helping them. Additionally, voters who are chronically ill or disabled may apply for permanent advance voting status.

Voter Affiliation Change on Election Day - SB 374

Like SB 343, SB 374 also discusses voting regulations—removing the candidate filing deadline and allowing voters to change their party affiliation the day of the election. Voters who wish to change their party affiliation may fill out a form detailing the change. They will then be given a primary ballot that accords with their updated affiliation, after which they may proceed to vote. The bill was introduced on Monday and referred to the Committee of Federal and State Affairs the day after.

Legal Tender Act - SB 303

SB 303, or the Kansas Legal Tender Act, rules that government-issued or court-ordered gold and silver coins should be considered forms of legal tender in the State of Kansas. However, under the Kansas Legal Tender Act, no person can be forced to accept coins as legal tender unless they are bound by law or contract to do so. It is important to note that, save in retirement accounts, no forms of legal tender may be considered taxable property, including when exchanged or transferred. The bill was recommended to be passed by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Monday.

The EMERGE Program - HB 2567

HB 2567 introduces the EMERGE program, or the Kansas national guard educational master's for enhanced readiness and global excellence. Through this program, the state of Kansas will pay tuition and fees for members of the national guard as they pursue master's degrees, provided that recipients complete at least 72 months (three years) of service upon graduation. Participants in the EMERGE program must abide by several stipulations:

They must fill out a FAFSA form each year (any federal student aid they may receive will be absorbed into their aid from the EMERGE program).
They must maintain at least a 2.75 GPA.
They must maintain satisfactory participation in the national guard.

The EMERGE program will not cover more than 15 credit hours per semester, nor will it pay for extra courses or the repetition of previous courses. No more than 200 members of the national guard may participate in the program per year. HB 2567 was referred to the Committee on Education on Tuesday and will be heard on Tuesday of next week.

Postretirement Benefit for State Workers - HB 2563

HB 2563 benefits retirees of Kansas by providing a post-retirement of 500 dollars to eligible retirees who retired before July 1, 2014, thus offsetting the effects of inflation on Kansas retirees. The bill was introduced and referred to the committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions on Monday.

Prosecuting Child Sexual Abusers - SB 364

SB 364 changes current legislation to allow for the prosecution of child molestees at any time. According to the bill, the victim may sue for injuries or damages resulting from childhood sexual abuse at any point, and claims against abuses that took place on or after July 1, 1984, may now be brought forward. SB 364 was introduced on January 18th and forwarded to the Committee on Judiciary on Monday. We look forward to hearing more about this bill in upcoming weeks.

Hearing on Welfare Fraud

On Tuesday, a joint committee hearing on Welfare and food stamp fraud heard about the vast excess of spending we have seen in recent years—with the cost of Medicaid more than quadrupling since the year 2000.

23% of the Kansas budget is spent on Medicaid. In fact, Kansas has seen roughly 16.3 million dollars spent on people who do not meet the Medicaid standards for eligibility, while roughly 7,700 “truly needy” people remain on the waiting list. Similar cases of fraud in other states were mentioned in the hearing.

The proposed expansion of Medicaid would not require either an asset test or an income test to verify that the recipient is, indeed, eligible. Other checks, such as investigation into claims of homelessness, would be removed as well.

Since 2000, the Medicaid enrollment has increased from 34.5 million to 88.4 million. Meanwhile, the Labor force participation rate has decreased from 67.1% to 62.5% in 2024. We currently have around 86,000 open jobs in the state of Kansas, and we need people to work! If Kansas allows able-bodied people to remain on the side lines, who will fill the empty spaces?

Hearing on the 2026 World Cup

On a lighthearted note, the Kansas House Committee on Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development began to plan for the 2026 World Cup Event. The last time the World Cup was hosted by the US was in 1994, when FIFA saw one the most successful events in its history: holding the record sale of tickets and the largest sporting event. In fact, the 1994 World Cup inspired the creation of Major League Soccer!

In order for Kansas City to host the World Cup, several logistics must be worked through. Kansas owns 33% of all hotels within a 2-hour radius of the field. By hosting the World Cup, we would see roughly 155 to 167 million dollars in hotel profits alone. In total, we’re expecting around 500 million dollars in growth to the economy in Missouri and Kansas.

Missouri has committed a minimum of 50 million dollars to hosting the World Cup, and Kansas is looking to commit 28 million dollars to the same. Funding would go to various projects, including the construction of an Amtrak between KC and Topeka: thus encouraging international visitors to tour our state capitol. If the amtrack is a success, Kansas may retain it for permanent use!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who was able to come out and support the two rallies hosted this week. The rally for school choice saw a diverse turn out from students, teachers, families, supporters, and elected officials, and the March and Rally for Life showed great support from pro-lifers from all around the state!

We are looking forward to our meeting on Monday night January 29 at 5 p.m. It will be held in David Kensinger's office on the fifth floor of 825 S. Kansas. This week we are pleased to have Americans For Prosperity come and join us as our speaker! We'll see you then!