Truth Report Week 4 2024

THE TRUTH REPORT

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

Week Four - February 3, 2024

"Governor Kelly has now axed a third tax relief bill in less than a year; choosing political wins over increasing Kansan's paychecks."

-House Speaker

Dan Hawkins-

Topeka, KS- As the deadline to introduce new bills approaches, the legislature has seen an enormous influx of bills pertaining to everything from maternity centers to education in critical thinking skills! With several new resolutions and the upcoming Raise the Nation Rally, this week has seen considerable excitement!

Resolutions this week!

Resolution with Texas

Representative Procter is heading up a resolution affirming Kansas' stance with the Governor of Texas. This resolution would support Texas's right to defend its borders and combat illegal immigration. It also encourages Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to offer the use of the Kansas National Guard to state of Texas!

SR 1734 and HB 6034 - Resolution With Taiwan

On the Senate floor, an emergency adoption was requested and passed for SR 1734. On Thursday, the House also passed this Resolution, HR 6034: a resolution reaffirming the ties that have existed between Kansas and Taiwan as sister states since 1989.

Follow Up

HB 2567, which sets up the EMERGE program to pay tuition and fees for members of the national guard pursuing master's degrees, had its hearing on Tuesday in the Committee on Education.

HB 2284, which would relieve taxes for citizens of Kansas, including the 310,00+ who would no longer have to pay income tax, was vetoed by Govenor Kelly last Friday, January 26. The bill has since been returned to the House for override.

House Bills

HB 2613 - Drug Abuse Resistance Education

HB 2613 changes current legislation to provide for an educator for the statewide drug abuse resistance education (D.A.R.E.) program. The educator will use the D.A.R.E. curriculum to educate public school students across the state on the effects of opioids such as fentanyl. In order to provide for such education, a drug abuse resistance education fund will be added to the state treasury, and money will be transferred to the D.A.R.E. fund from Kansas endowment for youth fund. HB 2613 will have its hearing on Thursday in the Committee on Education.

HB 2592 and SB 394 - Internet Age Restrictions for Minors

Both HB2592 and SB 394 penalize pornographic websites for failing to verify that their users are at least eighteen years old. The bills require that websites containing sexual material with no educational value use a verification program to protect minors from their content. While the manner of verification is flexible, the consequences of failure are clear: a violation may result in an investigation by the attorney general and a fine of up to 10,000 dollars–in addition to injunctive relief. Both hearings will take place on Wednesday in the Committee on Judiciary.

HB 2580 - Children in Need of Care

On Wednesday, two committees heard from the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) about the foster care system and those it protects.

In some ways, things seem to be improving for Kansas's foster children. In the hearings, DCF noted that efforts to keep kids with their families have resulted in a decrease in the number of youth in foster care. Graduation rates among fostered youth have increased by 5.3%, and more kids now participate in mental health programs. Good news, right?

Not completely. What the DCF did not say was that the increase of foster kids in mental health programs is due to a requirement–not a desire to heal. HB 2580 addresses this issue, among others.

The bill defines several key concepts: including mental health treatment for the child and the definition of what a parent is. Essentially, the bill grants the state parenthood status for neglected children, and thus, the actual parents or guardians of the child do not need to be notified of the child's mental screening until after the fact–when they can no longer intervene.

With over 50 kids missing at any given point and kids sleeping in offices last year, the DCF, and the state of Kansas, needs to make helping and supporting children in foster care a top priority.

HB 2478 - Maternity Centers as Healthcare Providers

HB 2478 had its hearing on Wednesday in the Committee on Insurance. The bill classifies maternity centers as healthcare providers for insurance purposes. Should it pass, this bill will simplify expenses for mothers who wish to use a birthing center!

Senate Bills

SB 15 - Tax Credit to Employers

On Wednesday, the conference committee report for SB 15 was passed by both the House and the Senate. This bill assigns a tax credit for certain purchases from qualifying vendors who employ disabled persons. Additionally, SB 15 creates a grant program which ensures that employers can pay their employees at least minimum wage.

SB 331 - Public Water Supply Systems and Hazardous Waste

On Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 331, and the bill has since been received and introduced in the House. SB 331 proposes updates to state hazardous waste laws and public water supply systems laws. Should it be enacted, the bill will prohibit the use of any pipe containing lead in public water supply systems, among other amendments.

SB 401 - Education on Critical Thinking

As we all know, our public-school curriculum has deteriorated significantly. However, SB 401 seeks to counter that decline by implementing education on critical thinking in classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Such an education would better prepare students to decipher news, engage in civic activities, make decisions, choose employment, and engage in many other ordinary–or extraordinary–activities!

SB 409 - Discrimination

On Monday, SB 409 was introduced, and it was referred to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs the following day. This bill relates to the Kansas act against discrimination. SB 409 would prohibit any county or city legislation from changing the classes of people protected from discrimination.

SB 417 - Eminent Domain of Parks and Wildlife

SB 417 proposes taking away the power of eminent domain given to wildlife and parks. The bill was introduced on Monday and then referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Tuesday.

SB 429 - Food Sales Tax

While the Republicans are still working to get our largest tax relief bill, HB 2284, past the governor's veto, additional efforts have been made toward the same goal through smaller bills, such as SB 429. Should it be passed, SB 429 would reduce the state tax rate on food and food ingredients to 0% from April 1, 2024, going forward.

Upcoming Topics

HB 2653 / SB 425 - Child Support for the Unborn/The Unborn Child Protection Act

Early this week, twin bills SB 425 and HB 2653 were introduced by Senator Renee Erickson and Representative Howell in the Senate and House respectively. These two bills tackle abortion from a different angle: requiring child support for children from the date of conception. This serves two purposes:

Requiring child support for the unborn acknowledges that the fetus is, indeed, a child in need of care.
Such support would provide for the immediate medical expenses the mother faces due to her pregnancy and, thus, remove one more incentive to abort.

The maximum amount of child support for the unborn would not exceed necessary medical and pregnancy expenses of the mother. Such support could not be used for an elective abortion.

HB 2523 - A bill on Transportation

Farm licensed teenagers would be able to drive to religious activities.

HB 2652 - Our US Motto

In HB 2652 we will see the requirement of the national motto to be displayed in every public building!

Raise the Nation Rally

We are excited about the Raise the Nation Rally today at 1 p.m.! The rally will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Wichita Airport at 2098 S Airport Rd. Wichita, Ks. 67209. We will hear from a variety of speakers, including US Representative Ron Estes, US Senator Roger Marshall, KS Senator Ty Masterson, KS House Speaker Representative Dan Hawkins, KS Senator Rene Erickson, Brittany Jones with Kansas Family Voice, Elizabeth Patton with Americans for Prosperity, and more! The rally is hosted by Kansas Family Voice and Americans for Prosperity. Be sure to come out and lend your support! If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so at Kansas family voice events. We hope to see you all there!

Monday Night Meeting

We are looking forward to our meeting on Monday night, February 5th at 5 p.m.. We will meet in David Kensinger's office on the fifth floor of 825 S. Kansas. Our guest speaker this week will be Erik Turek from the Kansas Department of Insurance and will be talking about our Insurance Commissioners agenda. We will see you then!