Representative Marti Crow Kansas House of Representatives 41st District Home | Biography | Committees | Newsletters | Links | District Information | Email

2000 LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS
 

Budget Shortfall Continues	Senior Trust Fund Created
Major Corrections Bill Passes Without Better Pay For Officers	Veterans Memorials
Health Care Reform Baby Steps	KPERS Legislation
Public School Legislation	Business Legislation
Ethics Legislation	What Did Not Happen
Open Records Law Strengthened	Contact Information

The 2000 Legislative session was clouded by the $73.4 million shortfall in revenue at the end of fiscal year 1999.  The 2000 session’s first bill was a measure cutting $65 million from the 1999 budget.

The fiscal year 2000 budget totals $8.9 billion.  Part of that spending will be at the expense of stopping for five quarters the state’s contribution to state and local employees’ death & disability fund.  Few cuts in spending were made, although a notable one was a $350,000 cut to Meals On Wheels nutrition programs for senior citizens

The session closed with funding of important items, like prescription drug assistance to needy senior citizens and special education money for public schools, contingent on money that may or may not become available from the federal government.

Demand transfers, taxes collected at the state level which are supposed to be shared with local city and county governments, were drastically cut, which is likely to result in increased local property taxes as local officials scramble to maintain necessary services.

I  have cosponsored legislation for three years to require the state to use a portion of any budget surpluses to pay down state debt.  Instead, the debt load, which was nearly $1 billion at the beginning of the 2000 session, was increased substantially.   Debt service is expensive and I am disappointed that the Legislature failed to pay down debt when there were revenue surpluses.

The budget shortfall in a strong economy is the result of government living beyond its means. Predictions are that next fiscal year will again find our state in the red, one of only four states in the nation with financial woes in boom times.  Accounting wheeling and dealing must be replaced with sound financial planning and responsible budget management.

As the Kansas penal system becomes increasingly crowded, the Legislature passed a measure this session which places more convicted felons into community programs and county jails, rather than state prisons.  Instead of adding 256 new cells at El Dorado, post release supervision is reduced and probation violators must be sent to community corrections programs.

Offenders will be supervised at three day reporting centers, in Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City.  $1.6 million is included to fund community corrections and probation programs.  It is estimated that 774 fewer offenders will go to prison each year.  The question is:  although this measure may slow the prison building, do we compromise community safety in the process?

We are still going to build some prison space.  The same piece of legislation authorized $6.2 million for 100 new prison beds in Ellsworth, and $4.4 million in bonds for rehabilitation and new construction of prison facilities in Topeka, and repair of the fire damage at the Lansing prison.

The funding package requested by the Secretary of Corrections to address salary deficiencies was not passed, although our delegation tried all session to persuade the Legislature to do so.  Pay and benefits for our corrections officers are falling further and further behind other state and local law enforcement personnel, a situation which has created recruiting and retention problems at Kansas state prisons and led to excessive overtime and understaffing , putting our neighbors who work in the prisons, and us, at risk

A senior prescription drug program could help about 3000 Kansans who are over 67 with an income of $12,525 or less.  Unfortunately the program does not start until summer 2001, and it is contingent upon receipt of federal nursing home funds, a promise without substance which fails to address a serious problem for senior citizens with chronic drug needs.

Prompt pay legislation was passed in the closing hours of the session to require health insurance companies to pay medical providers within 30 days after a claim is made.  A new law prohibits sale of fetal tissue for profit.

No action was taken on several health insurance reform bills, including measures to allow women to name their OB/GYN as their primary care physician, to require coverage for osteoporosis screening, to require coverage for a second opinion when cancer is diagnosed, and to require coverage for mental health diagnosis and treatment.

A bright spot is legislation which should provide health insurance to low wage employees of small businesses.  The Kansas Business Health Partnership will combine state and federal subsidies with employer and employee contributions to make affordable health insurance.

Three fourths of us are provided health insurance either as a benefit of employment or government entitlement.  One-tenth of us buy our own insurance and a whopping 16% have no health insurance.
 

The Legislature increased base budgets by $50/student for the third year.  Although the increase is barely half of the inflation rate, it was difficult to pass.  Most other proposals to enhance funding or improve student learning fell by the wayside.  I made several unsuccessful attempts to pass another year of correlation weighting, which addresses funding inequities suffered by Leavenworth County schools.

Special education funding is partly contingent upon the state receiving federal nursing home funding.  Since 1990, there has been a 29% increase in the number of students with disabilities, partly due to deinstitutionalization of children with mental and physical disabilities.  Federal law prescribes staffing levels, so special education staff has increased as well.

If school districts do not receive special education funding from the state, they must transfer funding for regular school programs and services because special education is a mandate.  A bill in Congress, the IDEA Full Funding Act,  would require federal funding for federal special education mandates, which would bring $16 million to Kansas schools.

During the next school year, school districts must conduct background checks on new employees.  The checks will cost districts $41.  Persons convicted of certain serious crimes will not be eligible for employment.

School boards may establish programs for experienced teachers to mentor new instructors, with a $1000 stipend for their work.  Teachers who receive National Board Certification can also receive an $1000 annual stipend.

Funding for parent education programs and early childhood programs was increased.

For School Safety Hotline, Call 1-800-626-8203

Lobbyists have been required to report what they spend lobbying for specific clients.  Now their report must include any gift, entertainment or hospitality provided to a legislator or member of the judiciary or employees of legislative or judicial branches.  The report must name the recipient and amount expended.  State officials and candidates are prohibited from accepting hospitality worth more than $100 in a calendar year.  This provision is attempting to address lobbyists providing concert or sports event tickets, lodging and other amenities to legislators and other state officials.  The law was also changed to prohibit all executive branch employees from soliciting or accepting anything of value in their official capacity.

The law expands prohibitions on political contributions during the legislative session.  Elected officials and candidates and political party committees cannot solicit or accept contributions, except from individuals from Jan. 1 until the last day of the session in May.  Legislators cannot establish PACs.

The bill also enacts the Professional Services Sunshine Act, which requires the state to contract for professional services through a bidding process and provides for oversight of certain large legal contracts.  This provision is in response to the large legal fees connected with the state tobacco lawsuit and concern about the Attorney General’s office contracting with her former law firm.
 

The Legislature amended the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) to require governing bodies of every public agency in Kansas to designate a local "freedom of information officer" to prepare, distribute and display a brochure informing the public about their rights to open public records and procedures for accessing them, to assist the local government and public in resolving disputes about public records, and to respond to inquiries about public records.

The new law makes public entities subject to a civil penalty up to $500 for each violation if the governmental entity knowingly violates the KORA or intentionally fails to furnish information as required.  An action can be brought by the county attorney or the Kansas Attorney General, who have investigative powers to subpoena witnesses, take testimony under oath and other discovery techniques.  The public agency may be required to pay the attorney fees of the wronged party if the denial of access to public records is found by a court to be without a reasonable basis.

The KORA has many listed exceptions, instances when a record kept by a public agency is not open.  The new law sunsets all of the existing exceptions in five years.  One exception dealing with lists of contract bidders is repealed. In the future the Legislature must consider certain criteria prior to enacting new exceptions.  Any new exception would also sunset in five years.

Examples of exceptions which will sunset unless the Legislature takes action to prevent sunsetting is information about individual medical, psychiatric, and other treatment records; personnel records of employees or applicants for employment (salaries of public employees are open); identities of undercover agents.  If you are interested in the listed exceptions to KORA, they are found in the Kansas Statutes at K.S.A. 45-221.  I will be glad to provide a copy if you call my office.

Early in the 2000 legislative session, the Kansas Department of Aging found a way to possibly take advantage of a loophole in federal law to draw down additional federal funds, estimated at nearly $120 million in fiscal year 2001 and $100 million annually thereafter.  The money is intended to provide medical services for the poor and elderly.  In order to access the funding, Kansas must get approval for our plans for the money from the Federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).  The Legislature adjourned without assurance about receipt of the funds and several important items in the 2001 budget were made contingent upon the funds.

In preparation for accessing the funds, the Legislature created a Senior Trust Fund, similar to the Children's Trust Fund created in 1999 for funds from the tobacco settlement.  The purposes of the Senior Trust Fund is to reduce future state Medicaid costs, to help senior citizens avoid premature nursing home institutionalization, to improve the quality of care or quality of life for seniors receiving long term care in their homes or nursing facilities, and to fund the state senior pharmacy assistance program.

In May, after the Legislature adjourned, HCFA announced that it may change its regulations and funding formula because some states are not spending the money on health care.  HCFA is scheduled to consider the state's request for funds on June 23, which could be approval, denial, or just more questions.  If the funds are not available to Kansas in 2001, funds approved for special education and the new program to assist poor, elderly Kansans with prescription costs will be in jeopardy.

A new individual income tax "check-off"  will be on your Kansas tax return for tax years 2000 and 2001.  The idea is to provide funding from Kansans for the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.  The Kansas World War II Memorial Fund is created and all amounts you designate for contribution will be deposited there.  I co-sponsored a bill which would have provided $25,000 from Kansas in 2001 and $90,000 in 2002 and 2003, but that proposal was rejected by the 2000 Legislature.  The estimated cost to design, build and maintain the memorial is $100 million.  Our own former Senator Bob Dole is the national campaign chairman and our state and local community is forever indebted to our World War II veterans.  I hope Kansas can do more than an income tax check off.

The Kansas Legislature passed legislation which recognizes the Korean War Memorial in Wichita as an official Korean War Memorial of the State of Kansas.  The memorial will be dedicated by the Kansas Korean War Memorial Association on July 27, 2000.

The Legislature did not adopt the Governor's proposed one year freeze in the increased state contributions for state and school employees.  Since 1962, the state has underfunded the KPERS pension plan by $3.8 billion.  The fund has $10.7 billion presently.  In 1993, the Legislature passed a law requiring the state to increase its contribution rate each year to close this "unfunded liability" gap between the fund and its prospective liability to present and future state retirees. The law requires the state to increase 0.20% annually in order to reach the actuarial contribution rate by FY2004.

In 1998, state retirees received a cost of living adjustment of 3%, one of few COLAs for state retirees in recent years.  That COLA is to be paid by an increase in the state's contribution over the next 15 years.  The one year freeze would have allowed the state to freeze its KPERS contribution at the FY2000 level, accessing $12 million that is statutorily required for KPERS retirement to be used for general state government.  The proposed freeze only included state government; cities and counties were not excused from paying the scheduled increases to address the unfunded liability and COLA; state and local employees were not excused or relieved from making their full payment to KPERS from their salaries.

Even though the state ended up not cutting its KPERS contributions after a hard fought defensive battle by KPERS members, the state did freeze its contributions to the KPERS death and disability fund for five quarters, a 15 month "moratorium" on state and local government payments into the fund.  The state saved $26.4 million to use on general state government and local governments receive a $6.8 million break, which may offset some of the loss from the decrease in demand transfer funds.  State and local employees will not be allowed to suspend their contributions.  Supporters of the diversion of death and disability money claim that the fund has more than enough money to pay claims.  KPERS officials are concerned about the precedent set by diverting KPERS contributions into state general fund to balance the state budget..

I co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of KPERS pension funds to balance the state govemment's budget.  Assets of public retirement and death and disability systems are supposed to be held in trust to provide benefits for participants and beneficiaries.

State retirees will receive a bonus 13th check in the Fall, which will amount to about half of what a pensioner receives monthly.  Those $18.9 million cost of the bonus will be funded by part of the $30 million received this winter as part of a legal settlement of lawsuits.  The legislation which created the 13th check included a "poison pill" described by opponents as "death to COLAs" because a new requirement was added that the entire actuarial cost of future COLAs be paid during the fiscal year immediately following the COLA.

The extremely tight budget precluded business tax relief this year.  The good news is that no tax increases on business were passed.  The Legislature passed legislation which makes Kansas an "integrated plant" state for tax purposes.  Johnson County Water District #1 won a lawsuit over a Department of Revenue (KDOR) interpretation of statutory definitions of machinery and equipment.  The legislation provides rules for businesses to apply for refunds of overpayment of taxes due to the mistaken interpretation by KDOR.  Hearing officers in property tax appeals must provide a written explanation of their reasoning when they make a ruling.

The Streamlined Sales Tax for the 21st Century Act is the 2000 Legislature's response to the impact of internet and catalog sellers impact on main street merchants.  The Act permits the KDOR to enter discussions and pilot programs with other states regarding development of multi-state, voluntary, streamlined systems for sales and use tax collection and administration.  The goal is to end preferential tax treatment and resulting unfair advantage for remote sellers.

A new law makes it illegal to sell or distribute tobacco products that are labeled by the manufacturer not to be sold in the United States.  It also makes it illegal to alter a package of cigarettes by removing or obscuring any label, stamp or health warning.

In the area of workers compensation, no action was taken to alter the "exclusive remedy" principle, which limits lawsuits by employees injured in the workplace.  A push to allow lawsuits in instances when an employer's intentional or grossly negligent actions or omissions result in employee injuries was prompted by a grain elevator explosion in Wichita two years ago.  Compensation for employees killed in the workplace was increased, a marriage penalty was removed and employer's ability to demonstrate that drug use contributed to an injury was improved.

The Kansas Business Health Partnership was created to assist small businesses with health insurance for lower income employees.  The Partnership will develop and offer lower-cost health insurance to small employers.  It is a mechanism to combine federal and state subsidies with employer and employee contributions so that low and modest wage employees can afford health insurance coverage.

Kansas, Inc. will be establishing a working group to undertake a thorough examination of the state's areas of economic strength and weakness.  The goal is to propose strategies to enhance the state's economic development.  The study will also propose strategies to diminish the income disparities in Kansas.

The 2000 Legislative session ended without action taken on many bills that were introduced in 1999 and 2000:

• The Legislature took no action on a bill to allow slot machines at the Woodlands and tracks in Wichita and Pittsburg.
• No action was taken on a proposal to replace the KPERS defined benefit plan to a 401(k) type defined contribution plan.
• No agreement was reached on a law to ban partial birth abortions.
• A bill that would have created a “no call” list for people who don’t want telemarketing calls died without action.
• No action was taken concerning the State Board of Education.
• No action was taken on the Kansas minimum wage.

Dear Neighbors, The 2000 Kansas Legislature was a difficult session.  The dominant theme, I believe, was how little money the State of Kansas has to meet its current financial obligations.  I learned during my years on the School Board that the way to deal with tight budgets is to examine every program and prioritize.  In prioritizing, I ask what the impact of state funding will be on you, your small business, your working wages, your family and our schools and community.  I worked hard to maintain crucial  services for retirees and seniors, children, citizens and family with mental illness or disabilities, and community safety.  This session promoting improvement was less important than trying to stop harmful legislation from passing. I am proud and honored to represent you and work on your behalf in the Kansas House of Representatives. Don't hesitate to call me with concerns or questions.                                               Marti