OMNIBUS SESSION

Veto session began with Governor Sebelius giving a press conference just as lawmakers were preparing for our wrap up session. She declared there was no middle ground on giving Western Kansas the opportunity for economic development and needed energy that would prevent them from importing expensive alternatives from other states.

The Capitol has been very crowded with lobbyists who are concerned about the final products of legislation for the year. Many were wearing T-shirts with slogans or bill numbers on them. Some of them were on opposing sides of the issues which made for an interesting mix of individuals meeting in the hallways.

As with the rest of session, the Holcomb Power Plants were on nearly everyone’s mind. The leadership from both chambers had devised a trailer bill trying to appease legislators from the Kansas City area who will also soon be facing a need for additional power. The new bill would allow the public utilities company from Wyandotte County to own or purchase power from the new plant in Western Kansas. That bill passed with ease in both chambers but fails to be effective if the Holcomb bill did not pass. We worked and passed several conference reports but, as of Friday, the health care issue for the state is still up in the air, as well as final action on illegal immigration and many other issues.

VETERANS

The House passed an expansion of revenue from the veterans’ lottery ticket. The revenue from the game will go to help veteran’s programs in Kansas. Veterans who are thirty percent disabled will also qualify for free hunting licenses for life. The bill also addressed working toward mobile units that will visit all areas of the state when the funds are available.

BUDGET LIGHT??

After being briefed on the gloomy outlook of the future economy for Kansas and learning that the revenue estimates had come back to re-enforce that skepticism, we went on to work the final budget of the year. A commitment had been made by the leadership that we would keep the increase of the budget under 5% to be fiscally responsible. That commitment lasted until the first amendment. As always, the budget was porked up to the point of being fiscally irresponsible. When it came time to pass out the bloated budget, there was great reluctance to do so. It did, however, pass without my support. I did not vote to make it irresponsible and did not support the action of those who did.

SCHOOL FUNDING

A school funding bill which seemed to have a poisoned pill for everyone passed out as well. It encourages more consolidation; gives more opportunities for medium sized schools, expands busing programs, and continues to irritate Johnson County legislators who feel that too much of their money supports rural schools. The dilemma is the fact it was the only opportunity to address funding issues in the future.

END OF COAL EXPANSION??

After several hours of arm twisting, the needed votes for allowing the expansion of the Holcomb plants could not be found in the House. It was a disappointing day because it felt like lots of time and energy was wasted with no results. The results will obviously be increased energy rates for everyone and very little opportunity for expansion of industry in Kansas.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In fact, the loss of energy-intensive manufacturing industries like steel as a consequence of climate change legislation would cost millions of Americans their jobs, damage our economy and threaten our national security.” Jim Slattery