Terry L Calloway

Week Two – January 20th

The second week of the 2011 legislative session was rather brief due to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and another round of measurable snow in the capitol city. However, work continued as committees meet regularly to address issues and legislation. In the next week or two, bills will start to make their way out of committee and head to the House floor for debate and final vote. As always, I’ll keep you updated. Please stay involved and let me know your thoughts on the measures under consideration.

The main focus of this session is, and will continue to be, addressing the $550 million budget deficit and repairing the Kansas economy. Again this week, the focus of most topics ultimately revolved around the bottom line. The first step in dealing with the budget came with introduction of House Bill 2014 which includes Governor Brownback’s proposal to freeze the state budget for the 2011 fiscal year. The measure makes approximately $120 million in cuts and orders several funding transfers. If passed in its current form, HB 2014 would create a $35 million surplus for the State General Fund in FY 2011. Considerable thought, compromise and consideration must be taken while considering HB 2014 but my hope is the House acts quickly on this legislation so we can turn our focus to the additional budget issues that need our attention.

Reforming State Government

This week Governor Brownback and Lt. Governor Colyer with House and Senate leaders announced plans to address the financial problems facing Kansas by implementing structural reform to state government. Issues specifically targeted for restructuring are KPERS, Medicaid and a definition of suitability concerning education. These are each major tasks, so the Governor has split the list and handed each chamber an assignment.

The Senate was charged with addressing our public employee retirement system, KPERS. Currently, KPERS has an unfunded liability of $8 billion dollars. In terms of actuarial solvency, recent studies have shown Kansas to have the second worst state pension system in the United States, falling only behind Illinois. Pension programs nationwide have been hit hard but the stuttering economy has compounded our structural deficiencies within the system and will continue to do so unless substantive reform measures are taken to improve the stability of the pension fund.

Governor Brownback assigned the Kansas House of Representatives with defining the term ‘suitable education.’ Existing school finance law lacks clarity in this regard, and the Governor is asking us to determine what this term will define. It’s a decision that will have considerable impact on educational funding issues, and I anticipate it will be one of the most challenging issues we face this session. The Legislature has done its best to provide schools with equitable funding in a down economy and most of us in the legislature believe the taxpayers of Kansas want their tax dollars heading to the classroom and not the courtroom. I look forward to participating in this conversation, and I’m confident we’ll find a reasonable solution.

Lt. Governor Colyer has been tasked with the restructuring of the state’s Medicaid program. A doctor himself, Colyer will be working with a sub-cabinet to review and recommend reform proposals to improve the quality of care for Kansans on Medicaid, control the costs of Medicaid, and make long-term improvements on the quality of health and wellness of Kansans.

House Bill 2035

As your State Representative from District 3, I take great pride in being one of the 60 co-sponsors of this bill. It would be gratifying in my first term to see this Bill become Law that will protect the unborn.

House Bill 2035 was authored by Representative Lance Kinzer and already has over 60 co-sponsors in the House. The bill aims to restrict late term abortion procedures, expand parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions and strengthens the state’s partial birth abortion law to where it better aligns with tighter federal law. This particular measure is a combination of legislation passed during prior sessions that was vetoed by democratic governors Sebelius and Parkinson.

Key provisions of HB 2035:

• Requires a specific medical diagnosis for a late-term abortion to occur
• Requires women seeking abortions to be provided with information that states they procedure will terminate the life of a human being
• Allows for civil lawsuits against doctors who violate late-term abortion law
• Mandates additional reporting of sex abuse evidence on minors wanting an abortion
• Requires both parents of a minor to consent to an abortion if the minor comes from a stable home that shows no evidence of abuse
• Clarifies when courts can bypass parental consent requirements

House Bill 2039 – Smoking Ban

Introduced on Wednesday, HB 2039 removes the gaming floor exemption found in the current statewide smoking ban. The current statewide smoking ban allows smoking on the gaming floor of racetrack and gaming facilities. HB 2039 has been referred to the House Health and Humans Services Committee for consideration.

Voter Identification Legislation

Secretary of State Kobach has worked diligently with the Kansas House in order to pass Legislation that will restore the integrity of our election results by requiring voters to show a photo ID. Being 1 of the 35 co-sponsors for this piece of Legislation, I am hopeful that this Law will protect your right to vote as a citizen of this great state and move our election system to a higher level of security.

This week Secretary of State Kris Kobach announced his intention to introduce legislation that would require all voters to show photo identification before voting, require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and extend the power to prosecute alleged cases of voter fraud to the Secretary of State’s office. Titled the SAFE Act (Safe and Fair Elections Act), the measure has over 35 co-sponsors in the House and is expected to be passed and signed into law by Governor Brownback.

The measure would require Kansans to show a birth certificate, passport or other proof of citizenship when registering to vote. At the polls, voters would have to show government issued photo ID before casting their ballot. The Act would require voters who request an advance or mail-in ballot to include with the ballot application their driver’s license number or a photocopy of their ID.

Opponents argue the measure is a modern day poll tax that disenfranchises the disabled, poor and elderly. In response, current provisions in the bill allow low-income Kansans to get a free ID or birth certificate if they reside in a household with an annual income of 150 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $33,000 for a family of four). For residents over the age of 65, an expired driver’s license or photo ID can be used in lieu of a current form of photo ID.

Additional Information

On a side note, I have had many inquiries about the dismantling of the Arts Commission. Many constituents have taken the time to send an email with their concerns and I appreciate hearing from them. As of right now, the Commission is taking the steps to move to a 501 3C status and as updates become available about their eligibility to receive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, I will make sure to keep you in the loop.

I have also spent a good amount of time meeting with officials about the status of the Hwy 69 Project and you can be assured my top priority is to bring you some answers from Topeka. Even with the project at a stand- still, I have forwarded my concerns to the governor concerning the Right-Away purchase of the land & the limbo it has placed these land owners in. It is important that the state make their intentions or plans known soon so I can make this information available to you.

As always, I hope you are tracking the legislature’s work in Topeka and, if possible, take the time to visit this session. If you would like an individual meeting, I’d be happy to arrange one. In the meantime, I’m always anxious to hear your thoughts on how the issues discussed in Topeka affect you. Reliable feedback is very important in making sure I’m accurately representing my friends and neighbors here in the district. Please feel free to call 785-296-7677 or email Terry.Calloway@house.ks.gov and I’d be happy to discuss any topic you are interested in.

Thank you for the honor of serving you.

In service to Kansas,
Terry L. Calloway,
Kansas House of Representatives
District 3 Representative