Sen. Rick Billinger Newsletter
March 28, 2022
TOPEKA - Major work last week included the Senate adopting a budget that includes $22.8 billion in total spending for FY 2023, with a little over $9.0 billion coming from the state general fund. It retires substantial amounts of debt including paying off the $253.9 million for the KPERS layering payments, provides state employees a 5% pay increase, puts away $600.0 million into the rainy-day fund and leaves the state general fund with a healthy ending balance of nearly $360.0 million at the end of FY 2023.
The Kansas Senate completed a whirlwind three days of floor work at 1:30 a.m., in the overnight hours between Wednesday and Thursday. The legislature had a four-day break before returning on Monday, for a five-day week to complete the regular part of the 2022 legislative session. This week, the work will primarily consist of voting on conference committee reports, which are produced by conference committees working on ironing out differences between House and Senate versions of legislation. After the conclusion of the regular session, the legislature is scheduled to take a three week break before returning for the veto session in late April and early May.
This year, the primary duties of the legislature are to adopt the maps for the next decade, in addition to the constitutional requirement to pass a budget for the next fiscal year. My focus as chair of Ways and Means will be to negotiate this year’s budget with the House Appropriation conferees. There are approximately ten pages of differences between the two budgets passed in each chamber.
Last week, the Kansas Senate adopted HCR 5030, a resolution making certain findings regarding antisemitism, and adopting a definition of the term by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance or IHRA. The resolution states, the Jewish community continues to be targeted in the United States and is consistently the most likely of all religious groups to be victimized by incidents of hate. The Kansas Jewish Community has tragically experienced the hatred firsthand as it did on April 13, 2014, when three people lost their lives due to antisemitic attacks at the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City and the Village Shalom, both located in Overland Park.
Last week, the Kansas House adopted a new House map along with the Senate map approved by the Senate last week. These maps will be the new maps for the next ten years.
The Senate passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which simply ensures athletic teams or sports designated for women are reserved only for biological women. The bill will ensure an equal playing field for biological females so they can fairly participate in athletics due to the distinct physiological advantages held by biological males over biological females.
HCR 5022 was adopted by the Senate, which if approved by voters, would amend Article 9, Sections 2 and 5 of the Kansas Constitution to require County Sheriffs to remain elected if the county had not abolished the sheriff prior to January of this year, and would allow counties who abolished it (Riley County is the only one) to restore the elected Sheriff. The amendment is in response to a proposal to abolish the Sheriff in areas such as Johnson County.
In our system of government, it is the legislature which makes laws and administrative agencies then issue rules and regulations to implement the law. Too often in recent years, government subsequently have crossed the line into lawmaking, issuing rules and regulations which are in effect policy-making decisions that should be left up to elected officials who are accountable to the public. As a result, the Kansas Senate
followed the Kansas House in adopting HCR5014, which if approved by the voters, would amend the Kansas Constitution to allow legislative revocation or suspension of rules and regulations issued by the executive branch with a simple majority vote.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our Town Hall Meetings, the schedule is listed below.
I am honored and grateful to represent the 40th Senate District in Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email: [email protected] or call me with your questions or concerns, my office number is 785 296-7399 or my cell number is 785-899-4700. If you are in Topeka, stop by my office at 545-S.
Rick Billingr, R-Goodland, is the 40th District senator which includes:
Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, Trego and Wallace Counties
Phillips County: Cities: Logan, Long Island, Prairie View, Speed; Townships: Beaver, Belmont, Dayton, Granite, Logan,
Long Island, Mound, Plainview, Prairie View, Solomon(part) and Towanda