2022 Senate Scene Week 4 and 5
February 14, 2022
SENATE HAPPENINGS
TOPEKA - Last week, the Senate standing committees continued to hold hearings and bring forward legislation after a short week last week due to the weather which moved across the state. The Ways and Means Committee is starting to work the budget bill with subcommittee meetings to report to the full committee in a few weeks.
SNAPSHOT OF THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE 2022
The Kansas Senate consists of forty Senators – twenty-nine Republicans, eleven Democrats with sixteen women and twenty-four men. Eleven Senators live in cities of 100,000+ population, eleven with 20,000 to 100,000, six with 5,000-20,000 and six with 2,000-5,000 and six with 0-2,000. The Kansas House of Representatives consists of one-hundred twenty-five members with eighty-six Republicans and thirty-nine Democrats with thirty-three women and ninety-two men.
Senate Floor Action
SB 355 - AD ASTRA 2 MAP
Late last week, Governor Kelly vetoed the legislation containing the Ad Astra 2 Congressional Map. This week, the legislature overrode her veto (27- 11) thus making the map law.
Highlights of the map include:
The map only splits four counties. Pawnee, Douglas, Jackson and Wyandotte are the only split counties on the new map. Both Douglas and Wyandotte are primarily divided along natural and geographic barriers such as highways and rivers. Marshall County would be entirely in the First District. The First District contains both University of Kansas and Kansas State University, which have aligned goals, returning them to the same Congressional district. The Second District includes several military installations, including Ft. Riley, Ft. Leavenworth, Forbes Field, and the Kansas National Guard. The Third District keeps Johnson County together, blending the Kansas City suburbs with nearby bedroom communities. The Fourth District includes Wichita and surrounding communities. Also, Indian Reservations are kept wholly within Congressional districts.
A few historical facts on maps over the decades: the 3rd Congressional District for instance, has had the following shifts over time:
Mid-1960s – 5 districts – Anderson County was in CD 3
1973-1982 – 5 districts – Wyandotte County was split, and Franklin County was in CD 3
1983-1992 – 5 districts – All of Miami County was included in CD 3
1993-2002 – 4 districts – All of Miami County was included in CD 3, Douglas County split
2003-2013 – 4 districts – Douglas County split, City of Lawrence split
Some citizens have asked about the process of drawing the 3rd District. Because of population shifts in the last decade, placing Wyandotte County and Johnson County both completely within the 3rd District was not possible. The decision was made to keep Johnson County whole, which then necessitated dividing Wyandotte County. The Kansas River and I-70 provided a natural and geographic barrier, so people within Wyandotte County would easily understand which Congressional district they resided in. The resulting population shift resulted in then adding Miami, Franklin, and Anderson Counties, followed by minor adjustments to bring the deviation between districts to 0. The Ad Astra 2 map keeps all four members of Congress within their districts and all four members of Congress would have still won in 2020. In addition, the results for President in 2020 and Governor in 2018 would not have been different in any of the four districts.
SB 347 – APEX – Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion Act
Last week, the House and Senate both adopted the finalized version of the state’s new Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion (APEX) economic growth plan with the Governor signing on February 10th. The final APEX Plan includes important oversight components, including by the State Finance Council. The initial target of the incentive package is a $4.0 billion manufacturing project that would employ over 4,000 people and be one of the most significant private sector investments in Kansas history. It would establish new economic development incentives targeted at specific industries that agree to invest at least $1.0 billion within the State of Kansas. The APEX Act also targets incentives at the suppliers involved in the APEX project. The APEX Program would be under the purview of the Secretary of Commerce for the purpose of attracting large capital investments in new facilities and operations by businesses engaged in specified industries and encouraging the development of Kansas-based supply chains. To help drive taxes down for all who do business in Kansas, an important provision of the bill would lower the corporate income tax by .5% per project with a cap of two. Finally, the bill has claw-back provisions in case the company relocates outside of the state in the 11th through 15th years following the year the manufacturer entered into the agreement with the state. The sunset of the program is on March 31, 2024, to ensure that the full legislature reviews the provisions of the APEX Act in just two years.
SB 329 amends law in order to make the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings program compliant with the federal Internal Revenue Code and mandatory federal regulations. The program allows individuals with a disability and their families to save private funds without violating federal means tested benefit requirements. SB 329 passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 330 would place a permanent memorial honoring Kansas Gold Star families on the Statehouse grounds. “Gold Star families” are families who have lost a family member in the line of military duty. SB 330 passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 358 would allow financing from the Public Water Supply Loan Fund (PWSLF) for public water supply projects that acquire water through a water transfer. SB 358 passed the Senate 40-0.
HB 2005 amend provisions of law related to the Boiler Safety Act. The bill would increase the maximum nominal water capacity of an exempt hot water supply boiler to 120 gallons from the current maximum of 85 gallons. HB 2005 passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 327 would exclude delivery charges that are separately stated on an invoice or similar document from the sales price for purposes of retail sales and compensating use tax. SB 327 passed the Senate 40-0.
Sub for SB 300 would amend definitions in the Kansas Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (Kansas RICO Act). The bill would add to the definition of “covered person” a person who has engaged in identity theft or identity fraud. This will be a useful tool for Unemployment fraud which we witnessed last year and continues to be an issue. Sub for SB 300 passed the Senate 40-0.
SB 346 would allow for the on-farm retail sale of milk or milk products, regulate the labeling and advertising of such products, extend the sunset date for certain milk and dairy license fees. SB 346 passed the Senate 38-0-2.
HB 2109 would amend the statute governing membership of the State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services (BIDS) to raise the population threshold from 100,000 to 115,000 for a county to automatically qualify for a lawyer member of BIDS. HB 2109 passed the Senate 35-5.
Local Award-Winning Students from Senate District 36
Congratulations to Olivia Richardson, Marysville, and Katelyn Binder, Beloit, as essay winners for the League of Kansas Municipalities “My City, My Home” essay contest. Olivia, Marysville Jr/Sr High School, was the Northeast region winner and Katelyn, Beloit Jr/Sr High School, was the North Central region winner.
Congratulations to Dreyton Hughes, Phillipsburg High School, who was chosen the 11th Grade KDHE Bureau of Waste Management "Keep It Clean Kansas" Calendar Winner. If you would like a copy of the yearly KDHE Calendar – call Randi in our office and we will mail you a copy.
As always, I’ll keep you updated on the activities of the Senate while we continue through the last few weeks before turn-around. I always encourage you to stay informed of the issues under consideration by the Kansas Legislature. Committee schedules, bills, and other helpful information can be easily accessed through the legislature’s website at www.kslegislature.org. You are also able to ‘listen in live’ at this website. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. An email is the best at this point in the session.
Thank you for the honor of serving you!
Senator Elaine Bowers
Kansas State Capitol Building
Room 223-E
300 SW 10th St.
[email protected]
785-296-7389
www.kslegislature.org
Elaine Bowers, R-Concordia, is senator of the 36th District in Kansas which includes:
* Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Republic, Rooks, Russell, Smith and Washington Counties
* Marshall County: Cities: Blue Rapids, Marysville, Oketo and Waterville; Townships: Blue Rapids, Blue Rapids City, Cottage Hill, Elm Creek, Herkimer, Logan, Marysville, Oketo, Walnut and Waterville
* Phillips County: Cities: Agra, Glade, Kirwin and Phillipsburg; Townships: Arcade, Bow Creek, Crystal Deer Creek, Freedom, Glenwood, Greenwood, Kirwin, Phillipsburg, Plum, Rushville, Solomon(part), Sumner, Valley and Walnut