Senator Rick Billinger Newsletter
February 20, 2023
The Ways and Means Committee and sub committees continues to work on the budget. We are working towards a goal to have the budget completed and ready for floor debate in the Senate on March 14, 2023.
The committee also held three hearings:
1. Dolly Parton imagination program for preschool children. This program would provide books to underage school children.
2. The second hearing was held on the KPERS funeral expense benefit payment, which is currently $4,000. With the passing of this legislation KPERS funeral expense benefit would increase to $6,000 per funeral. The funeral expense benefit has not been raised since 1993.
3. We also had a hearing on setting up a program for the universities deferred maintenance. The bill proposes one-time funding of $350M with a one-to-one match from the universities. Currently the universities have over $1.2 B in deferred maintenance. The current funding the universities receive comes from a portion of the 1 ½ mill from property taxes, which results in the universities receiving approximately $50M per year for deferred maintenance. This program will run for twelve years allowing enough time to complete all the current deferred maintenance. This one-time investment of $350M along with the one-to-one match and the current revenue share from the 1 ½ mill will fully fund the current deferred maintenance. The committee is working to include the community colleges and technical colleges in this deferred maintenance program. The program would provide $100,000 per school over the next ten years.
Some of the bills pasted out of the Senate this week were:
SB 73: Amends elements of the crimes of burglary and aggravated burglary to add domestic battery and violation of a protection order to the list of crimes that a person can have the intent to commit when they enter or remain in a location specified in the law. During the hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, law enforcement testified in favor of the legislation, saying it addresses a gap in the law that makes it difficult to prosecute certain offenders.
SB 106: Protects consumers by prohibiting fake air bags – which the bill defines as knowingly or intentionally manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, offering for sale, installing, or reinstalling a device intended to replace a supplemental restraint system component in a vehicle if the device is counterfeit, a nonfunctional airbag, or an object not designed in accordance with federal safety regulations for the make, model, and year of the vehicle.
SB 130: Requires certain license plates to have the motor vehicle county of registration identified on the plate.
On Thursday, the Senate passed SB116, a gun safety education bill that drew opposition from most Democrats. The bill would simply allow local school boards to provide firearm safety education programs.
SB 59 would designate the Thursday immediately preceding the third Monday in January of 2023 and in subsequent years as “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the Capitol.”
My office has March 6th available for 6th graders through high school to serve as a page. Working as a page in the Kansas Legislature is an excellent way to learn more about the legislative process. If your child is interested in coming to the Capitol for a day to page, please contact Donna at 785-296-7399.
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 is 785-899-4700. If you are in Topeka, stop by my office at 545-S.
Rick Billinger, R-Goodland, is senator of the 40th District 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