TOPEKA
February 25, 2022
Floor Action in the House
This week in the House of Representatives we debated nearly forty bills before we adjourned for the midpoint of the session, commonly referred to as Turnaround. This is the time during session where we pass many bills out of the House and forward those bills to the Senate.
Here is a list of some of the bills that we debated this week in the House:
House Bill 2456 would establish the Kansas kids lifetime combination of hunting and fishing licenses. This bill passed 117 to 4 and I voted, “yes.”
House Concurrent Resolution 5022 proposes a constitutional amendment that would require a sheriff to be elected in each county. This resolution passed with a vote of 97-24. I voted, “yes.”
With cotton starting to be grown more in the state of Kansas, we needed to create the Kansas Cotton Boll Weevil program. The creation of the program is in House Bill 2559. It would levy an assessment on cotton produced in Kansas and it would also monitor and mitigate the risk of boll weevils. This bill passed the House, 83-37, and I voted, “yes.”
House Bill 2386 establishes requirements for the payment and reimbursement of dental services through a dental benefit plan. This bill passed the House with a vote of 118-3. I voted in favor of this bill.
We will return from Turnaround on March 1, 2022.
Appropriations Committee
Due to the time that was spent on the House Floor debating bills, this week in Appropriations we only met on Monday morning. We did have the recommendations from the House Social Services Budget Committee regarding the budgets of the state hospitals for mental health and the state hospitals for intellectual disabilities.
When we return on Tuesday, March 2, we will continue to deliberate budgets for the state of Kansas budget. Those budgets that we will discuss are the Kansas Department of Revenue, Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Water Office. We will also hold hearings on House Bills 2588 and 2592 and these bills are the bills we will use when constructing the budget for the state of Kansas.
Bills, Bills, and More Bills
As I mentioned before, we debated nearly forty bills this week. Here are details of some of the other bills that we discussed:
House Bill 2595 makes certain antique vehicle titling procedures applicable to vehicles having a model year of 1960 or later instead of 1950 or later. This bill passed, 121-0.
House Bill 2574 establishes a time limitation for awarding compensation for mental health counseling and increases certain compensation amounts by the Crime Victims Compensation Board. This bill passed, 121-0.
House Bill 2567 overall decreases registration and title fees on vehicles for services performed by county treasurers. It also decreases certain fees with the Division of Vehicles. More importantly, which was added as an amendment, it eliminates the $4 Modernization Fee that one has been paying when titling their vehicle. This bill passed, 114-6.
House Bill 2594 exempts certain modifications that have been made to antique vehicles from vehicle identification number offenses, seizures and dispositions. The vehicle can be seized if the owner knows or has reason to know that the vehicle was stolen. This bill derives from a case where the Kansas Highway Patrol seized a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette from an innocent owner and they will not release the vehicle back to him. The bill passed the house, 120-0.
Contact Information
Anytime that one would like to participate and listen to the developments of committee hearings or discussion on the House floor, one can tune in by listening to the audio footage at www.kslegislature.org.
As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, follow on twitter at @waymaster4house, or email me at [email protected]. Please contact me regarding any issues and legislation that we are discussing during session.
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.
Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, is the Kansas House Appropriations Chairman and 109th District state representative which includes:
* Osborne, Russell, and Smith Counties
* Barton County: Cities: Albert, Claflin, Galatia, Odin, Olmitz and Susank; Townships: Beaver, Cheyenne, Clarence, Cleveland, Fairview, Grant, Independent, Logan, Union, Walnut and Wheatland
* Jewell County: Cities:Burr Oak, Esbon and Mankato; Townships: Athens,Browns Creek, Burr Oak, Calvin, Center,Erving, Esbon, Harrison, Highland, Holmwood, Ionia, Limestone, Odessa,Walnut and White Mound
* Lincoln County: Cities: Lincoln Center(part) and Sylvan Grove; Townships: Battle Creek, Beaver(part), Cedron, Elkhorn(part), Golden Belt, Grant, Hanover, Highland, Indiana, Marion, Orange, Pleasant, Valley and Vesper
* Rush County: Cities: Bison, Otis, Rush Center and Timken; Townships: Banner,Center,Garfield, Illinois, Lone Star, Pioneer and Pleasantdale