Troy L. Waymaster
State Representative, 109th Kansas House
On Thursday, January 23, House Leadership announced five new pieces of legislation, called the “Make Kansas Work Plan.” The first bill would be the creation of an “Innovation Fund,” which would be used as grants to rural communities in order to innovate, preserve, and right-size healthcare in rural Kansas.
The second bill, the “First-Time Home Buyer Act,” creates an income tax deductible savings account to individuals in Kansas for purhcasing their first home. With these accounts, Kansans would be able to put money in savings so their children and grandchildren could afford to buy a home and live in Kansas.
The third is the “Reducing Taxes on Seniors: Social Security Exemption.” This would raise the social security exemption for seniors from $75,000 to $100,000 for state income taxes.
Next is the “Target Employment Act,” which would provide for integrated work areas to pay at least minimum wage and benefits for full-time employees regardless of a disability. This Act would provide a $4 an hour tax credit for employers and a $6 an hour credit for work brought back to Kansas from overseas.
The final bill, the “Kansas Promise Act,” provides a scholarship for any Kansas high school graduate to attend a Kansas trade school, technical college, or a community college with a focus on one of the ten high need areas of labor in the state of Kansas.
Constitutional Amendment
A joint hearing between the House Federal and State Affairs and the Senate Judiciary committees was held Tuesday, January 21, on House Concurrent Resolution 5019 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 1613. Both resolutions would amend the Kansas Constitution to reserve the right to regulation of abortion to the people of Kansas through their elected state representatives and senators.
These resolutions derived from a response from the Kansas Supreme Court, stating there is a right to an abortion in the Kansas state constitution. The testimony, both proponent and opponent, to the resolutions lasted for two days.
Both resolutions were passed out by these respective committees with no amendments and have been sent to the House and Senate floors for debate. It is anticipated that we will debate this constitutional amendment within the next week. The current language states that the people of Kansas would vote on this amendment in the August primary.
Transportation: The New Plan “Forward”
On Tuesday, January 21, the House Appropriations Committee conducted an informational hearing with the Department of Transportation. The Secretary of Transportation, Julie Lorenz, detailed the current system and the introduction of the new ten- year transportation plan, also known as “Forward.”
She explained to the committee that our current transportation infrastructure is the fourth largest in the nation with a total of 142,046 miles of public roads. The department also administers other facets of transportation, such as transit, aviation, and rail.
The Secretary then unveiled the components and goals of this new transportation plan, namely the completion of the delayed projects from the current transportation plan, T-WORKS.
This new transportation plan was outlined to be flexible and responsive, problem-solving for our infrastructure, and leverage partnerships. The main goals will be safer roads, economic growth, and more options for Kansans and resources for our communities. At this time, however, there has not been a bill formally introduced to the legislature for “Forward.”
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]. Also, if you happen to visit the statehouse, please let my office know.
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to 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.
My family and I wish all of you a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2020!