<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1581353884625.jpeg" alt="Sen. Rick Billinger (R-Goodland, 40th Dist." />
 <figcaption>Sen. Rick Billinger (R-Goodland, 40th Dist.</figcaption>
 </figure>Since Thursday was the last day for non-exempt bills
to be heard by the full Senate, last week’s floor action was jam-packed. The
Senate passed a total of 56 bills last week. The bills covered a wide range of
Kansas topics including protecting women and children from human trafficking,
providing funding for at-risk school children, holding DCF accountable for the
educational outcomes of foster care children, and allowing sports wagering in
Kansas-just to name a few.In the Ways and Means Committee we are in the process
of working on the Senate budget. The Governor chose not to fund many of the
enhancement requests from DCF and KDADS in her budget. It is very disturbing to
me that the Governor has again in this budget neglected the most vulnerable
Kansans including the children in our foster care system. One of the bills
passed by the Senate was SB384, which will require DCF to provide
information to the legislature, which will hopefully help to improve our foster
care outcomes. This bill was amended and will require the Kansas State
Department of Education (KSDE) and the Department of Children and Families
(DCF) to prepare an annual academic report card on educational outcome data for
foster care students. The bill would require the following data for foster care
students to be included in the academic report card: graduation rate; number
and percentage promoted to the next grade level; number and percentage
suspended during the school year; number and percentage expelled during the
school year; state standardized assessment scores and number and percentage
meeting academic standards; number enrolled in preschool-aged-at-risk programs;
Kansas Preschool Pilot program, or early childhood special education program
under the federal individuals with Disabilities Act; total number of foster
care students in the state; and how many students are enrolled in school
districts and how many are enrolled in accredited nonpublic schools. We
continue to have many missing foster care children and we are still receiving
reports of foster children sleeping on the office floors. Hopefully this bill
will start to address some of the unanswered questions.Several other bills of interest that were passed last week were:* SB271 will repeal the sunset provision for the
high-density at-risk weighting.*SB294 would establish in 2021, new notice and public
hearing requirements for certain taxing subdivisions prior to property tax
increases above a revenue-neutral rate and is intended to provide transparency
in tax increases for Kansans. This is a similar bill that has been used in Utah
for 20 years. The bill would not apply to school districts or to any taxing
subdivisions receiving less than $5,000 annually in property taxes. This bill
also removes the tax lid.*SB345 establishes requirements for the effective
disposal of industrial hemp.*SB295 would provide that the appraised value of real
property would not be increased solely as a result of normal repair,
replacement or maintenance of existing improvements on the property.It is an honor and pleasure to serve the 40th
Senate District of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email at <a href="mailto:rick.billinger@senate.ks.gov">rick.billinger@senate.ks.gov</a> or you may call me with your questions or concerns.
My office number is 785 296-7399 or my cell number is 784 899-4700. If you are
in Topeka, stop by my office at 236-E.

BILLINGER: Senate Update March 2