TOPEKA
February 22, 2022
Floor Action in the House
Last week in the House of Representatives, we debated five bills and one resolution. All of the bills passed out of the House and will now go to the Senate. Here are some details of those bills and resolution.
On Tuesday, we debated three bills. The first two bills were in regards to financial institutions.
House Bill 2489 makes several changes to the Technology-enabled Fiduciary Financial Institutions Act and changes the definition of “financial institution” to require the reporting of abuse, extortion, or neglect of certain individuals by fiduciary financial institutions.
Senate Bill 337 retroactively codifies a conditional charter of Beneficient to a full fiduciary financial instituion as of Decemeber 31, 2021.
House Bill 2591 is a bill that I introduced which is clarifying language to allow for the combination of the two oil and gas abandoned well funds into only one fund. There was conflicting language that needed to be addressed.
House Bill 2560 would provide for the re-authorization of certain penalties and fees relating to the Pesticide and Fertilizer and Water Appropriations Programs with the Kansas Department of Agriculture. These penalties and fees are currently scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2023.
We have been working diligently in the House to debate many bills because at the conclusion of this week we will be at Turnaround, which is the halfway point of the 2022 Legislative Session.
Appropriations Committee
The House Appropriations Committee is still diligently analyzing the budgets that are being reported from the budget committees. Some of the budgets that we were briefed on were the Department of Commerce, Department of Wildlife and Parks, Kansas State Fair, Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs, Board of Nursing, and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
On Thursday, we had an informational hearing with the university presidents for Washburn University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Emporia State University, Pittsburgh State University and the Chancellor for the University of Kansas. They described the initiatives for the next few years for their respective universities.
House Bill 2662
I have received many calls and emails last week regarding an education bill that had a hearing in the House K-12 Education Budget Committee. This particular bill is House Bill 2662 and it would establish the Parents’ Bill of Rights and Academic Transparency Act.
This act would do many different things, including that every parent in the state of Kansas would have the right to direct the upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health of the parent’s child.
Each school district would be required to develop and adopt policies to guarantee a parent’s right to be involved in a child’s education. This policy would be developed in consultation with parents, teachers, and school administrators.
The school districts would also be required to establish an internet- based transparency tool, the “Parent Transparency Portal,” that is displayed on the district’s and each school’s website.
This bill also recommends parameters for a parental review of reading material that may be offered in the school library.
I have only touched on the highlights of the bill and in my opinion, this is big government oversight and would need many changes for me to support it. If you would like to read more of House Bill 2662, it can be found at www.kslegislature.org.
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