FEBRUARY 20, 2023
Hello from Topeka.
The end of the week is "turnaround," the first major legislative deadline of the session and signifies the movement of bills from their originating chamber to the other side of the rotunda. The House is scheduled for three full days this week, full of debate on the House floor.
“Turnaround” is the term used in the Kansas legislature to describe when all bills must be out of their house of origin, so all House bills must pass the House and be on their way to the Senate and vice versa in order to be considered during the remainder of the session.
We will be off for a few days then back at it next Wednesday, usually we would have a series of town hall meetings on these days but are postponing them a few days, so watch this column and other media outlets, as it looks like we will be holding these on an upcoming Saturday in the coming weeks.
Things have been speeding up this past week as we have been working to get bills out of committees. Here are some of the bills that passed on the house floor:
HB 2021 is a comprehensive fix to issues we have identified since our last overhaul of juvenile justice statutes. This bill expands juvenile justice funds to involve more youth, requires increased communication amongst state agencies, extends case and probation length limits, and creates a structured detention mechanism for violations.
HB 2027 - Creating a procedure to prevent distribution of a decedent's assets to a person charged with the felonious killing of the decedent until criminal proceedings are completed. This bill was championed by District 111 Representative Barb Wasinger. If a person is charged with felony murder, and they are also a beneficiary of the victim's estate, the alleged offender will no longer be able to claim those assets to post bail or defend themselves of the alleged crime.
HB 2060 – Establishing the special education and related services funding task force. This bill establishes the Special Education Funding Taskforce. The taskforce will examine our current special education funding formula and hold hearings to listen to the needs of experts and the public to recommend changes. I am proud to support this as a good step forward that allows us to carefully examine the issue at hand and find solutions that will provide meaningful change.
HB 2125 - Providing for charitable event permits and demonstration permits for body art services, authorizing cease and desist orders against unlicensed providers of body art services and requiring related administrative actions to be in accordance with the Kansas administrative procedure act and reviewable under the Kansas judicial review act. Under this bill, the Kansas State Board of Cosmetology can create, and issue charitable event permits and demonstration permits for "tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, and body piercing." This allows for events to be hosted that can bring in revenue to localities and makes it easier for charitable events to occur. If someone is in violation of regulations, the board can currently only send cease and desist orders to current licensees. This law allows them to send these orders to unlicensed individuals who are in violation as well.
HB 2214 - Changing the name of the Larned correctional mental health facility to the Larned state correctional facility and removing references to facilities that no longer exist. HB 2214 changes the name of the Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility to the Larned State Correctional Facility and removes references to Osawatomie Correctional Facility and Toronto Correctional Work Facility since they are closed. The Kansas Department of Corrections believes that this new facility name more accurately represents their mission.
HB 2314 - Prohibiting the use of the social media platform TikTok on state-owned devices and on any state network. This legislation puts us in line with a growing number of states across the country and the federal government, which banned TikTok on their devices last year due to security concerns. This bill enacts what was temporarily done by Executive Order when the legislature was out of session. This formalizes a ban on ByteDance and its subsidiaries, including TikTok, from government devices.
HCR 5004 - Urging the U.S. Congress to fully fund the federal government's original funding promise under the individuals with disabilities education act. This resolution sends a message to our congressional delegation, telling them we want the federal government to provide the funds promised for Special Education. In 2022, the federal government failed to provide $3300 million of promised funding.
You can follow along on happenings in the legislature online at kslegislature.org and when the house and senate are on the floor or in committees you can see all of them on the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel. I have moved offices and now located at 186-W, which is the northwest corner of the capital. My assistant again this year is Terry Benitis. If you would like to contact me, Email is: [email protected], phone during the session 785-296-7463 or you can always try my cell number at 785-302-8416.
If you have a young person who would like to come and spend the day as a Legislative Page, please let me know as soon as possible and we will work on what is a good day for that to happen.
Thanks for reading. It is my honor to serve you.
Ken Rahjes, R-Agra, is the Kansas state representative of the 110th Dist. which includes:
* Graham, Norton, Phillips and Rooks Counties
* Ellis County: Cities: Catharine, Ellis, Munjor and Schoenchen Townships: Big Creek (part), Buckeye, Catherine, Ellis, Freedom, Herzog (part), Lookout, Victoria (part) and Wheatland