MARCH 3, 2000
 

The 2000 session has a different tone because we are tight on money this year.  The three previous sessions we came to Topeka with significant additional state revenue.  The challenge was in trying to decide which taxes to cut and how much.  The focus has changed but the requests for money from state agencies and others has not changed.  We are always faced with the challenge of adequately meeting legitimate needs for the disabled population, schools, highways, etc.
 

One focus I have this year is to improve how we do state government.  It is easy to become sloppy and excessive when the money flows freely.  This should not be the perspective but it appears it has happened.  Now that we are counting our dollars more carefully, we need to justify programs, their existence and their effectiveness.  Some of us are finding areas which need improvement.
 
 

In Commerce Committee, we are recommending a task force study the issue of how to implement enhanced 911 (E911) services.  The federal government is mandating that E911 be available by October 1, 2001.  E911 provides location finding capabilities for those who call 911 from a cell phone.  We have legislation before us to add an additional tax to cell phones to pay for this service.  A legislative post audit review indicated that 911 taxes across the state vary from zero to 75 cents on home and residential phone lines.  Converting to E911 is costly so we need to find the best way to implement it.  More importantly, it can become a life and death issue so we want to provide a service that works well.
 

The past two years I have worked on reducing the Kansas Universal Service Fund (KUSF) fee which is on our local and cellular phone bills.  The good news is that with pressure from the Legislature and regulatory oversight from the Kansas Corporation Commission, the rate to be paid as of March 1, 2000 on cell phones is 4.66%, down from 9.89% two years ago.  The KUSF on our landline phones will also decrease about 70 cents but our local basic rate will increase about $1.50 (per month).  There are more telecom issues to resolve, especially for the Gardner and Spring Hill areas but at least we have reduced the size of our KUSF.
 

Much of our Commerce Committee time has been spent on how to curb telemarketing calls.  Some of the ideas include starting a state maintained "no call" list.  Direct Marketing Association is a private company which maintains a "no call" list of consumers who have submitted their names which can be purchased by telemarketing companies.  Even though sales/solicitation calls are a hassle, I hope we can curb the problem without creating a government answer.  Phone directories could include more educational info on the consumer protection laws in this area or phone companies could supply the same info in a bill stuffer.
 

The Senate has in previously years passed the concept of "home rule" for school districts.  This is a concept supported by the school districts in my senate district so I introduced a bill on this topic which passed the Senate last week.  I am hopeful the House will look more positively at this bill than they have previously.  It would give school districts more flexibility in making decisions without asking the Legislature's permission.
 

I also sponsored a bill at Olathe School District's request which would allow school districts to suspend students for ten days instead of just five days.  Last year we provided for a ten day short term suspension but it can only be used for weapons violations or for causing a dangerous situation.  The Democrats opposed this concept in floor debate in the Senate because they believe we should mandate the district provide an alternative setting during the ten days.  Many districts do have an alternative or academic requirements during the suspension but again, the local district should make these determinations.
 

The idea of mandating school uniforms did not fly in the Senate.  The bill passed by the Education Committee would have required boards of education to have a hearing on the topic.  Again, I believe we do not need to tell local school boards they need to have a hearing on school uniforms.  The people in the district should make this request of their local school district.
 

School districts have had the ability to save on their energy costs by purchasing  their natural gas in bulk directly from the producer.  Unfortunately, the KCC is allowing the local distribution company to add a fee for "stranded costs" to the price of the natural gas.  There is also a requirement to equip each building with new remote-read meters.  With these additional costs, the savings are dwindling.  The KCC has not made a final decision on the stranded cost matter so hopefully the cost can be refunded and not added permanently.
 

The Wonderful (or not) World of Oz recently attempted to bypass the process of scrutiny which they have been going through to gain approval to acquire Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.  Oz Corporation and the city of DeSoto were going to run a bill which would have allowed the city of DeSoto to annex the land and handle more of the transaction directly.  Legislators clearly were not fond of this idea and let it be known it would take more than a click of the heels for this idea to pass. It was withdrawn before it could face defeat.
 

Another issue which legislators are trying to determine if its as easy as a click of the heels is an amendment on the Bistate tax authority.  You probably remember this tax was passed in 1996 to rehabilitate Union Station and build Science City.  This original authority was directed towards cultural entities and excluded sports facilities.  This year there is an effort to amend this to allow sports facilities to be considered as eligible to receive the tax revenue.   The specific projects would be subject to a vote of the people.  I would appreciate your input on this topic.
 

My office has been blessed by visits from several groups.  My secretary Jeff and intern Jessie are quite good at setting up school field trips and other group visits to the Capitol.  In January the SOAR school (an alternative high school) from Olathe and the gifted class from Sunflower Elementary in Paola visited.  Other visiting groups include fifth grade classes from Walnut Grove and Rolling Ridge elementary schools, the student council of Countryside Elementary and home schoolers.  The fourth grade class of Berean Christian School and third graders from Gardner Elementary enjoyed their day in Topeka also.  It is a privilege for me to interact with the students and hopefully inspire them to take an interest in their government.
 

There are several legislative forums throughout the session for you to attend and personally ask your questions and chat with me on issues of interest to you.  Here is the schedule:
      March 11 7:00 AM  Osawatomie Osawatomie High School
      March 18 7:00 AM Spring Hill Walt's Pizza
      March 25 8:00 AM  Olathe  Olathe South High School
      April   15  7:00 AM Louisburg  Louisburg High School
      April   22 8:00 AM Olathe   RR Osborne Performing Arts Center

I look forward to seeing many of you back home and hope you will let me know your opinion on the issues I have mentioned in this newsletter and others!