A week that was anticipated to be one of our busiest of the session lived up to that billing while committees worked to pass legislation before next week’s first major legislative deadline, “Turn Around Day.” Turn Around Day is significant simply because it marks the final opportunity for most bills to be considered in their house of origin, House or Senate. After the deadline, we exchange legislation approved by the House for the Senate’s proposals and the respective chambers begin making their ultimate determinations on those bills.
As a practical matter, this means committees worked quickly this week to finish hearings on bills they hope to be considered. It also tends to mark the point at which our overall pace begins to pick up. It’s an exciting time and I’m looking forward to learning more about the proposals we’ll be considering this year.
Wednesday, with surprisingly little fanfare or debate, the House passed our version of the 2010 rescission bill allocating funding for the remainder of the 2010 fiscal year. The bill represents around $90 million in cuts and is very similar to the Governor’s suggested rescission bill. The main difference is an amendment we added during House debate cutting legislator and state “officials” pay by 5% for the rest of the fiscal year. That measure would trim an extra $1.5 million. More importantly though, it signals an understanding that legislators and Kansas officials understand the difficulty we face in balancing the budget and are willing to make sacrifices as all Kansas families and businesses are already doing.
Aside from the budget bill, work on the House floor was fairly muted, and while we churned through a number of proposals, most were of a fairly non-controversial nature. This is traditionally the case, as we’re only meeting for an hour on the floor each day before Turn Around.
The House Taxation committee also heard testimony regarding sales tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations. These exemptions have in the past been given to organizations who provide services to Kansans which the state currently does not do or cannot do. As we continue the budget debate it is important to review these exemptions and again justify their status based on services they provide to Kansans as well as cost to the state.
The other notable event this week was the Supreme Court’s rejection of a motion by the Schools for Fair Funding coalition to re-open the Montoy school finance case. This is an important development. While disagreement on the proper solution for school funding is widespread, the prospect of another protracted legal battle was not something the legislature was looking forward to. This by no means signals the end of the school funding debate, but as we continue to work on building a delicate compromise I viewed the decision as a positive development.
Next week, we are scheduled to be “on the floor” for three full days of debate in order to clear the list of bills the committees have sent to the full body for consideration. It will obviously be a busy time in the House. This also provides constituents with an excellent opportunity to make your opinion on these matters clear. I’m always interested to hear fresh perspectives and hope you’ll share your thoughts with me.
