The Kansas Legislature met for the seventh week of the legislative session. Even though we had a short week, the House acted on several bills. We have been working on the unemployment fund, state wide smoking ban, drugs, conceal and carry regulations, property taxes, and received more news on the State’s budget.
This will continue to be a tough year for the budget in Kansas. This week the House passed a bill addressing the unemployment fund crisis. Thousands of businesses have been targeted for increases in their unemployment fund taxes by the Department of Labor. These businesses were given only two weeks notice about the increases which for many are 400-500% higher than last year. This measure would protect job creation in Kansas by keeping unemployment taxes at last year’s levels and allows businesses to spend this money on payroll. The bill was hailed as a measure to not only secure jobs but to also keep the fund solvent by keeping hundreds and perhaps thousands of Kansans employed.
On Thursday this week the House concurred on a Senate measure to ban smoking statewide with a few exceptions for businesses in Wichita and the State’s monopoly on casinos which are exempt. Proponents of the bill argued it was a public health issue and needed to be passed however those against the bill found fault in the exemptions and could not support a hypocritical break for government businesses. If the bill is about smoking and public health it should stop all smoking in public buildings statewide. The bill will now go to the Governor for his signature or veto.
The Governor has also received a bill banning synthetic drugs, both synthetic marijuana and ecstasy. Law enforcement has indicated it has become a problem within local schools and communities and must be addressed. While the bill did garner an overwhelming level of support in both chambers, the harms of these drugs have yet to be determined. The measure is now on the Governor’s desk for his signature or veto.
In response to shootings in public buildings across the country, the House Federal and State affairs committee worked HB 2685 which would address security issues as some public buildings. The bill would allow public employees to carry weapons at work if there were not adequate security measures in place at that office. This would mean if the building does not have metal detectors or armed security personnel, registered conceal and carry employees would be able to exercise their right to carry at work as well.
The House Taxation committee took a look at property taxes this week with HB 2630. Proponents of the bill point out the drastic increase in property taxes--92% increase over the last five years—as a reason to address this growing problem. Our local governments are growing at an unsustainable rate and Kansans are left with the tax bill to pay for it. This bill would keep property taxes level at the same rate as the previous year regardless of appraisal values. For example, if the value of property increases, the mill levy would go down to a level consistent with the total tax revenue of the previous year. Also if the value of the property decreased the mill levy would go up. The bill would also require an increase in property taxes to be approved by the voters and not just local governments. This will ensure voters understand where their money goes and when their taxes are increased.
Next week the House will receive a report on projected state revenue for the month of February. Based on previous months projections, the state will have less money than expected. This will ultimately lead to greater cuts across the board for all state services.
