House passes budget; KanEd dissolved

It was an eventful week. There were several bills of interest including a bill that increased the amount of contributions a candidate can receive from individuals, PACs, and businesses. The increase will reduce the effectiveness of grassroots campaigns. I voted no and was disappointed when the bill passed.

The House voted to allow a newly-elected governor to donate proceeds from the inaugural ball to a charity of his/her choice.

At first, I thought this was a good idea but after consideration, I voted no on the final bill. There is no oversight as to whom the governor may give the money. While I trust the current governor, there may come a time when another governor may want to donate to an unscrupulous or immoral charity. There will be no way to challenge or stop the donation with the current bill. The bill passed and was sent to the governor for his signature.

The House passed a budget on Thursday after a full day of debate and amendments. A balanced budget is the only constitutionally required legislation. The Appropriations Chair said, "broke is broke" and Kansas is broke. The state cannot continue to overspend.

I campaigned on stopping the wasteful spending. I offered two items in the House budget that will help save money without cutting services. The state will no longer have a higher hotel per-diem rate in Kansas than the federal government and they will not pay state sales tax on hotel rooms in Kansas, as they have in past years. This could save the state from $500,000 to $900,000. It is a small percentage of the state budget, but it is a step in the right direction.

Now that the Senate and House have passed budgets, the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means committee leadership will conference trying to reach an agreement on a legislative budget that each chamber will vote on and to send to the governor.

The House passed HB 2340 to ban smoking in state-owned casinos. This was an unfair exemption included in the smoking ban last year. The vote was 97 to 26 in favor.

The House voted to dissolve Kan-Ed. I voted no because there should be a plan to restructure. Kansas law established Kan-Ed until 2007. It has been extended and is currently a $10 million expense. The vote to dissolve Kan-Ed was by a large margin. This is an indicator that Kan-Ed will be restructured, if not dissolved.

Currently, Kan-Ed rents data lines from a vendor. Libraries, schools and hospitals are paying the renter instead of paying the owner of the line. We were told that Kan-Ed is getting several grants and is not able to tell how or where the money is spent. Internet access will not be lost, just purchased from the owner of the data line if Kan-Ed is dissolved. The bill has been sent to the Senate.

The legislature finished session on Friday as Saturday was "drop dead day," the last day of regular session. In one of the last votes before the House and Senate adjourned for the April break, they passed the final version of worker's compensation reform sending it to the governor for signature. The legislation is the result of deliberation and extensive negotiation between labor and business representatives. The final version of the legislation improves the Kansas business climate increasing our competitiveness with surrounding states and ensures injured workers receive the care and benefits they need.

The reform package passed the Senate 37 to 0 and the House 120 to 0.

Editor's Note: District 4 Representative Caryn Tyson can be reached at (785) 296-6838, or Caryn.Tyson@house.ks.gov.