Kansas News Service, August 2, 2019

State line blues It’s fair for much of Kansas to watch the news out of Johnson County with a little resentment. All those people, all that wealth, all that resulting power tucked into the suburban eastern edge of the state. But ignore what’s happening in that vast sprawl of beige homes, clogged highways and character-free strip malls, and you risk missing out on developments that can ripple out across Kansas. Consider first, the ongoing bidding war tugging businesses to one side or the other of the Kansas-Missouri line. There’s fresh talk of a truce, a promise not to toss out tax breaks to firms just for moving a few miles east or west. Missouri lawmakers have passed a measure that aims to cut off tax incentives for cross-border moves in the Kansas City area. On Friday, Gov. Laura Kelly joined Kansas in the peace talks with an executive order. But it’ll be easy and oh-so-tempting to bust any compact the next time a sizable employer comes asking for a tax break. Meanwhile, Johnson County’s also Ground Zero for big box stores challenginghow to value their property for tax purposes — arguing their assessmentsshould consider the worth of an empty building, not a bustling business. That could have ramifications across the state, effectively shrinking tax bases across the state for cities, schools, libraries and a host of other local jurisdictions. Chip away enough at a local tax base and pressure will mount for the state to help out. Toss around enough state tax abatements in a border war, and Topeka will be less able to come up with the money. So abhor or adore Johnson County. Just watch what’s going on there. — Scott Canon, Kansas News Service managing editor

"The hemp industry is like the Wild West and Wall Street had a baby." — Chris Brunin of Quiet Trees, a Lawrence-based CBD company

A green line Kansas legalized CBD, the cannabis extract without the marijuana high, last summer. That’s brought a fast-growing industry to strip malls and grocery shelves across the state. It’s also introduced Kansas to products that can offer less CBD than advertised, ones that contain heavy metals and butane, or ones that make you fail drug tests. And marketing claims regularly go well beyond CBD’s proven medicinal powers. It’s confusing. Buyers should approach mindfully, and carefully. Catch up here.

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In line for help Much of what domestic violence shelters in Kansas offer is a haven during crises, a safe place for women and their children. Now a pilot program tests the power for something more — adult mentors striving to bring a respite of fun to older kids and teenagers at some of the worst moments in their lives. The program, called Empowered Families Kansas Project, serves older kids and teens suffering violence at the hands of their parents or people they’re dating. It’s in its early stages and scattered just a few places across the state. But the people behind it hope it might get bigger and bring some joy into lives tossed into chaos. Read about it.

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Coming down the line Where would we be if we couldn’t stream movies or music? Far-eastern Kansas counties and a broad swath of western Kansas. The newly released statewide broadband map shows in greater detail than ever before where 3.5% of Kansas residents don’t have adequate access to the internet. You can even search by your address … if you have internet, that is. Telecom experts know it’s expensive to get service out to those areas, but advocates say it’s crucial to make up for the gap that’s been left in the wake of rural hospitals closing. Are you connected?

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Kansas News Service: "THE INSIDER" May 17, 2019

View this email in your browser May 17, 2019

A degree of inflation For those of us lucky enough to even imagine college, the cost looms seemingly forever. When you’re a student and the bills keep coming. When you’re a graduate and the debt payments hound you. When you’re a parent saving for a child’s tuition, fee, room and board (and when debts from your own schooling might still hover). In one recent 20-year stretch, tuition and fees alone shot up by 110 percent. In the most recent decade, those costs topped ordinary inflation by more than 3% per year. Even the big shots at the Kansas Board of Regents get it. This week, the ruling body for public higher education looked at tuition increases on the table for state schools and said, whoa. Really? Must you? Even though the proposed tuition rates run behind the hikes of recent years, the regents pushed campus bosses to see if something less might work. The higher ed crowd didn’t get as much as it wanted from the Legislature — does it ever? — but taxpayers will be sending $30 million more. The regents had promised to keep tuition hikes at bay if they’d gotten the $50 million extra they asked for. The latest hikes offer reminders about rethinking the whole four-year college scenario. And surely tempts more people to start at a community college (but collect those cheaper credit hours carefully and make sure they’ll transfer to the right places) or pile up some college classes while still in high school. The knee-buckling costs of school also suggest more of us might want to look at whether tech school makes more sense. Taxpayer subsidies for public colleges run north of a half-billion dollars. State spending shrunk over the last decade — partly because of damage done by the Great Recession, and partly because of budget-and-tax cuts during Sam Brownback’s time as governor. University brass contend their costs have only gone up, much just to keep pace with the expense of giving university employees ever-more-expensive health insurance. Cashing in the extra money from the Legislature whileraising tuition won’t likely go over well in Topeka. That, in turn, could make lawmakers less generous in the future and make the tuition algebra all the more difficult.          — Scott Canon, Kansas News Service managing editor "Maybe Kansas will come around." — Former prosecutor Brian Leininger on marijuana legalization   A matter of representation Through our Kansas Matters forum (do you have a question that might launch a story?), a reader asked: “With so much diversity in Southwest Kansas, why is local government not representative of the population?” Our reporter in Garden City took a look and confirmed that even though Hispanic residents make up the majority in the southwest corner of Kansas, they’re mostly absent from public office. The reasons are myriad. Share Tweet Forward A state surrounded Kansas finds itself increasingly surrounded by states that have loosened their marijuana laws. Colorado notably made recreational cannabis legal five years ago. Missouri and Oklahoma have begun to make it legal for medical use. But here, a push for legalizing medical marijuana lacks any serious momentum. The Legislature gave one proposal a committee hearing this year, but no vote. The main opposition: law enforcement. Yet police in the state don’t collect much data on problems they attribute to cannabis. Here’s the situation. Share Tweet Forward A deal that wasn't The sort-of deal to grease the skids for Medicaid expansion in Kansas nextyear appears to have crumbled apart. Or maybe it never existed. Some lawmakers thought they’d left Topeka with a bargain to get Republican and Democratic legislators in the House, where an expansion plan passed this year, together with those in the Senate who’d blocked a vote. Now a key Senate player insists no such promise existed. Here’s an explanation of the busted backroom bargain. Share Tweet

Tim Carpenter: STATEHOUSE REPORTERS FIND TIME FOR IN-DEPTH COVERAGE @ Capital Insider Podcast

Ann Mah, "Neighborhood News" including legislative update, Feb. 7, 2019

Neighborhood News from Ann Mah
Dear Michael Caddell,  Bills are finally coming out of the House and Senate. You can listen from home to the general sessions and to committee hearings. Details below. Enjoyed touring the Valley Falls schools and seeing "Grandparents Day" in action last Friday. I will be at the Perry District school board meeting on Monday and at the Burlingame school board meeting on Wednesday.		In This Issue Bills up for hearings Revenues down Bills of interest School funding Community calendar Quick Links www.annmah.org
Bills up for hearings Lots of hearings this coming week. If you want to listen to hearings from home, go to www.kslegislature.org . At the top of the page is a link that says "Audio/Video". Under that you can click on "Statehouse Live & Archive" and get a list of all the hearings live at that time or coming up. If you want to listen to the House and Senate floor action, click on "House proceedings" around 11 am or "Senate proceedings" around 2:30 pm. Here are some bills coming up for a hearing this week: SB 104 - The Kansas taxpayer protection act; requiring the signature and tax identification number of paid tax return preparers on income tax returns; and authorizing actions to enjoin paid tax return preparers from engaging in certain conduct. Tuesday, 9:30 am SB 91 - Establishing the golden years homestead property tax freeze act providing refund for certain increases in residential property taxes and allowing homestead property tax refund for renters. Thursday, 9:30 am SCR 1605 is a constitutional amendment that changes the way we adjust census counts for redistricting for military and colleges. Wednesday, 9:30 am SB 53 - Designating the official red and white wine grapes of Kansas. SB 70 - Allowing for temporary permits for the selling and serving of alcoholic liquor. Wednesday, 10 am SB 44 - The Governor's education funding bill.  Tuesday, 1:30 pm HB2197 - Amortizing the KPERS actuarial accrued liability over a 30-year period. Wednesday, 9 am HB2100 - Providing a post-retirement benefit increase (COLA) for certain KPERS retirees. Monday, 9 am HB2037 - Stabilizes the money going to veterans' services from the veterans lottery games. Tuesday, 9 am HB2026 - Sets out rules for fire sprinkler installer licensing. Tuesday, 1:30 pm HB 2088 would make it a violation for a person to operate or halt any vehicle in a manner that indicates a careless or heedless disregard for the right or the safety of others, or inattentively in a manner that endangers any person or property. The bill would add a fine of $45 for the offense of negligent driving. Wednesday, 1:30 pm If you want to read up on the bills filed, go to www.kslegislature.org  and click on "Bills & Laws" and type in the number of the bill you want. If you want to see all of the dozens of hearings coming up, click on "Calendars" and see what hearings are on the schedule for the House and Senate. Revenues down January revenues came in $48 million below estimate and nearly $100 million below January 2018. Overall revenues for this fiscal year are $95 million over last fiscal year, so while revenues are still not stable, we are on a good path. But we have a long way to go. Changes to federal tax laws impacted Kansas revenues and Governor Kelly asked the Legislature not to make any major tax changes until we know the full impact on revenues. Her priorities were to fix school funding, Medicaid expansion, and foster care first before changing taxes. However, the Senate passed SB 22 this week, reducing taxes by nearly $200 million a year, most of it for multi-national corporations. It passed along party lines. Senate Democrats called it "Brownback 2.0" and said it was irresponsible to make such a major cut in revenues while we are still in recovery.  If this bill were to become law, Kansas would be back in the red soon, with no money to fund schools, roads, or fix our broken systems. Now we will see what the House does with the bill. Other bills of interest Here are some other bills you might find interesting: GOLDEN YEARS PROPERTY TAX RELIEF - Senator Tom Holland (D-Baldwin City) introduced a bipartisan bill that provides property tax relief to Kansas seniors and disabled veteran homeowners. Senate Bill 91, known as the "Golden Years Property Tax Freeze Program," freezes property tax rates on residential homesteads for those who qualify. The bill is estimated to help as many as 42,000 senior and disabled homeowners in its first year. It has a fiscal note of approximately $10 million.  MEDICAL MARIJUANA - Bills have been introduced in both the Senate (SB 113) and the House (HB 2163) allowing the safe, regulated use of medical cannabis to manage pain and established medical conditions. Known as the "Veterans First! Medical Cannabis Act," the bill puts Veterans at the front of the line with exclusive access the first 60 days dispensaries are open.  SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS - Senator Tom Hawk (D-Manhattan) introduced a bill that would give local school boards the authority to decide when to hold their leadership elections. Senate Bill 7 is in response to the changes in local elections from April to November. Currently, many boards hold their leadership elections in July. SB 7 would give them the opportunity to hold elections in January, after new members have been elected to the board.  KANSAS ACT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION - Senate Democrats are among co-sponsors of a bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday in both the Senate (SB 84) and the House (HB 2130) that adds "sexual orientation or gender identity or expression" to the Kansas Act Against Discrimination. Both bills seek to end discrimination in Kansas on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.    School funding From Senator Hensley's newsletter: School officials urged members of the Senate Select Committee on Education Finance to pass Governor Kelly's school finance bill during the first day of a hearing on Wednesday. Senate Bill 44 would finally end the cycle of litigation by allocating $90 million per year to a $525 million increase the Legislature passed a year ago. This amount would satisfy the Court's latest ruling of adjusting for inflation. The hearing will continue next week.   Last week, Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley wrote a letter to Attorney General Derek Schmidt inquiring about the school finance deadlines for the 2019 Legislative Session. Schmidt replied this week indicating that if the Legislature sticks with just funding the inflation adjustment, the deadline would be March 15, 2019. However, if the legislature decides to make other material changes, the Attorney General's office needs more time to prepare their filing with the Kansas Supreme Court and gave a deadline of March 1, 2019.   Senator Wagle introduced two school finance bills in her special tax committee during a meeting at the rail yesterday afternoon. They only include funding for one year along with other policy changes.   It is prudent for the Kansas Legislature to take swift action to fully fund education. Kansas voters made it clear this past election that funding K-12 public schools is a top priority; thus, it should be ours as well. Community Calendar If you have community events coming up, let me know.  This email goes to nearly 3000 homes in Shawnee, Osage, Jefferson, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie, and Douglas counties. I'd love to help you get the word out!  Just remember to send your activities ahead of time.     Monday, Feb. 11: Perry senior citizens' Valentine's Party with "Elvis" at noon at the Perry Community Building. Lunch features pulled pork sandwiches and all the trimmings. Bring your own tables service, $1, and a side dish to share. Saturday, Feb. 16: Tecumseh Kiwanis Pancake Feed and Silent Auction from 7 am to noon at the Tecumseh United Methodist Church. All the pancakes you can eat plus eggs, sausage, OJ and coffee. $5 per person. Age 6 and under free.  Saturday, Feb. 16: Soup & Chili supper and basket auction from 4-6:30 pm at Big Springs United Methodist Church (96 Hwy 40 - half way between Topeka and Lawrence on Hwy 40). Saturday, Feb. 23: Boy Scout Troop 13 Chili and Stew Fundraising Dinner at Highland Park United Methodist Church, 29th and Michigan in Topeka. 4 pm to 7 pm. Choice of chili, stew, chili dogs with drink and dessert. Adults $8, children under 10 $4.  Saturday, March 9: Auburn Lions Club Pancakes PLUS+, serving pancakes, sausage and biscuits, and breakfast burritos. 7:30 to 10:30 am at the Auburn Civic Center. Free-will offering at the door. Saturday, March 30: Wakarusa River Valley Museum at Clinton Lake museum and ground clean-up. Saturday, May 4: Wakarusa River Valley Museum at Clinton Lake opening day. ONGOING EVENTS: If you are a skier, check out the upcoming activities of the Topeka Ski Club at: https://www.topekaskiclub.com/ . They have a trip to Steamboat Springs in January. Last Saturday of each month the Carbondale Community Card Party is held at 7 pm in the ELM building. Bring a snack and a free will donation. They play 10-point draw pitch. They will teach you if you don't know how to play! Carbondale Farmers Market every Wednesday from 4-6:30 in the Carbondale City Park. Vendor-grown or vendor-produced. For vendor information, contact Mary at 836-7887.  Kansas Prairie Pickers meet to jam the fourth Sunday of each month from 1 to 5 pm at the Auburn Community Center. Free music. No jam in December.  CARE meets monthly on the second Thursday at the KNEA building, second floor, at 2 pm. For retired teachers or Kansans interested in advocating for education. For info: Jenny Prichard at jprichard@cox.net.  Enjoy BUNCO at the Carbondale Community Building once a month on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.  Call 785-836-7478 for details about dates, prizes, treats, etc.  The Berryton Pickers are at Berryton Baptist Church the first Saturday of the month from 7 to 9 pm.  Bring snacks and have some fun! Country and ballroom dancing at Croco Hall on Thursday nights from 6 to 9 pm.  For information call Edwina Hamersky at 379-9538.  First Saturday of the month community breakfast buffet at Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church.  7:30 to 10 am.  Free will offering. The Topeka Gem and Mineral Society meets the fourth Friday from September through May (except Dec.) at the Stoffer Science Hall at Washburn University. 7:30 pm. Visitors welcome.
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."                                              President John F. Kennedy, 1962 Sincerely,    Ann Mah www.annmah.org   Paid for by Ann Mah for Kansas, Nancy Griffin, Treasurer

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