This Week in Topeka
Veto session has picked up this week with a lot of action in the capitol but little progress towards finding the solution for the big issues of budget and taxation.
This week brought several conference committee reports to the House on a number of topics. Many focused on health care issues with a smattering of fantasy sports and open government thrown in for good measure. The House approved measures in all areas including ones that legalized fantasy sports, set out the rules for non-profits to hold raffles and gave the Attorney General new powers to aid in the enforcement of the Kansas Open Meetings and Open Records Acts.
The House also went on general orders this week. That is the process by which we act as a large committee, debating, amending, and working bills through the process. This is a little rare this time of year because amendments tend to sprout like dandelions. On Thursday we took up ten bills including ones that addressed veteran’s courts, military discipline, child support enforcement and two big issues; the renewable portfolio standards and marijuana penalties.
The House approved a compromise on the renewable portfolio standards for the use of renewable energy like wind and solar. The compromise was reached between the wind energy sector and other business interest groups that had been opposed to the RPS. This will end four years of political warfare that has left many companies and banks reluctant to invest in wind power projects in Kansas because of the lack of stability. It also closes the door on a proposed excise tax on wind power that would have devastated existing power agreements and brings tax parity to the wind sector. The end result should be more investment in wind energy in Kansas, resulting in more jobs, cleaner air and more opportunities for our state.
The House passed a bill that reduced criminal penalties for first and second time marijuana possessors. The bill was amended twice on the floor. The first added an exception for hemp oil that does not contain high levels of the intoxicant THC. The oil has shown some limited effectiveness in treating seizure disorders in children. The other amendment allows for research into industrial hemp as a crop. Hemp has very little THC and cannot be used as a drug. Critics of bills argued that it was a first step toward decriminalization of marijuana and that the amendments created difficulties for law enforcement regarding possession and differentiation of the two plants. It will be interesting to see whether this bill receives any hearing or work in the Senate. This late in the session and given its controversial nature it may not.
I expect work to pick up next week on tax and budget issues as we approach the 90 day mark of the session.
Famous Kansans
Harold Leon "Tom" Sebring (1898 – July 26, 1968) Born in Olathe, Kansas, Sebring served overseas during World War I. Upon returning, Sebring studied architecture, engineering and business administration at Kansas State College. He also in football, track and boxing and was named to All Missouri Valley Conference teams and the Kansas State Aggies All-Time Football Team. Sebring received a bachelor of science degree from Kansas State in 1923. He was a Florida Supreme Court justice, and an American judge at the Nuremberg Trials of German war criminals after World War II.
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Government is about helping us have a framework to be safe and successful, but there are always those that try and take advantage of situations. If you suspect any kind of fraud or corruption phone numbers to report it can be found at
https://www.da.ks.gov/phonebook/tollfree.asp.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve, there is no place like home. Our rural communities are the backbone of a strong Kansas. During the session please contact me any time. My email is
Shannon.francis@house.ks.gov and my phone number is 785-296-7655.
