More below on the technical workings of the legislature. This is the last week called "turnaround" where we consider bills in each house. Then we switch with the Senate. I share some of the pundits predictions for the week at the end of this short newsletter.

The big news last week pertaining to Manhattan was the passage of two bills I've worked on for the past two years. The first, HB2160, protects homeowners when facing a disaster like the tornado we had on June 11, 2008. The big out-of-state banks would not pay up the insurance money owed to several of our local homeowners in a timely fashion so they could pay contractors and get their repairs made. With the help of two Manhattan homeowners, Pam Spaulding and Aaron Madison, both testifying last year, we got a bill supported by the Kansas Bankers Association that put some pressure on those big out of state banks through our "Consumer Protection Law and Deceptive Practices Section". I have met with Senator Reitz and the President of the Senate to encourage rapid passage through that chamber after "turnaround".

The second bill for our community was HB2445 that ensure good communication betweem military installations and local communities so that encroachment will not occur and jeopordise our large bases in Kansas. A recent study by Wichita State found that Ft. Riley and our other bases generated $7.7B in economic impact in the state with 169,000 jobs.

Both of the bills passed with over 90 votes, but it was a bit of a struggle at the well (microphone at the front of the House) to defend these efforts to help everyone in our state. My thanks to all of our local folks, expecially Commissioner Mike Kearns and County Counselor Clancy Holeman for their help in finding a win-win bill and testifying in favor of passage. They were incredible!

On the Tax Committee front, we are working through some bills and policies suggested by the Secretary of Revenue and a state-wide citizens group to limit exemptions and tax "give-a-ways" to special groups. Some are justified and others just got to the gate first. We heard proponents last week and will finish up with opponents this week. In mind, there is not question that we need to either close some of the exemptions or find some acceptable revenue enhancement by the end of the session....this will not be an easy task to get 63 votes!

A Mercury editiorial and several comments from around the state did bring some heat down on the Tax Committee and the Department of Revenue when a bill was discussed that would charge a fee for those who did not file their returns electronically. We did remove those provisions, but I want to support the effort for my group to be creative and look for ways to make "government more efficient". I strongly believe that there is a partnership responsiblity between the citizen and the agencies of goverment to work together to find cheaper, better ways to do business. I have taken the easy way out and filed a paper return, when I could just as easily sent in the State Returns electronically. The software vendors charge extra to do this and that irritates me. What I did learn, is the Revenue Department has a staff of 12 people who do over half of the returns that are filed electronically. It takes 150 people to process the paper returns. I was glad the Secretary and my Committee stuck its neck out a little, caught some criticism, but tried to find a way to encourage that electronic filing. We will keep looking for a fair way to move this along and I ask each of you and your friends to consider the cost savings of doing this for our State when you file your state return this spring.

Turnaround Week starts today. The big work is the budget. We did cut our salaries and that of all elected officials by 5% last week when the House bill passed with 115 votes. I voted yes as I know we need to take the "lead" to bring this budget into balance. I do not want to cut our disabled and frail elderly anymore and I question cutting education and potentially putting in jeopody the federal stimulus funds we have received. It will be an interesting "political lesson" this week to observe the conference committee and to eventually see how we balance the 2010 budget. The big problem is next year's budget that shows a $400M hole and not much if any room left to cut without hurting our state economy and a whole bunch of disabled, elderly and children. Let me think a minute...I did ask for this job, didn't I! I will continue to try to find that win-win solution if it is possible!

There’s surprisingly little simmering on House and Senate general orders calendars as lawmakers head into the House of Origin Consideration Day on Saturday (Feb. 20), and depending on their inclination for amendments, it’s likely that neither chamber will be working on Saturday.

Under the newly revised House/Senate joint calendar, Saturday is the deadline for considering the vast majority of bills in their house of origin. March 24 is the deadline for second house consideration.

There is the usual passel of DUI, sentencing and local-interest bills, but the major work of the week will start at 1 p.m. Monday in Room 548-S, when House and Senate conferees try to hammer out a compromise on the rescission bill that squares up, circa Nov. 5, 2009, the State General Fund as presented by the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group.

That conference committee has just a couple items to consider in the roughly $90-million budget-straightener, but it includes a 5% annualized salary cut for all state officials including judges, that might be a sticking point for the Senate. It doesn’t appear to be a veto target.

There are some bills on the calendar that might be contentious, including a couple campaign finance measures in the Senate. One of those bills requires that contributors who donate more than $150 to a campaign list their employer, not just the industry in which they work. That’s more specific information than the state has demanded before. There’s a seatbelt bill, too, requiring front-seat adult passengers to wear seatbelts, and it’s a primary offense, so a vehicle can be stopped just for the seatbelt non-use.

In the House, a couple abortion bills and tax bills are possible, but it depends on leadership there, because both the House committees generating those bills are exempt from consideration deadlines.

Turnaround Week could be over by Friday afternoon. Thanks again for letting me serve and learn about our complex state government. You can reach me by e-mail at tom.hawk@house.ks.gov or my phone message at 785-296-7665.

Please join me in positive thinking about a quick economic recovery and the growth of jobs for our state. Things are better in Manhattan and in Kansas than in most other places, but we still have much to do to keep our state budget balanced and our critical state resources in place so we can bounce back as the economy hopefully recovers!