Visitors
Last week's visitors included pages, Shane Slyter (Spring Hill), Rebecca Wehmeier (Gardner) Blake Phelps (Gardner) and Kayla Cloud (Edgerton.)

The Day After: A Summary of the 2008 Session
This is the last news letter reporting on the legislature, as we adjourned at 11:40 pm on May 7. We will return on a pro forma basis (only if a vote is scheduled) on May 29 to adjourn sine die (Latin for Without another day) unless we're called in for a special session, which is not likely. During the wrap up meeting several important and contentious bills were considered and acted upon. There was an unusual degree of disagreement between the Senate and the House this year and conference committees worked through the weekend and late at night to find acceptable compromises, which, in some cases turned out to be elusive. One sorry example was the immigration reform bill, which I co-sponsored and which died because no agreement could be reached. The Senate had gutted the provisions on verification of documents, employer sanctions and rescission of in-state tuition and actually increased medical benefits for illegals. The House conferees refused to go along with this. Immigration will be a topic in the Fall election and, no doubt, will be on the front burner of the next legislature.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (HB 2412)
This measure combines 4 separate bills: the dept of commerce IMPACT cash incentive program, the approval of the Sunflower Electric plant in Holcomb, the State guarantee of bonds for the construction related to the Gardner Intermodal logistics center, and a sales tax refund on telecommunications equipment which is vitally important to Sprint, ATT and the largest employer in the district Embarq.
Whenever such bundling occurs representatives are forced to choose the lesser of two evils as some parts of the bill may not be palatable while others are clearly desirable. The House and Senate leaderships want the Sunflower plant desperately as do most of the legislators West of Topeka. The Senate had overridden the governor's veto but we failed to do so in the House largely because Johnson County Reps voted to sustain. Therefore the leadership attempted to force them to reject greatly beneficial legislation for their district by voting against HB 2412. The bill passed with 79 votes but this is insufficient to overturn another veto It should be remembered that the refusal of the permit is not related to emission of CO2. There are 19 coal fired plants in Kansas from Nebraska City to Riverton, all East of Topeka. The most polluting of these are in Lawrence and Wyandotte County. We get most of our energy from coal and it is hypocritical and arrogant for us to deny the only other coal fired plant 300 miles to the West, which would emit less than half the CO2 than our old plants, to our neighbors in the West, who need the energy, the jobs and the economic development. I voted for HB 2412.

The Omnibus Appropriations Bill
Much of last week was spent over getting an acceptable final version of this bill which authorizes and allocates funds for all programs we approved during the session. This year we had committed to keep the overall spending increases to 5% and therefore funds would be tight and needed careful scrutiny. Then something unprecedented happened - two senators actually included "earmarks" for their districts. One was a $40 million bond issue for a jail in Yates County and the other a $750,000 allocation for an access road in Thayer. The House conferees rejected ''the prison with a vacancy sign'' (we don't need new space until 2017) and the "highway to nowhere'' out of hand. I was particularly upset over these issues when the Senate removed $10 million from a $15.6 million program for disabled children who are on a waiting listed for needed assistance and services. There are 3000 such children state wide. At the virtually last moment a compromise was reached and $13.2 was restored. The bill then passed without my vote. I had to leave the chamber because my 8 year old granddaughter was hospitalized with a severe asthma attack (she's much better now). I would have supported the bill.

Education
SB 531 Provides an additional $37 million for schools during the 2009-2010 school year this comes to $59 per student. I wanted to make certain my districts got this money and once it had passed switched my vote with the following explanation which is printed in the Journal of the House: "Mr. Speaker; We vote No on SB 531. Ensuring that Kansas school children have an excellent education is one of the most important issues facing the state. However, we believe the current school financing formula is fundamentally unfair to the children of Johnson County and SB 531 would expand the inequities. Johnson County pays over 30% of all funds, has 18% of the school children, and gets 8% of the funding. We strongly support additional school funding in this bill but we cannot affirm the current division of resources. Mike Kiegerl and 13 other JOCO reps."
The "lock box'' created last session , stowing away $100 million for K-12 turned into a coin purse with about $50 million saved for school spending next year. We allocated $10 million of new money into the Regents system for higher education, not the $20 million they asked for, but there was little fussing on their part. Education costs overall have increased again and comprise more than 68% of our total budget.

The Health Care Reform Act of 2008
On Saturday, May 3rd, both House and Senate passed SB 81. Dr Jeff Colyer, R, Overland Park provided yeoman services Chairing a committee on which I served to proposed comprehensive reform of health care in Kansas and, although we did not get much of what we proposed, great progress was made with the passage of this bill considering the budgetary constraints we faced. Key provisions include expanding Medicaid coverage for more poor children, dental services for pregnant women, cancer screening more funding for safety net clinics, promoting a state wide community health record, and most important providing tax-advantaged dollars for the purchase of health insurance (this can mean a 40% saving), a good first step.

Taxation
The best that can be said is that we did not raise taxes and we kept spending in check. For individuals we could not lower taxes either, except for the proposed Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferment Act HB 2928. On the corporate side we packaged higher taxes from multi-state corporations with tax breaks for Kansas businesses. The result is essentially a wash. To remain competitive we need to examine our tax policies again next session as we are still a higher tax state than our surrounding competitors.

Abortion
CARA, the bill dealing with late term abortion passed both the House and the Senate with overwhelming margins. I am a co-sponsor of this bill which requires that the current very restrictive law regarding the abortion of viable babies be followed and carefully documented. There was also a provision which gives parents of underage pregnant daughters legal standing, parental notification would also be required. Regardless how you feel about abortion, killing a child which can survive outside the womb is an abomination. There are 11,000 abortions in Kansas and about 800 third trimester infanticides. While Roe is the law of the land, we cannot prevent the former but we can control and regulate the latter. To her shame the governor, who has taken huge amounts of money from Tiller, vetoed CARA. The attempt to override failed in the Senate by one vote; the House had passed the bill with a veto proof margin. Kansas remains the state to come to when you cannot get a late term abortion elsewhere.

My Evaluation of the Session
I'm ambivalent about the overall performance of the legislature. We made progress in Healthcare, showed fiscal discipline, passed economic stimulus legislation and provide almost what we needed for social services and reduced the waiting list for developmentally challenged kids. Several individual bills discussed in my previous newsletters are also positive and beneficial for our citizens and progeny.
We failed by not passing immigration reform and CARA two bills very dear to my heart. This was most disappointing. Also two of the bills I pre-filed did not pass, the disability access credit for senior citizens never made it out of committee (lack of funds) and my provision to require coverage of hearing aids in health plans-rejected as a mandate but I got 51 votes (last year only 35.) It should pass next session.
There was more acrimony, contentiousness and expressed anger in the legislature as in the communications I received from the district. While ad hominem attacks are rare and indirect in the deliberations in the legislature, some constituents feel no such constraints. There was more hate mail generated by the issues of the Sunflower plant and the Intermodal than any other. It is sad that reasonable people cannot disagree with civility and consideration for the other point of view. Imputing motives is almost always inappropriate and a cheap shot. Every legislator listens to all sides of an argument, gets as much information as possible and then makes a choice. On Sunflower, for example I attended 4 seminars, visited at length with the Sierra Club (I'm a member but disagree with this position), before concluding that alternate energy cannot solve our immediate needs.
The Intermodal issue was, if anything even more contentious and people who supported me in the past swore to oppose me if I did not vote their way. Much of the argumentation was irrational as every decision was made at the municipal level of government. The bill before the House is a guarantee of bonds which was destined to pass by a wide margin. Believing that the Intermodal is inevitably a fact of life and that the warehouses need to be built at the facility for Gardner to reap the tax benefits in the future I could not vote against this bill. You can take issue with my reasoning but not my motives.

Reminders
My entire voting record will once again be published on my web site. Give us a few days to get it done. Communications and, especially e-mails should go to my home address. While we're not in session e-mails addressed to my Topeka office may not be forwarded. You may also contact my aide Terri Lois Gregory. All numbers & addresses are found below.

Re-election Plans
I have filed for a third (and probably last term.) The "official'' Press release will be issued May 12. I made this decision after consultation with family and key supporters and it was not easy. My saintly wife, always a great support, would prefer in the heart of her hearts that I remain at home. Public service is expensive and my campaign owes me $49,000 so far, and with a primary and general election challenge this will increase substantially. It costs me more than $20 per day to commute, and I give the main part of the state's compensation to my loyal aide Terri who helps me so much more than I can compensate her for.
I have never asked anyone for campaign contributions and won't do so this year as I want to remain free from obligations and undue influence. I am grateful that I do get unsolicited funds from a variety of organizations and individuals. I will ask for help in posting signs, making calls and walking the district and I have commitments from volunteers to wage a winning race. I also have a record I'm proud of, and much left to do. I feel well; will continue my weight loss program and I love the Job. I look forward to the campaign.

Food for Thought
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
-Teddy Roosevelt

Keep In Touch
It is an honor to serve you in the House of Representatives. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at out of session at mike@mikekiegerl.com or my Legislative Aide, Terri Lois Gregory at cfl@kc.rr.com.