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March 21, 2003

KNEA-opposed bills up for floor votes next week

Limits on recall of elected officials

The House of Representatives will take up SB 103, a bill which proposes to amend the recall statute and will limit the voters’ ability to recall elected officials.

“Incompetence” would be removed from the recall statute and moved to the ouster statute. At the same time, incompetence is defined as a “mental impairment.” KNEA argued that while mental impairment would certainly be an indicator of incompetence, so would a consistent failure to examine the school district’s expenditures. Under the proposal in SB 103, that would not be a problem.

“Misconduct in office” is defined in the bill as “a violation of law…that impacts the officer’s ability to perform the official duties of the office.” KNEA testified that a violation of the open meetings act would not necessarily impact an official’s ability to perform official duties.

Finally, the bill would limit the voters’ ability to recall elected officials and give the Secretary of State authority to determine whether or not the facts support the recall. Said KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti, “This change simply removes from the electorate the right to determine the facts for themselves. Why would we want to restrict the voters from determining whether the facts support the recall?”

Gutting Workers Compensation

In a bow to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Senate is poised to act on Senate Bill 181 which would severely limit workers’ rights in workers compensation claims.

SB 181 would:

• Deny workers comp to employees who are laid off while a claim is pending,
• Shift the burden of proof from employer to employee, and
• Change pre-existing condition requirements to limit compensation.

Kansas NEA, as part of the Kansas Coalition for Workplace Safety, opposes the bill. “As workers comp reform, this is like pruning tea roses with a chainsaw,” said KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti.

The Kansas Coalition for Workplace Safety joined in a press conference in the Capitol on Friday to alert the public of the cruel nature of this bill and to urge Senators to vote against it when it comes up for a vote early next week.

Interested Kansans are urged to contact their Senator at home this weekend and urge them to vote NO on SB 181.

Bill to repeal prohibition on service on State Board stalled in Committee

School employees are still the only professionals in the state of Kansas who are statutorily prohibited from serving on their oversight and licensing board. Physicians, attorneys, nurses, even cosmetologists serve on their boards – only school employees are prohibited by law from having a say in how their profession is governed. The Kansas Association of School Boards and Senator John Vratil think that’s a good idea. Vratil offered an amendment in committee to maintain the prohibition on school employees but lift it on state and community college employees.

“This is absurd,” said KNEA President Christy Levings. “How can it be that practicing attorneys like John Vratil are to have a seat on the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, but we statutorily prohibit practicing educators from serving on the State Board of Education?”

The Vratil amendment was offered in the House Education Committee which rejected it before passing the bill on a voice vote. The bill subsequently passed the full house on a vote of 112-8. KNEA is working hard to shore up support in the Senate. The Senate Education Committee will revisit the bill on Monday.

Senate Ed approves new structure for SBOE

The Senate Education Committee considered a variety of ways to change the State Board of Education, but this week approved SCR 1612 which would add three additional members to the board. These new members would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Attempts to remove the Board’s self-executing authority were set aside.

SCR 1612 calls for a constitutional amendment and will have to pass both the Senate and the House with a 2/3 majority before being put to a vote of the people.

Senate Bill 190 which would have made state board elections non-partisan and moved them to the spring local board elections, was also considered. In the end, it was decided that the elections should stay with other state officer elections. With the election date change removed from the bill, the non-partisan election change was amended into HB 2179 (see related article).

House Bill 2179 will be taken up on Monday.

Bonding the KPERS unfunded actuarial liability?

On a vote of 29—9, the Senate passed SB 260, an attempt to deal with the large unfunded actuarial liability of KPERS. Under SB 260, pension obligation bonds for up to $750 million could be issued by the Kansas Development Finance Authority and beginning in 2006 there would be an increase in the employer contribution to KPERS phased in. The bonds could be issued at a low interest rate. Then, if KPERS investments pay off at a higher rate over time, the difference between the low interest on the bonds and the higher earnings on the investments could be applied to the unfunded liability. Other states have also considered this option.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

House Committee takes up technical college governance

The House Higher Education Committee held a hearing on SB 7, the bill changing governance of degree-granting technical colleges. KNEA testified on the bill, asking legislators to consider changes to the bill that would guarantee the maintenance of tech college employees’ earned rights and benefits and protecting K-12 school districts from any negative fiscal impact.

Working with several legislators and the Wichita School District, the revisor was asked to draw up an employee protection amendment. The amendment was available only in conceptual form when the committee met again on Friday. Committee Chair Tom Sloan suggested that that meant there was little interest in such an amendment but Committee members, led by Bill Reardon, Annie Kuether, Deena Horst, and Sue Storm, urged the committee to hold off until Monday to try once more to get the amendment.

The Committee supported the delay and the issue will be revisited on Monday. “Employee rights should not have to be hammered out in a transition plan, said KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti. “An employee protection amendment would take care of these issues and let the transition plan focus on students and learning.”

Resident tuition bill becomes immigration issue

The Senate Education Committee held a hearing on Substitute for House Bill 2145, setting resident tuition and fees for certain non-citizen students. Appearing before the Committee to oppose the bill was a representative of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR works to restrict immigration. In a letter to the Senate Education Committee, the MAINstream Coalition said that FAIR’s “history shows that they hold and promote the most reprehensible of bigoted white-supremacist beliefs.”

The bill, which has already passed the House, would require a non-citizen to have attended a Kansas high school for three years and graduated or earned a GED.

The Committee took no action on the bill.

KNEA Legislative Contacts

Blake West, President
Mark Desetti, Director, Legislative and Political Advocacy
Terry Forsyth, Director, Political Action

The KNEA Lobby Team consists of elected leaders and staff. The Lobby Team welcomes member feedback on issues before the Legislature and on this site.