• KNEA Legislative Agenda
• Legislative Issues
• Legislative Week in Review
• School Funding Central
• State Board News
• Take Action Now (LAC)
• Under the Dome Today

March 28, 2003

House Ed amends, then votes to kill capital outlay flexibility bill

On Monday morning the House Education Committee took action on SB 22. The bill would allow school districts to spend capital outlay money on computer software, utilities, and property insurance. While SB 22 allows for some spending flexibility, it has the side effect of relieving the legislature of its responsibility to fully fund public education. After a long debate, a motion to move the bill out of committee favorably failed on a 9-11 vote. But, like the proverbial phoenix, the bill rose from its ashes when…

Senate Ed meets once; kicks out seven bills

The Senate Education Committee met Monday afternoon with an ambitious six-bill agenda. All six bills were ultimately approved by the committee:

HB 2004, reconciling amendments to statutes that have been amended more than once,
HB 2008, raising certification and registration fees for proprietary schools,
HB 2009, raising GED credential fees,
HB 2179, repealing the prohibition on school employees serving on the State Board of Education and providing for non-partisan SBOE elections,
HB 2231, allowing school districts to charge a fee for preschools, and
SCR 1612, calling for a constitutional amendment to add three members to the SBOE appointed by the Governor.

But having learned that the House Committee had only that morning voted against SB 22, the Senators amended it into HB 2231 knowing that the House wants HB 2231 bill to pass. (See Capital outlay hot topic.)

KNEA was most concerned about HB 2179, the passage of which was not a sure thing. Sen. John Vratil moved to amend the by keeping the prohibition on school employees but lifting it on state and community college employees. The amendment failed on a voice vote. The bill was then voted out of committee with a favorable recommendation. (See HB 2179 hung up on Senate floor.)

Capital outlay hot topic in both chambers

Yes, SB 22 is going back and forth as some Senators try to pass it and the House tries to kill it. After being killed in House Ed, Senate Ed amended it into HB 2231. Then, just in case that house bill doesn’t have enough appeal to pass the full House, Representative Eric Carter tried to amend it into a food service bidding bill, SB 120. That attempt failed on a vote of 61-61. Clearly the House is split on the issue.

The Senate then voted on Thursday to advance HB 2231. But on Friday they turned around and killed it on final action on a vote of 10-29. Both chambers have now officially defeated this disequalizing measure. Whether it returns for another run in conference committee is anyone’s guess.

Bills to limit state aid for capital outlay are also making news.

Representative Decker’s HB 2058 which puts a moratorium on state aid and Representative Holland’s HB 2345 which puts the state aid moratorium on athletic facilities were both amended into Senate bills by the House Appropriations Committee. An attempt by Representative Ted Powers to amend the provisions of HB 2058 into an appropriations bill on the floor failed.

House Higher Ed takes up technical college governance; votes to protect employees

The House Higher Education Committee on Monday continued working SB 7, the technical college governance bill. KNEA, working with the Wichita Schools, succeeded in getting an amendment to the bill that protects the employees impacted by the transfer. The amendment ensures that such employees retain earned leaves, early retirement incentives, and salary levels. A KNEA proposal to ensure that these employees carry their earned due process protections to the newly separated board was also added. All of these provisions were amended into SB 7 as new section 4.

This amendment was of particular concern for KNEA which lobbied hard to control the impact of this governance change on the earned rights and benefits of technical college employees.

Senate Bill 7 was passed by the full House Friday on a vote of 103-19. It now must go to a conference committee, scheduled to meet on Tuesday, April 1.

Senate votes to gut workers compensation

Senate Bill 181 represents a radical overhaul of workers compensation that will eliminate many worker benefits. KNEA, as part of the Kansas Coalition for Workplace Safety opposed the bill. Said KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti, “As far as reform goes, this is like using a chainsaw to prune your tea roses.” Senator Anthony Hensley and Senator Jim Barone argued long and hard that the bill was anti-family and anti-worker but they were unable to persuade a majority of their colleagues.

The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 27-13. Voting against the bill were Sens. Barone, Downey, Feleciano, Gilstrap, Gooch, Goodwin, Haley, Hensley, Huelskamp, Oleen, Pugh, Steineger, and Tyson.

It now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

HB 2179 hung up on Senate floor

House Bill 2179, proposed by Representative Everett Johnson, was a simple repeal of the prohibition on state, school district, and community college officers and employees from serving on the State Board of Education. The bill flew out of the House Education Committee and was passed by the full House on a vote of 112-8.

But when it got to the Senate Education Committee it ran into Senator John Vratil who maintained that school employees should not serve on the SBOE because their profession was not a “technical profession” like law or medicine. Twice Vratil tried to amend the bill to lift the prohibition only on community college and state employees. Twice he failed.

Eventually though, the committee amended into the bill a provision calling for non-partisan SBOE elections. And that has created a mess on the floor of the Senate. Proponents of non-partisan elections apparently don’t have the votes on the floor and so keep putting off action on the bill in hopes of getting that support. In the meantime teachers and school administrators continue to be the only professionals who are statutorily prohibited from serving on their regulatory board – a statutory second-class status.

It is possible that school employees will retain their second-class status thanks to a controversial amendment added to a good bill.

Bills moving on

A number of bills have passed both houses:

SB 55, granting some flexibility in setting school board meetings (KNEA supports House version – Senate accepted House amendments)
SB 57, the KNEA/KASB “local control” compromise (KNEA supports)
Sub for SB 83, school district budgeting procedures (in conference committee)
SB 119, moving teachers at the schools for the deaf and blind under the same due process procedures as other teachers and lifting the pay cap on due process hearing officers (KNEA supports)
SB120, a food bidding bill for school districts
SB 103, a bill making it harder to recall elected officials (KNEA opposes – going to conference committee)
SB 7, the technical college governance bill (KNEA supports House version – in conference committee)

Others have only passed their house of origin:

HB 2444, the House “mega” appropriations bill
SB 263, the Senate “mega” appropriations bill

These two bills represent essentially the Governor’s January budget proposal which keeps education funding flat. Attempts by Reps. O’Malley and Patterson to increase school funding failed in the House, while an attempt by Sen. Allen failed in the Senate.

The budget will likely be the last thing worked out this session. Look for no resolution until the end of the veto session in May.

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.