May 7, 2007

My Fellow Kansans, 

The 2007 Legislature wrapped up its work last week with the final passage of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that will fund state expenses that were not included with the main budget bill approved earlier in the session. 

The spending bill proved to be much larger then I had hoped.  One reason for the $196 million in additional spending is a settlement the state reached with the federal government to pay back ill-gotten Medicaid funds school districts received for their special education programs.  It will take $37.5 million to offset the loss to the state general fund. 

We also agreed to an additional $24 million on services for frail Kansas seniors and people with disablilites living in community settings as well as $750,000 for home and community based services for autistic children and $1 million for additional workers for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.

State lawmakers will return to Topeka on May 22^nd for “Sine Die”, which will mark the ceremonial end to the session.

Overall, I am pleased with how my first session as your Speaker went.  When I addressed my fellow House Members on our first day in January, I stressed the importance of maintaining decorum and focusing on passing good public policy.  I believe we do our best work as legislators when we concentrate on good policy and not on political differences.  By doing that this session we were able to accomplish a number of good things - tax relief for Kansas businesses and families; funding our schools and social services; and starting our course to reform our state’s health care system.

We checked off many items on the Kansas House Republican Caucus’ 2007 Legislative Agenda.  House Members introduced 601 bills and 50 resolutions and passed 178 bills this session.  I am especially pleased with the new tax policy we put in place to help Kansas businesses and retired, disabled, and low-income Kansans, including:

• A repeal of the State Franchise Tax, saving Kansas businesses about $135 million in tax cuts in the next five years.
• A reduction in the state’s Unemployment Insurance rates for businesses in good standing, a savings of more than $175 million during the next two years for employers.
• An exemption of Social Security Benefits from state income tax for retired and disabled Kansans who making less than $50,000 less year and $75,000 in 2008.  It’s a tax relief total of nearly $58 million dollars for retired and disabled Kansans in the next five years.
• An increase in the Kansas Earned Income Tax Credit that will give Kansans with low incomes about $7.5 million in tax relief this tax year and nearly $46 million in tax relief during the next five years.
• An increase in the state’s Homestead Property Tax Refund for homeowners and renters whose total annual household income is less than $28,000.

In addition to millions in tax relief and making sure the state helps our most vulnerable citizens, we also passed a number of bills that will encourage our state’s entrepreneurial spirit and equip Kansas law enforcement agencies and prosecutors with tools and funding to make our state a safer place to live.

However, we still have work to do on election and campaign finance reform.  House Members passed a number of bills that will bring more creditability to our state’s electoral process and to ensure every qualified Kansan’s vote is counted.  However, much of that legislation is still in conference committees.  I promise we will continue to work next session to improve elections and campaign finance reporting in our state.

You can read more about what we accomplished on the House Republican 2007 Agenda here.

And finally, I want to ask you to join with me in keeping State Representative Dennis McKinney of Greensburg and his constituents in your thoughts and prayers.  As you know, a tornado destroyed their community last Friday night – killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more.  The video and pictures of the aftermath is heart wrenching.

My and Rep. McKinney’s districts are next to one another and we have worked together for many years.  While we may not have always seen eye to eye on every issue, he is truly a dedicated and passionate representative who has served his constituents and Kansas well.

Rep. McKinney and his constituents have a long road to recovery ahead of them but with the support of this great state and its people, I am confident they will rebuild their lives and their community.  If you would like to help them in their efforts, both the United Way of Reno County and the United Way of the Plains have set up “Greensburg Disaster Relief” funds.  You can mail a check to either:

United Way of Reno County
P.O. Box 2230
Hutchinson, KS 67504-2230

United Way of the Plains
245 N. Water
Wichita, KS 67202

*Contributions must be designated as "Greensburg Relief".

In the meantime, it is my honor to represent those of you in the 115th District and to serve all of you as your House Speaker.  Please never hesitate to call or email me if you have a question or concern.

Yours truly,

Melvin Neufeld
Kansas Speaker
115^th District
785/296-2302
Neufeld@house.state.ks.us