The passing of a uniform bill authorizing the expansion of the Holcomb coal-fired energy plant was one of the major events of last week’s activity in the Statehouse. Emporia’s three legislators all voted in favor of the plant expansion, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is expected to veto the bill. It passed the Senate by a veto-proof 31-7 majority, but the 75-47 House vote was short of the 84 “yes” votes needed to override.
Here’s what Sen. Jim Barnett, Rep. Don Hill and Rep. Peggy Mast had to say on the plant expansion debate and other issues in the Gazette’s weekly look at what Emporia’s legislators are dealing with at the Statehouse.
Sen. Jim Barnett
Barnett, who said that the earlier Holcomb legislation needed to be greener, believes the environmental/energy measures in the new bill are a step in the right direction. The bill establishes a commission for long-term energy planning, requires that 20 percent of energy will come from renewable sources by the year 2020 and also requires significant reduction of mercury emissions.
“This may not be the last bill ... I’ve said that all along,” Barnett said. “If this is vetoed by the governor and if it’s not overridden by the House, we will be looking at future bills.”
Last week, opponents of the immigration bill cosponsored by Barnett had their day to be heard. The bill requires employers to check on the legality of a prospective employee using the government’s electronic E-Verify system.
Barnett said the most important opposition voiced came from business owners who said they couldn’t stay in business unless they could hire illegal immigrants. He believes those comments demonstrate why the federal government needs to address immigration policy and the issue of a guest worker program. Barnett expects the immigration bill to be worked in the next week or two weeks.
Barnett’s home radon legislation passed out of committee last week, and he believes there’s a good chance it will be on the Senate floor this week. He said the legislation as it stands now was the result of a compromise reached in committee.
“The bill will actually have a notice in the real estate contract in bold print that discusses the risks of radon and lung cancer and provides information about testing for radon,” he said. “The bill also requires certification of those individuals and businesses that perform radon testing.”
Also this week, he said, health care reform bills will be worked in committee. Those bills deal with expanding insurance for children and providing greater support for safety net clinics to aid those who don’t have health insurance.
Rep. Don Hill
The new subcommittee on disaster relief for school districts in the state, for which Hill is serving as the chair, had its first meeting on Wednesday. Hill aims for the subcommittee to make sure Emporia USD 253 is included in disaster relief legislation following the Tyson layoffs, which affected 1,200 students in the district.
“We’re going to be meeting again on Tuesday, and at this point we’re sort of laying our various options out on the table,” Hill said. “The challenge is ... we’re trying to find a policy that can be drawn on the future, rather than one that just specifically targets the circumstances of 2007 and Emporia.”
Hill said he’s not sure the subcommittee will come up with the broad solution it is looking for, but is confident that Emporia’s situation will be addressed.
The version of the Holcomb bill that passed last week included environmental provisions related to renewable energy and carbon emissions. Despite that, it passed with fewer votes in both houses than the House and Senate’s unique versions of the last Holcomb legislation. Hill said he doubted that the bill could get any greener.
“The balance is this: That is, there are those that want it greener and won’t vote for it unless or until it becomes greener,” he said. “There may have been one or two votes lost in the House because of that. But the other side of that equation is that the greener it becomes, the more costly it is.”
This week, Hill said the Higher Education Caucus, a bipartisan and bicameral body of legislators collaborating with the Citizens for Higher Education advocacy group, would meet Wednesday to talk about workforce development and workforce needs. Hill is one of three co-chairs in the caucus.
Rep. Peggy Mast
After last week’s House vote on the Holcomb expansion, House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said he felt that enough legislators who voted against the expansion on Wednesday would go the other way and vote to override Sebelius’ veto.
Mast called the Holcomb plant situation in the House “really tragic.”
“I think it’s more about politics at this point than it is about really being an issue of air pollution,” she said. “It would’ve been the cleanest plant in the state, and it’s away from a populated area, so the logic of not allowing it to come into being is just not there.”
Last week, Mast began her work on the Health and Human Services subcommittee that is looking at potential legislation from the recommendations of the Kansas Health Policy Authority. This week, the subcommittee will have meetings twice a day in an attempt to cover all the material it needs to look at. She said those meetings will take five to six hours of her time every day.
“I think (there’s) one thing that comes through, one theme that seems to be reoccurring with everyone,” she said, “and that’s wanting more transparency in pricing, and having a more open marketplace for people to be able to go online and do comparative shopping for health care.”
Mast said the subcommittee would examine the Medicaid system, for which some people below the poverty line do not qualify unless they’re disabled. She believes the subcommittee should also look at the issue of the younger adult population that chooses not to purchase insurance, such as people aged 19 to 32.
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Posted by wirewatt (anonymous) on March 10, 2008 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why does our congress want us all to pay higher costs for electricity?
The Electric Coops in Western Kansas that own the power plant have played the game of putting in wind power. The wind power is going to cost us all more money on our electric bills. The Coops in Western Kansas have been growing at a good rate, and if they don't plan properly the lights could go out. That power plant will take over five years to build. The plants run at 80% efficient, and make a profit for the coops. The wind power is not reliable and doesn't make anyone any money, except for the tax abatements, which only are good for the Investor Owned Utilities. Who I feel doesn.t want to spend the money on wind power. They understand its not paying for the cost involved.
The KCC will allow for a small rate increase to pay for the wind power, which we won't use very much of.
Posted by citizen (anonymous) on March 12, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope congress can overide the Governors veto. She is too focused on moving up that she never really hears what Kansas is saying.
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