The Emporia Gazette

May 28, 2012

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As relieved as legislators were that they'd sent a re-crafted 2009 budget to Governor Kathleen Sebelius, they knew Saturday morning that the toughest job -- working on the 2010 budget -- faces them on Monday.

State Sen. Jim Barnett and state Reps. Don Hill and Peggy Mast talked during an "Eggs & Issues" meeting Saturday morning at Presbyterian Manor about the difficulties they encountered in trimming funds from the current fiscal year. Tax revenues that were considerably under estimates made last year. The change caused the legislature to look again at budgets that had been set then and were expected to hold true by the government agencies and school boards that based their own budgets on the state's projections.

"I've never experienced the type of struggle we have now," Rep. Peggy Mast said.

She said that the bill sent to the governor to sign has 1 percent reductions for education and 4.25 percent reductions for the remainder of the agencies.

"We don't have a huge cushion for 2010," she said.

The local delegation held out hope that the federal stimulus package just passed could bring in much-needed dollars to help pay for some of the state's needs. There will be restrictions on how the money can be spent, however, and the full details on those are not yet known.

Mast said that the state must put a stop to the excesses that waste funds. She has served for a number of years on the legislative post audit committee that investigates questions raised about the workings of state agencies, then issues recommendations on changes that need to be implemented for those entities to work more efficiently and better-use their own budgets.

Mast said she has been stunned by the excesses in the bureaucracies in state government, and has spoken with the appropriate chairpersons in an effort to bring about change.

"Very seldom did I see anything done," Mast said.

She cited a work force development group that had one supervisor for every 1.2 people as an example of the excesses.

"People have been getting jobs up there just because they knew someone," Mast said. "This is the time to do some surgical slicing."

"There's room to be more frugal and responsible always," Hill said, adding that he believes the recision bill presented for the 2009 budget cuts was balaced and responsible.

Hill said the some consideration will need to be given to efficiencies in education. The House Education Committee study shows too much money is spent in districts that have low enrollment, considered to be 260 students.

The state has 60 districts with less than 260 students and 30 districts that fall below 200.

A bill passed out of the House committee that would focus on schools with 200 students or less, serving a 200 square mile area. "Weighting," or adding extra funds because of enrollment declines.

"They're not going to get more money because they lost 10 students," Hill said. "We've got school districts that have 65 to 70 students."

Barnett congratulated House members on their work this session.

"I really think the House did the best work on the budget," Barnett said.

The budget for 2010 could be sound.

"For the first time, we're going to come close to being structurally in balance," Barnett said, estimating $6 billion for the general fund and $13 billion for all funds.

"Eventually, you'll catch up," he said. "... We'll get through this."

Barnett praised Gov. Sebelius -- who again is being mentioned for a position in President Obama's Cabinet -- and said she would be a good choice if moving to the federal government is what she wants to do.

"I think she has such a strong background" in health and insurance, he said. "There's no doubt in my mind about her advocacy."

He raised other issues, such as autism and medications, as areas that need attention.

"We have a growing number of children treated with strong psychotropics," Barnett said.

He is concerned about the prolonged use of those medications, as well as their use in multiple combinations for individual patients.

"It is proper we look at the safety," Barnett said. "It's not just a cost issue, it's safety."

Barnett told the crowd that he expects the smoking bill to come to a vote soon.

"It deserves to come to a vote," he said. "There have been many attempts to 'Christmas tree up' that bill in an attempt to kill it."

Audience member Diana Solis asked the legislators about their positions on a bill that would allow "strong" beer, now sold in liquor stores, to be added to the shelves in grocery and convenience stores.

Mast, a board member of Kansas Family Partnerships, said she opposes the bill, as did Hill and Barnett.

Mast said she wants the legislature to add liquor-related questions to the state's driver's license test, such as the legal blood-alcohol content limit to drive, and the consequences of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

"The higher the alcohol concentration, the greater concern I have," Barnett said, adding that young people tend to prefer beer in general and Bud Light in particular.

Barnett was concerned about the ages of people selling strong beer, as well as the issues of additional taxes, penalties and fines.

Chuck Hanna, also in the audience, asked about what will happen with the money that comes in from the federal stimulus bill.

Hill said that some of the money, perhaps from one-third to almost one-half, will come in 2009, but most will be received in 2010.

Mast said that refinancing has been done on debts of the Department of Transportation, which has pushed payments into the future. Money from the stimulus could help transportation projects, and deferred maintenance on campuses also may be considered.

Kindergarten through 12th-grade education could see some added funds, she said, with the state paying out at the 2006 per-student level, and federal money used for the remainder.

"We have to be careful not to start new spending and new programs with one-time money," Mast said.

The legislators had plenty of comments on a lengthy question asked by Steve Ihde regarding ways to improve rural Kansas. The term "rural housing," he said, no longer means "rural," but is interchangeable with "low income."

"There aren't any easy answers on how we revive the towns that are dying," said Mast, who was raised in a small Kansas town.

Barnett, who was reared near Reading, another small Kansas town, said that four things impact the future of rural Kansas:

-- Innovative leadership "and I don't think government can legislate that," he said.

-- Entrepreneurship

-- Being able to differentiate oneself from one's neighbor, making oneself stand out

-- Regionalization, where areas work together and make better use of resources, like water.

"We don't have a lack of awareness or a lack of programs," Hill said, including Kansas as well as the nation in his remark. "There's a lot of duplication, which concerns me, but there are lots of good programs in place."

Hill said that the last census showed that the number of farms had increased, and that economic development, diversity and tourism all are growing.

There are, he said "some really super things happening out in the rural areas."

Hill later mentioned that Kansas has become less reliant on the "three-legged stool" that had been its mainstays in the past -- agriculture, aviation, and oil and gas.

Now, he said, economic development has been successful, with the bioscience initiative as an example.

"I would say it's not an understand that the bioscience industry and the revenue from those jobs is robust in Kansas," Hill said.

Forts Riley and Leavenworth each have a significant presence in the state.

"And we also interestingly have a much more robust economy in travel and tourism, in spite of the fact that we haven't invested much."

Hill said he was optimistic that Kansas would not experience as much of an economic downturn as other states.

"We will be working on initiatives with the object to bring in more additional advanced manufacturing, specificially in the alternative energies," Hill said. "That's one of the things that's on the plate and I'm hoping we'll be successful with that."

Barnett said that clean air and health care are critical to the future of Kansas.

"Last but not least, we need a good federal policy that helps us stop sending jobs out of the country," Barnett said.

Ken Hanson, marketing director for the Eggs & Issues host, Presbyterian Manor, asked about upcoming reductions that would affect the elderly.

Hill, as vice chairman of the aging and long-term care committee, said that he had not heard of major change being proposed.

Mast said that 10 percent cuts have been recommended, though Secretary Greenlee has said there is "a lot of promise with the economic stimulus package."

"That's one area I don't see waste," Mast said.

Another woman in the audience asked if the legislators were aware of a bill that would relax the cock-fighting law.

"Am I aware?" asked Mast, who proposed the existing law banning cock fighting. "... It's something I'm going to do everything I can to try to protect. I don't think this bill is going anywhere. After working so hard to get it passed, I'm not going to let it be undone."

The woman said she lives next door to people who keep numerous roosters for cock fights and claimed that the roosters were treated inhumanely.

"It is against the law in Kansas," Mast responded.

Mast also talked about difficulties with the owner of American Energy Company, which provides natural gas at high rates to residents of several small communities, including Americus. Using a different business name in each town, the owner is able to avoid oversight from the Kansas Corporation Commission and can charge what may be exorbitant rates for his product instead of rates set by the KCC.

"He has raised this rates exponentially," she said. "People have been forced to move out because of this" or convert their equipment to propane or other energy sources.

The man, whose name was not mentioned, did not attend the committee hearings that produced a bill to remedy the situation. Instead, he waited until the hearings were over and will appear before the utilities committee at 9 a.m. Monday morning.