By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Area Kansas legislators say the session that recently ended had few high points.
The struggle to balance the state budget resulted in many unpleasant program cuts.
“It was, unfortunately, a defensive year,” said state Rep. Doug Gatewood, D-Columbus. “A lot of important programs took a hit. It was a year of shared sacrifice.”
State Rep. Bob Grant, D-Cherokee, said Gov. Mark Parkinson on Monday put it well when he said the budget work was painful for everyone, but not crippling.
Energy deal
Some legislators consider the governor’s agreement to allow Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build a coal-powered plant at Holcomb to have been a positive development. The legislation included provisions requiring state power utilities to generate 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. It also included incentives for consumers to use alternative power sources and alternative fuels.
The agreement was criticized by environmentalists, who said the “green” provisions weren’t adequate to compensate for the plant’s pollution.
Grant is one of those who considers the energy bill a highlight of the session. He said it will create hundreds of jobs.
State Sen. Bob Marshall, R-Fort Scott, said his provision requiring that at least 5 percent of the coal burned at the plant be Kansas coal, was included in the final bill. He said that would encourage fledgling coal-extraction efforts in Southeast Kansas.
Gatewood said the energy bill was a compromise. State Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, who has called herself an environmentalist, said the energy bill was a disappointment. She voted against it.
She said the requirements for renewable energy sources in the bill were weak.
“There was nothing in it that would make voting for a large coal plant work for me,” Menghini said. “I think the deal could have been a lot less one-sided.”
Minimum-wage hike
Increasing the state’s minimum wage, which is the lowest in the country, also was considered a victory by some legislators. Again, the sentiment was not shared by all.
The state minimum wage of $2.65 an hour will increase to match the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour on Jan. 1. Companies with less than $500,000 in annual revenue that don’t engage in interstate commerce are exempt from the federal minimum wage. The move is expected to affect about 20,000 Kansas workers.
“I think it was an embarrassment to the state,” Grant said of the state minimum wage.
Menghini said that was a highlight for her.
“We like to boast about our great work ethic, then we don’t necessarily reward it with a great wage,” Menghini said.
Gatewood said the minimum wage increase was long overdue.
Marshall said he doesn’t think the minimum-wage increase would help many workers.
“Workers who were not making the (federal) minimum wage probably will lose their jobs,” Marshall said.
The area legislators all said they were disappointed that there was no action on legislation to lower the minimum investment for casino managers and reduces the revenue-sharing provisions for dog tracks with slot machines. They said they had hope that there would be action next session.
Kelsey Smith Act
Gatewood said another positive measure was the adoption of the Kelsey Smith Act, requiring cell-phone companies to release information about where a cell phone has traveled during police searches for missing people. In the case of the murdered Overland Park teenager, her parents and police tried for days to get the information from the cell-phone company.
Gov. Mark Parkinson became governor during the last month of the session, after the resignation of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to join the Obama administration. The area legislators gave him high marks for his performance so far. They said they were pleased that he acknowledged in his Pittsburg appearance on Monday that Southeast Kansas and Western Kansas had been neglected by Topeka.
“He’s not worried about building political capital,” Grant said. “He’s not interested in running for election. He’s just in there to do the best job he can for Kansas.”
Other measures
State Rep. Doug Gatewood, D-Columbus, said a loophole was closed in the so-called “flee-and-elude” law that required pursuing police to be in a marked car and in uniform. State Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, said the Legislature also extended unemployment benefits.
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