Here at the Capital, we are finishing our first week after Turnaround. Last week was busy in anticipation for the Turnaround, and as promised this week is much of the same. The following bills have been presented to the House and are on the agenda of the Legislature.

At this beginning of the current session, HB 2554 was introduced to the House. It proposes that felons must submit a DNA specimen if arrested on felony or drug charges. Arguing that many unsolved crimes have abundant DNA evidence that cannot be linked to the perpetrator, HB 2554 would require anyone arrested and booked for a felony, including a DUI, to provide an oral swab of their DNA. The DNA would then be examined to identify 13 neutral points and be processed against DNA already in criminal databases. The DNA would be used for identification purposes only and would be destroyed if the person was acquitted of the crime for which they were accused. Most violent felonies leave some DNA evidence behind and this method of investigation will help law enforcement match that evidence to a criminal who is arrested for a different crime in the future. The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On February 14th, HB 2916 was introduced to the House; it proposes that people who are arrested and convicted of more than one DUI would now be required to show proof of the installation of an ignition interlock system before their driving privileges are restored. An ignition interlock is a device that prevents the car from being started by an intoxicated driver, normally by a breath testing device attached to the steering column. The bill passed unanimously in the House and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Recently, the Legislature has taken action on workmans compensation claims in order to help maintain order and productivity in the courts. HB 2753 would allow administrative law judges (ALJ), at their discretion, to close workmans compensation claims that are over five years old due to lack of prosecution. If a case has failed to move to a final hearing, settlement hearing or an agreed award under the workmans compensation act within five years the judge may choose to close the case or grant an extension for good cause shown. The bill passed with almost unanimous consent in the House and is scheduled for debate in the Senate Commerce Committee.

We are all aware that there is no smoking inside of a hospital or medical clinic, however there is no law prohibiting smoking on hospital or medical clinic property. House Bill 2739 would expand the ban on tobacco use to include all property and grounds of medical facilities as well. If adopted, this would eliminate designated smoking areas outside hospital doors or in courtyards of medical facilities.

Most of us have been given a gift certificate on one occasion or another. Some of us have also gone to redeem that certificate only to find out that it’s not worth the value it was originally purchased for. Retailers issuing these certificates and cards, in order to reduce accounting problems, chose to charge a small administrative fee which served to eliminate the outstanding balance from their books if the gift certificate wasn’t used in a predetermined amount of time. Others apply an expiration date to the card. Consumers, on the other hand, like to know that when they are given a gift certificate for $20, that when they attempt to redeem it, it will still be worth $20, no matter how long it may take them to do so. House Bill 2658 was passed in the House and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.

To further legislation on the safety and prevention of multiple sex offenders, HB 2576 was passed in the House last week. House Bill 2576 would enact a penalty of life without the possibility of parole for aggravated persistent sex offenders. Among other penalties, a person convicted of three sexually violent crimes would face a penalty of 25 years to life for their first offense, 50 years to life for a second offense, and life without parole for a third offense. The bill was heavily amended in committee which created numerous topics for debate on the floor. The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And finally, more details have emerged on the anticipated school finance plan being drafted by the House. The new plan addresses the needs identified in the Legislative Post Audit (LPA) report, but does so while at the same time granting flexibility in spending by individual districts. Some of the main points of the plan include:

• Providing approximately $500 million in additional school funding which will be phased in over three years.
• Year one of the plan includes $175 million in additional monies and sets aside $500,000 for teachers who wish to become certified under English as a Second Language (ESL).
• The second and third years of the plan would distribute an additional $325 million and seeks to target poverty and at-risk students as identified by the LPA study.
• School districts will be responsible for determining their own budgets based on a needs assessment and specifying priorities within that budget. Each district will be required to make specific reports on their budget to the Kansas Board of Education.
• Failure by any school to meet AYP in the first year will be examined by the Kansas Board of Education and the school will be required to reallocate it’s resources in the following year(s) to address problem areas. A failure to meet AYP in subsequent years will be addressed with increasing intervention by state education officials.
• Base aid per pupil will increase by $50.
• Does not change the formula for low enrollment districts.

This last week I was pleased to be visited by the Leadership Dodge class as well four 2006 Local District Teachers of the Year, from the Dodge City School District.

As always, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have. You may visit my new website at patgeorge.org, or contact me by email at patgeorge@statehouse.kansas.gov, by phone at (785) 296-7696, or by fax at (785) 296-2028. My mailing address is:

Statehouse
2nd Floor
300 SW 10th
Topeka, KS, 66612

Sincerely yours,

Pat George
Representative for the 119th District
State of Kansas
House of Representatives