Capitol View

The first week of the Kansas legislature held a lot of activity. It doesn’t seem like we have been away very long! My time between sessions included work with the joint pension committee, the legislative budget committee, tax issues and the industrial hemp advisory board.

Highlights of the first week back included the governor’s state of the state address, which led to the release of her budget. There are several good things in her budget, including additional investment in mental health and using some of the increase in revenues to pay off debt. Many Republicans agree with these strategies and I think we will be able to make progress.

To continue funding programs without raising taxes, there was also a proposal to re-amortize KPERS. This would lower the payments for the next several years by a little over $100 million annually.

I am concerned about reducing KPERS payments.

We have more than doubled the state’s annual payment since I arrived in 2011, finally making the full payment last year. That full payment hasn’t been made in several decades. In my opinion, it is just a little too soon and the method proposed to re-amortize (based on growth in payroll) is not ideal when financing existing longterm debt.

I attended a portion of the KPERS board meeting. The board is responsible for making portfolio return and amortization decisions, among several others. They rejected both a suggestion to reduce the return assumption by their investment consultant and the governor’s proposed re-amortization. Our required KPERS contribution is calculated by their actuary based on the board’s assumptions.

The Kansas Leadership Center held a meeting of their Civic Engagement Board which I attended at their office in Wichita.

In the legislature, I have been working to organize a meeting facilitated by the National Institute for Civil Discourse. We had a half-day session Friday morning for all legislators.

While the ice storm closed most entities in Topeka and made travel treacherous, 40 legislators still braved the weather to participate. Facilitators and program staff came from seven different states to put on the program. The legislators are motivated to continue the discussions, learning and working together.

While change doesn’t happen in a day, we explored the concepts of civility in the legislature and in Kansas. We had a chance to learn about and listen to each other.

Among other things, we found that civility means exploring rather than demeaning differing points of view.

It does not automatically equal compromise or change how often we get our way. Civility is built on respect and understanding. It requires active listening.

I look forward to changes we could make in the legislature and the state. We also had a chance to hear from many partners across Kansas who are already engaged in civil discourse.

During the week, I enjoyed many visitors, including several of our school leaders. It was great to learn from them and talk about how to handle future issues. I also look forward to working with the students and pages who they will bring later in the session. Please contact my office at the number below if you know someone interested in being a page.

This is only the beginning of discussion on these topics. I excited to explore how we move forward and appreciate your thoughts and involvement. You can reach me at steven.johnson@house.ks.gov or call my office at (785) 296-7696. There is a little more information about KPERS and the civil discourse discussion posted on my Facebook page. Please call my office if you need help to find that or other information.

Thank you for the privilege of representing you in Topeka and have a great week!