RYCKMAN RECAP, Ron Ryckman, 38th District Senator
Although the pace of things in Topeka would normally be expected to pick up during Week 4 of the Legislature, that was true only at the committee level, as we had no roll-call Floor votes from Monday through Wednesday and only five on Thursday before a pro forma Friday. Not only that, but all five — one a confirmation — were totally non-controversial 38-0 tallies.
Things were a bit different on the House side, however, where a big item banning public benefits to non-citizens cleared that body 86-36 with the exception amendment I had supported continuing in-state tuition eligibility for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students. The underlying measure, SB 254, now goes to conference, so we’ll see what happens. That is the case as well with a Judiciary budget recommendation I got approved increasing law school loan repayment funds to attract much-needed attorneys to rural areas, since it has to get past the Ways and Means Committee vetting process.
A particularly interesting and animated hearing took place in my Senate Ag Committee on Thursday regarding a proposal to ban artificial food dyes or additives in school lunches. It was made even more timely by the chance presence of one of my superintendents, who got to watch and listen to all the testimony on SB 390 firsthand. As is often the case, there are two sides to the issue — with long-used preservatives being an important safety consideration, but I found the entire discussion both fascinating and informative.
The “two sides” aspect is equally applicable to the proposed legislation, SB 360, or so-called “pill tax” on which I have received a prolific number of emails. While many consumers have been led to oppose it as an attempt to raise prescription drug costs, local pharmacists see it as an effort to rein-in Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) and insurance company practices that have been causing closures due to substandard reimbursement. Typically, a solution to such differing opinions lies somewhere in between, but in this instance maybe not.
That “solution in between” phraseology might aptly pertain to KDOT’s Feb. 3 announcement of an emergency bridge repair for those traveling north of Liberal on U.S. 83 across the Cimarron River. It is not expected to take long, but everyone be careful out there in those work zones. No correlation, but in a request to increase funding for Driver’s License Clinics, I just got notified by Kansas Legal Services that I have 11,744 residents in my District with suspended licenses — and that’s only a fifth of what some senators have. I think I prefer to go with more positive numbers like the recently highlighted Water Grant Awards of $70,000 and $146,500 for Lift Station and Well improvements in Fowler and Kismet. Impressively, they were two of only 69 recipients out of some 270 applicants for such projects.
Constituent service is at the core of what we do as elected officials — and nothing is more satisifying than being able to make a positive difference on an issue involving our state government. One such matter presented itself this past week when I received a call from one of my county commissioners exasperated that a normally correctable clerical reporting error was going to cause the loss of $139,000 in school funding. The problem was a “by the book” bureaucrat at one of our agencies saying it was “too late.” Operating on the lifelong belief that every good policy has exceptions, I made a few phone calls, including to our Majority Leader. Within hours, the numbers were validated and funding was restored. Don’t you just love it when a story has a happy ending?
It would be hard to top that as the most inspiring and fulfilling experience of the past several days, but right up there with it was my sponsorship of our guest pastor for Thursday’s Legislative Prayer Breakfast, undefeated (17-0) heavyweight boxer John “Iron Man” Cantrell, who grew up in Topeka. What a powerful and motivating message he shared about overcoming — through faith in God — his incarceration and drug addiction to become a world class success story and example for others. He is in high demand as a speaker, but maybe I can get him to come out our Southwest Kansas way sometime soon where fistfights without enclosed rings were made famous. Meanwhile, I thank you, as always, for the blessing, honor, and privilege of being your “strictly verbal” voice in our State Capitol.
To any of you Dodge City High School students who are headed this way on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and would yourself like to be a “voice” in our Statehouse, let me know whether you might want to take advantage of the opportunity to make a full day of it serving as a Senate Page. A reminder, too, that Feb. 26 is also available. It was great seeing so many familiar faces at my Liberal Town Hall Saturday — including the Leader & Times publisher himself, as I anticipate a similar experience at the Meade County Historical Society Annual Dinner (Saturday night). Happy Winter Olympics and — though it won’t seem quite right without the Chiefs playing — Super Bowl watching (last Sunday).
