RYCKMAN RECAP, Ron Ryckman, 38th District Senator
Wow, talk about a change of PACE. After voting on fully 50 bills leading up to “Turnaround,” we pulled back to just two during Week 7 of the Legislature — plus an amendment rejection that gave us a total of three. Not that they weren’t important or time-consuming, because taxes are always at the top for debate, but it demonstrates how time and circumstance can change dramatically during a Session depending on pressure and priorities. It also shows how quickly we sometimes have to shift our focus from the Floor to committee action and vice versa.
That is the logical result of “starting over” with the second half of our 90-day calendar when we take up the measures sent to us from the House side. This is selective, of course, because there is simply not enough time to get to them all, but that’s where the decisions of Leadership become so important.
The big news of the week in the Senate, of course, was passage of the proposed constitutional amendment to limit property taxes. SCR 1616, adopted rather comfortably on a 3-more-than-required 30-10 bipartisan vote (two Democrats for; three Republicans against), would — if approved by citizens at next August’s primary election — place a 3 percent “cap” on annual increases in home valuations. It’s not a perfect “fix,” mind you — and won’t go forward without House affirmation (which is definitely uncertain), but is at least an attempt to address a No. 1 concern. Despite worries about impacts on local budgets, possible cost-shifting to agricultural land, and use of a year 2022 basis, I became persuaded to support the measure after viewing a chart showing residential taxes accounting for 56 percent of total increases during the past 25 years versus 5 percent for ag land. Tough issue.
Another tax-related measure, SB 402, also passed this week by a near-unanimous 39-1 margin. Designed to help senior citizens (those born before Jan. 1, 1961) simplify their filings, it would combine all income, eligibility, and administrative provisions into a single document called the “Kansas Golden Years Homestead Property Tax Relief Claim Form.” It will also raise the home valuation limit to $375,000 (from $350,000) and maintain relief for previous refund recipients. The program itself may be more familiarly known to some of you as “SAFESR,” or “Selective Assistance for Effective Senior Relief.” Neither the bill nor its companion, HB 2058, has yet been scheduled for a hearing in the House Taxation Committee, but they will most assuredly take it up soon or even move on the Senate-passed version.
Perhaps the most intense hearing of Week 7 was in my Local Government Committee on HB 2433, involving probably the two top challenges for Kansas legislators — water rights and home rule. Although the bill passed the House rather routinely on a vote of 116-6 and was initially seen as affecting only Hays and Russell, it has since stirred up both expanded controversy and confusion. That occasionally happens when attention is focused on a matter at first considered narrow in application.
This one is particularly unique, though, in that both sides seem to be “right” and the issue is the subject of ongoing litigation. It may turn out to be something that just needs a little more thorough pondering, a disposition far preferable to doing the wrong thing. Yes, even legislators can be patient.
Patience is what’s going to be required for those traveling between Sublette and Garden City, as major reconstruction is under way on U.S. Highway 83 during the next year-and-a half. It has also been necessary for those affected by the wildfires in the southern part of our district, although an executive order just signed by the governor and ratified by the Senate Monday waiving certain dimension and hours-of-service requirements for commercial vehicles involved in the relief effort will certainly help.
“Help” to ranchers and energy producers will also be forthcoming from our attorney general’s recent victory in getting the lesser prairie chicken “de-listed” as a threatened species. Then there’s the Kansas Contractor’s Association announcement of new scholarships for students pursuing career paths in heavy construction.
The absolute best part of my job as your elected representative at our Statehouse is sharing useful information like that not always available from other sources. As I welcome you to March and look forward to “Dodge City Night” at the Capitol next week, I thank you again for the honor and privilege of being your “voice” in Topeka.
