Author: Staff

Wichita Eagle: Kansas legislators asked to sign letter against U.S. transgender bathroom guidance

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said he opposes Merrick’s letter and will not sign it, although he acknowledged that the speaker and supporting lawmakers have the right to petition the federal government.

 

He said he would oppose any effort to pass a formal resolution, which he said would be “an expression of hostility by the state of Kansas toward transgender individuals. We know what the consequence of that is.”

 

Carmichael cited North Carolina, which faces lost business and boycotts by entertainers upset that the state has passed a law requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to their sex at birth.

 

“We would find ourselves with the same brand of shame” as North Carolina, Carmichael said. “If we want Kansas to be open for business, resolutions like this discourage national employers from coming to our state.”

http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article79923027.html

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Building Our Future- Funding Our Schools

SchoolsPublic schools and universities have made Kansas great. I owe much of my professional success to the outstanding education I received in our public schools and universities. We owe an obligation to provide the same opportunities to our children and future generations.

In recent mailings, the Kansas Republican Party has been deceiving voters and misrepresenting news reports. My position has always been the idea of removing dollars from higher education to support elementary education is absurd. The wealthiest Kansans should not be getting tax exemptions at the expense of our public schools, nor should the burden of paying for them be shifted to property and sales taxes.

In our own city and community, we build the finest airplanes in the world. WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research produces the finest aeronautical engineers in the world and conducts cutting-edge research allowing our aircraft manufacturing technology to lead the worldwide industry.

Employers know that good schools are vital to providing quality employees. As we seek to turn around our state economy we must not forget the importance of investing in education.

– State Representative John Carmichael

Rep. Carmichael to Debate Challenger

State Rep. John Carmichael
State Representative John Carmichael addresses the Kansas House of Representatives

This Tuesday, September 9, state representative John Carmichael (D-92) will debate his Republican challenger, Jeremy Alessi.  The debate, to be held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1101 N. Riverside, will begin at 7:00pm.

“I look forward to continuing the discussion with Mr. Alessi we began last week,” Rep. Carmichael said.  “The voters of our district are interested in real solutions to the problems our state now faces.   The Sam Brownback experiment has failed.”

Alessi, a former Illinois pastor and photographer, has been endorsed by Operation Rescue and other far-right organizations.

“Our city needs public policy that serves all citizens.  My focus remains on keeping our schools open, taxes fair, and the water clean and plentiful,” said Carmichael.  “Extremist ideology has no place in a Kansas government that must represent all of us.”

The debate is free and open to the public.  Hosted by the League of Women voters, attendees may submit written questions that will then be asked of both Rep. Carmichael and his challenger.

Bill Bundling

“Bundle (noun): Several objects or a quantity of material gathered or bound together.” www.Dictionary.com.

In the legislature, “bundling” has a more ominous meaning. Late in the session, conference committees take several bills, some good, some bad, and “bundle” them together for an up or down vote. As a result, legislators are forced to vote for bills they may oppose in order to pass bills they support, or vote against bad bills at the cost of also defeating good legislation. It’s an important part of legislative leadership’s power brokering at the Statehouse.

On the last night of this session, the practice reached its peak. The last bill to reach the floor bundled seven tax bills into one package. We were forced to decide whether to pass a bill that relieved an unfair tax burden on National Guardsmen and saved literally hundreds of good paying jobs, or vote against a bill which extended unnecessary tax breaks to certain counties. I voted for veterans and jobs.

This is not the way the legislature should work. If re‑elected, I intend to participate in drafting legislative rules which would bring an end to this practice. These rules have been proposed before, but have failed to pass. Voters are entitled to know how a legislator voted on a bill, and also why a legislator voted for or against a bill. Under the present rules, voters cannot really know where their legislator stands on important issues when one bill contains seven different topics, some good and some bad.

Fracking Update

The governor’s task force on hydraulic fracking met in April at Newman University. Representatives of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Geological Survey, and the Oklahoma Geological Survey all provided input. The bottom line: seismic activity in northern Oklahoma and central Kansas has dramatically increased over the past four years. This increase appears to coincide with the increased use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing and the accompanying injection of fracking fluids into disposal wells.

While there is scientific consensus that disposal wells, particularly poorly sited or operated wells, may induce seismic activity, the jury is still out on whether the hydraulic fracturing process it’s self causes earthquakes. Part of the key to this determination is to increase the number and accuracy of seismic monitoring stations in Kansas. The House Energy and Environment Committee, on which I serve, recommended legislation which would provide the $250,000.00 necessary to operate an expanded network of stations. There are only two in Kansas, one of which provides unreliable data, and both of which are located far from the areas where earthquakes are occurring. In the final budget, $160,000 from emergency funds was allocated for this project.

With the cooperation of the United States Geological Survey, federally owned monitoring stations will be temporarily located in Kansas as a stop-gap measure, and close cooperation with the Oklahoma Geological Survey will continue. This will be of great help in better identifying the cause of earthquakes in Kansas, and will assist all of us in knowing whether fracking, disposal wells, nature, or other factors are the cause of the dramatic increase in earthquakes in Kansas.

I intend to be on the forefront of pressing for the funds required to properly monitor seismic activity in Kansas and act responsibly on the data we gather. To do less endangers not only the public safety, but also the oil and gas industry on which the state depends for good paying jobs and on which our country depends for domestic energy to meet our needs and protect our national security.

House Protects Renewable Energy

In 2008 Kansas led the nation in requiring that 20% of our electric power needs be generated with renewable energy (primarily wind and solar) by 2020. In the past six years our power companies have made the investments necessary to achieve this goal. As a result, wind farms now dot the state, bringing much needed money to Kansas farmers, and creating thousands of new, high paying, skilled jobs for Kansas workers.

Generally, the fossil fuel industry (coal and oil interests) oppose this standard. Once again this year these special interest groups sought to repeal the renewable energy standard. The Senate passed a repeal but the effort was blocked in the House by a substantial margin. While claims are made by some these requirements have resulted in a 40% increase in electric rates, the Kansas Corporation Commission estimates the cost of renewable energy accounts for a 4% increase in electric bills (Weststar was just granted a 67 cent per household rate increase to cover these costs).

While fossil fuels still provide an important part of Kansas energy needs, our state must remain on the forefront of the cutting edge technology for the 21st Century. Jobs, clean energy, and Kansas future all depend on following through on the course we set in 2008. I will continue to resist efforts to turn back the clock on technology and progress at the cost of clean air and responsible use of Kansas natural resources.

Recycling Bill Passes

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) introduced a bill intended to remove recycling codes from plastic containers. In testimony before the House Local Government Committee on which I serve, KDHE claimed the codes were outdated and no longer necessary.

I’m pleased to report HB2551, which included amendments to KDHE’s bill which I drafted and introduced passed both houses and is now law.

Instead of removing the codes as KDHE proposed, HB2551 requires manufactures to continue to use nationally recognized codes on plastic containers sold in Kansas so consumers can identify recyclable plastics when making purchasing decisions and so small recyclers can properly sort plastic containers to be recycled.

I’m pleased to have assisted in bringing together the recycling community and KDHE to reach a compromise acceptable to everyone and to continue Kansan’s opportunity to be responsible stewards of the environment.

State Budget Passes in Dark of Night

Future Deficits Projected

On the last night of the legislative session, a state budget bill was finally brought to the floor for an up or down vote. The House held no hearings on the budget and members were given no opportunity to amend the 55 page bill prepared by four members of a conference committee. I personally made the following explanation of my no vote on the House floor:

MR. SPEAKER: I vote no on S Sub for HB 2231 because the legislature has abdicated its responsibility to establish the state budget, instead entrusting the responsibility to only a few chosen members, followed by a 10 minute debate on the House floor. This is not what my constituents sent me here to do. Transfer of funds from the Tobacco Settlement to the Bio‑Science authority and short changing state employees for the sixth year in a row are only examples of the many flaws in this budget and I therefore vote no.

While to his credit the governor vetoed the raid on the Tobacco Settlement Fund designed to help Kansas children, the budget, as signed by the governor, raids the state Highway Fund which invests in the infrastructure necessary to build roads vital to our future while creating thousands of good paying jobs in Kansas, denies state employees the pay increase necessary just to keep up with inflation, fails to adequately fund our public schools, and continues Kansas on a race to the bottom among our sister states.

Most concerning the budget fails to recognize the sad fact that tax cuts for the wealthiest Kansans have placed Kansas on a path to fiscal disaster. The numbers are in the table shown on the left.

Because of the fiscal irresponsibility of the legislature and governor, our $6 billion dollar general fund budget is projected to be nearly $1.5 billion dollars in the red by 2019. As a result, both major bond rating agencies have downgraded Kansas credit rating meaning the state must pay higher interest on the bonds used to pay for highways and other long term investments in the state’s future. Quite simply, our state will be unable to pay its bills.

I will continue to oppose efforts to pass irresponsible state budgets, written by a chosen few, and passed in the dark of night. To do otherwise is to shirk my responsibility to you as your State Representative.