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The House of Representatives has been busy working to complete our review of the Senate passed items so we can meet in conference committee next week. April 1 marks the First Adjournment deadline when the Legislature as a whole needs to finish our work. The Governor will spend the April recess reviewing the legislation passed and we will return in late April for the annual Veto Session. The past few weeks have seen a lot of progress, which I have detailed below.

I always enjoy hearing from you and even more when we have the opportunity to visit with you back home. I encourage you to watch the action via the Legislature’s YouTube Page or Listen Live to debate or read testimony via the Legislature’s website. I can better represent our community when I know where you stand on the issues.

Rep. Jim Minnix
State Capitol, Room 512-N
Jim.Minnix@house.ks.gov
785-296-7384

It’s no secret the state has been on shaky financial ground the past decade. The current state suprlus allowed us the opportunity to start to right the ship. H Sub for Sub SB 267 puts $500 million in the state’s budget stabilization fund. We know there will be tough economic times ahead and it is prudent for the state, just like our families, to put money aside for that. The budget also pays off a significant amount of debt and ends bad fiscal practices like transferring from the highway fund. Finally, the budget makes invests in some new economic development incentives. However, I think the most important piece of this budget is that it still allows room for tax reform. I expect the House to debate a tax relief bill next week.

You know I am a strong supporter of education, which is why I voted for Sub for Sub for HB 2512 to fully fund our schools. Anything less than full funding for our schools is not acceptable. It would lead us back to court, wasting more taxpayer dollars. While this budget bill accomplishes the funding component. I am disappointed that this was not included in the full budget and that this bill includes some measures, that while good intentioned, create more red tape for local schools.

The second piece of legislation the House debated this week was HB 2615, which allows students to transfer to any school district in the state. Sometimes one school district is a better fit for students than the one they live in. For me, this is about flexibility for students and their families. Many of the school districts in our community already have policies that guide transfers, so this won’t change much for them. I welcome any students who want to transfer to schools in the 118th district because I believe they are top notch!

I joined my Republican colleagues in supporting law enforcement in the fight against illegal immigration. HB 2717 prevents cities from passing local ordinances to restrict law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Local entities should not be ignoring federal law and making it harder for law enforcement. I appreciate Attorney General Derek Schmidt for bringing this bill to the Legislature.

While a good portion of the session has been focused on other things, I am glad that we have been able to address a few issues to help the agriculture community. As I have been reporting, the House Water Committee has been looking for ways to improve water policy in Kansas. The legislation passed out of committee has yet to be debated by the full House. However, the budget approved includes full funding for the State Water Plan Fund.

In addition, the House approved H Sub SB 261, which protects Kansas ranchers and their products from the fake meat industry by ensuring proper labeling on non-meat products. I supported the bill.

Finally, the House voted to designate the Sandhill plum as the official state fruit. There was an extensive debate among the Kansas students who recommended the bill. I voted in favor of HB 2644.

The House of Representatives debated and approved redistricting maps to redraw the state’s House and Senate districts. I voted against Sub SB 563, which included both the House map, Freestate3F, and the Senate map, Liberty3. I understand the need to redraw the lines due to the shift in population to urban areas, but I enjoy representing the rural areas of Thomas and Graham counties.

The 118th House District will be the largest House district, including nine counties: Ness, Trego, Lane, Gove, Sheridan, Scott, Logan, Wichita, and Greely.