Newsletter - February 13, 2021
Many bills have drawn headlines recently and stirred controversy.
The legislative process is designed to have several steps for a bill to be debated, changed or stopped. In Kansas, any legislator can introduce a bill on any topic. Many of these bills have little support and never even get a committee hearing. Even if a bill passes the Senate, for instance, it will be reviewed by House committees and may never go any further. Or the bill may be amended and sent to the full House for amendment and debate. It is often too early to comment much on the fate of any bill until I have had the chance to review it and see what form the bill is in when it comes to me for a vote.
The House was busy this week. We took up 22 bills in addition to the work in committees that continued to meet, hear and work bills as well. I Chair the House Transportation and Public Safety Budget. So far this month my committee has been working on the Corrections, Kansas National Guard, KBI, Emergency Preparedness, State Fire Marshal, Highway Patrol, Emergency Medical Services Board, CPOST, Sentencing Board and Abstractors Board budgets, among others.
SB 15 – this measure previously vetoed by Governor Kelly in the 2020 legislative session establishes the Kansas Economic Recovery Loan Deposit Program providing desperately needed low interest loans up to $250,000 to small businesses in Kansas. The bill also has provisions to enable state-chartered credit unions to serve more Kansans while also affording banks help to reduce the cost of agricultural loans so they can pass the savings on to Kansas farmers.
HB 2001 – the bill creates the crime of sexual extortion. The provision will help combat any attempt to harm individual’s person or reputation through certain types of extortion. The bill has broad support among both the law enforcement and legal community.
HB 2005 – updates dated language in the Boiler Safety Act to increase the threshold capacity of a boiler to be inspected by the State Fire Marshall.
HB 2014 – expands allowable antique vehicles for people to possess, register and use to certain military surplus vehicles. Kansans would have a greater ability to restore and display valuable artifacts from our state’s proud tradition of military service.
HB 2050 – removing the requirement that certain entities submit certain documents to the division of post audit. This reduces costs between government agencies by eliminating nonsensical barriers to cooperation.
HB 2063 – provides additional benefits for spouses and children of fallen Kansas Police and Firemen if the death is resulting from a service-connected disability.
HB 2064 – amends provisions in the Kansas Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) Act relating to participating member’s election and extension of their DROP periods. The bill removes burdensome.
HB 2072 – conforms state law to federal requirements for certain insurance companies. It helps ensure that these companies have sufficient capital.
HB 2074 – updating produce licensing statutes pertaining to appointment, fees, licensing, renewal dates, continuing education, suspension, revocation and denial of licensure and reinstatement.
HB 2075 – allowing venue for an adoption when the state is the agency to be where the state agency or its subcontracting agency has an office. This will help reduce burdens that hold up adoptions and place more children in forever homes.
HB 2081 – the bill modifies how certain prior convictions are counted allowing for more judicial discretion during the sentencing process.
HB 2102 – clarifies requirements in the Kansas Egg Law regarding classification of repackaged eggs. These changes seek to support our Kansas poultry producers while maintaining public safety.
HB 2103 – establishes a program for addressing pesticide waste disposal. This program would serve to help address the disposal of pesticide waste that cannot be sold or returned or otherwise used.
HB 2109 – increases the threshold for a county to be required to have a lawyer representative on the Board of Indigents’ Defense Services while altering the makeup of the board.
HB 2112 – makes it easier for owners of self-storage rental units to efficiently operate their business while respecting the personal property rights of their customers and substitutes a simpler and more cost-effective method.
HB 2120 – removes the spousal exception from the crime of sexual battery allowing for more protection for spouses, treating them like all other Kansans for purposes of this crime.
HB 2121 – clarifying the definition of “absconder” in the criminal procedure code and for parole. This change was necessitated by a Kansas Supreme Court opinion and will help make our communities safer so those who flee justice will face consequences.
HB 2134 – codify the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Credit for Reinsurance Model Regulation into statute to ensure continued accreditation of our state’s insurance department.
HB 2165 – simplifies the definition of antique vehicles to any vehicle that is more than 35 years old regardless of type of components or equipment installed on the vehicle.
HB 2167 – common sense reform allowing concrete mixers and dump trucks to display their license plate on the front of the vehicle under certain circumstances.
Have you received an incorrect 1099 from KDOL?
Employers are not the only ones impacted by unemployment fraud. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are not liable to pay taxes on income you did not receive from fraudulent unemployment claims. If you received a Form 1099-G for unemployment benefits you never received, you may dispute the 1099 in one of three ways:
Navigating the new Identity Verification Software to stop unemployment fraud.
Last week Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) deployed a new security feature, in partnership with Okta and LexisNexis. The new security upgrades should reduce fraudulent unemployment claims notices being sent to individuals and businesses. It is a step forward to reduce fraud.
Once a claimant has verified their identity by answering questions that are unique to them, they will be asked to setup a multi-factor authentication to further secure their account. This process is automatic, and claimants will be prompted to complete this process the next time that they log into their accounts. If a claimant is having issues, they will need to select “Don’t have an account? Sign in.” and set up their new account. KDOL thinks this will help many claimants who think they are now locked out of their accounts. If there are further issues, please go to
https://www.dol.ks.gov/docs/default-source/ui-benefits-forms/how-to-register-with-okta.pdf or to the regular UI Call Center at 1-800-292-6333.
Helpful Contacts
Kansas Unemployment Contact Center
(800) 292-6333
www.GetKansasBenefits.gov
Report Identity Theft or Fraud
www.FraudReport.ks.gov
Fraud Hotline
(785) 291-6059
Employer Help Desk
(888) 396-3725
www.KansasEmployer.gov
Constituent Services
Thank you for the opportunity to continue serving working families in Seward County. Please reach out to me any time I can assist you with a state agency concern. I do ask that you send the request to me by email. This ensures that I get the information correctly to the agency we are working with. You can reach me when I am in Topeka by email
Shannon.francis@house.ks.gov, by phone (785) 296-7466, or by mail at 300 SW 10
th Avenue, 274-W, Topeka, KS 66612
