Local legislators predict rough second half
Tax increases may happen, say Emler, Dahl
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
Compare this year's state legislative session to a fair and you'll learn this:
If the first half was the peaceful parade, the second half will feature the tough bronco and bull riding.
That was Rep. Don Dahl's analogy Saturday morning as he described the 2003 Kansas legislative session. The first half was relatively quiet, but the second half is bound to get rough as lawmakers decide exactly how to get out of a state budget crisis.
Estimates of the deficit for the 2004 fiscal year have reached as high as $750 million.
Rep. Dahl, Hillsboro, and Sen. Jay Emler, Lindsborg, were both on hand Saturday morning at the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce's annual legislative coffee, held at city hall. About 20 people attended with questions ranging from tax increases to education funding to gambling.
Dahl said that this year's session hasn't had a lot of new bills introduced, simply because there isn't the money to fund them. Instead, bills with less substance — such as the bill discussing whether or not to classify prairie dogs as rodents or fur-bearing animals — have been brought forward.
But the bulk of Dahl's e-mails and letters have dealt with two topics: School consolidation and assisted living.
When looking at the state's budget woes, many people have said that the state shouldn't have cut taxes a few years ago, Dahl said.
But this budget problem isn't unique to Kansas, he said. The majority of America's states are facing similar economic troubles as the country's economy goes downhill.
Another contributor has been the massive layoffs in the aviation industry, Dahl said. And the state's agricultural woes haven't helped.
The bottom line is this: Kansas must either raise taxes or cut spending, Dahl said.
Taxes should be raised, Emler said.
Speaking about education, he said, "I don't see how education won't take a hit if we don't raise taxes."
Dahl didn't say definitively whether or not taxes should be raised, but he said that the budget will probably be a combination of cuts and tax increases.
There are some areas where he would favor a tax increase more than other areas, he said.
Emler said that the state's education system faces a bad situation that's only going to get worse. School districts should plan on the same base budget per pupil rate of $3,863 and be ready for that number to drop again, he said.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has promised not to alter school funding or raise taxes, but schools will most likely come out of this year's session with some sort of funding reduction, Emler said.
"I don't think education can come out of this unscathed," he said.
In fact, the assertion that schools have been "held harmless" is wrong, Emler said, because former Gov. Bill Graves cut the base budget per pupil by $27 last fall from $3,890 to $3,863.
In the realm of higher education, state officials are trying to put vocational-technical schools under the state board of regents with the rest of the state colleges, Emler said. That way vo-tech credits could easily transfer to other Kansas colleges.
The rest of the session was spent discussing some of the state's hot topics for 2003.
— State board of education — Senate bill 1601 would allow the governor to appoint all members of the Kansas BOE. SB 1607 would have local school boards choose the state BOE representatives, Emler said.
Right now, 35 other states have governor-appointed state school boards, he said.
— Tax on Internet sales — Each year Kansas loses millions of dollars of possible sales tax revenue on Internet and catalog sales, Emler said. The state is looking at a way to collect that revenue.
— Driver's licenses for illegal aliens — A bill that would allow illegal aliens to obtain Kansas driver's licenses has passed the House and gone on to the Senate.
— Tax-exempt status of independent living facilities — Right now, independent living facilities that are affiliated with nonprofit nursing homes — such as Parkside Homes in Hillsboro — have tax-exempt status for their property taxes.
Future legislation may require that these homes be geographically connected with their parent company, or else they wouldn't receive the tax exemption. The bill proposing this is Senate Bill 161.
While the bill is still being revised, Emler said that one possible compromise might be to require a payment from the units instead of property taxes.
— School consolidation — Several different plans have been proposed for consolidating the 300-plus school districts existing in Kansas. The reason for consolidation is simple: save money.
But many parents are worried that consolidation could mean extra hours on the bus for their students, Dahl said. He anticipates that a summer committee will be formed to study the issue after the legislative session is over.
The issue is definitely personal for many Kansans, Emler said. People say that if "you mess with my school, you'll ruin my town."
The state prefers that local communities make the first move when it comes to consolidation, instead of having the issue forced upon them, Emler said.
— No Child Left Behind act — State educators testifying before legislators have said that the NCLB act, which requires schools to improve student test scores, just isn't "do-able," Emler said.
Kansas' test scores already rank high in the United States, he said. Meeting the NCLB criteria will be easier for a state that's already a low achiever.
And it will take more money to put this plan into action, Emler said — money the state doesn't have.
