Kansas Association of Community College Trustees

Policy

KACCT Newsletter April 7, 2006 700 S. W. Jackson, Ste. 1000, Topeka, Kansas 66603 - (785)-357-5156

Legislative Accomplishments To-Date….By early evening Friday, March 31, members of the Kansas legislature were headed for home.  First Adjournment came in late afternoon for the House and around 7:30 p.m. for the Senate.  Legislators packed up for their April break with a number of accomplishments pertinent to community colleges….

• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment-sponsored bill which would require students living in campus housing to either receive meningitis vaccine or sign a waiver indicating they know their increased risk of contracting meningitis has been sent to the Governor (HB 2752)

• The Kansas challenge to secondary school pupils act which will allow gifted students in grades 9 and 10 to take concurrent enrollment classes   has been signed by the Governor (HB 2575)

• The bill calling for energy conservation project financing for technical and community colleges, moving the projects payout period from 15 to 20 years has been sent to the Governor.  Dr. Vicky Smith’s testimony helped move this legislation through both the House and Senate (HB 2602)

• A language clean-up bill moving references to community college personnel evaluations from Department of Education statutes to the Board of Regents, noting that these evaluations are under the jurisdiction of locally elected boards, has been signed by the Governor (SB 436)

• A bill providing tuition waivers for eligible foster children attending Kansas educational institutions, including community colleges, has been sent to the Governor (H Sub for Substitute SB 85)

• A bill which would permit those preparing to sit for the certified public accountant certification examination through July 1, 2007 to include advanced placement credits to count toward an academic degree from a college or university, whether or not offered at the physical college or university campus, has been approved by both Houses and sent to the Governor (HB 3004)

• A KPERS bill addressing early retirement from school employment and employment after retirement has passed both the House and Senate and was sent to the Governor.  Among the issues revised in the bill, salary limits for retirees would move from $15,000 per year to $20,000 (House Substitute for SB 270)

And, best of all…

• The budget bill -- approving $5,086,081 for community college operating grants plus the $3.1 million “off-set” to complete the final year of the out-district tuition buy-down outlined in SB 345 – has been approved and awaits the Governor’s signature.  The Governor has line item veto, but is not expected to use it on community college issues.   (SB 570)  

Look for Interim Study of….While plans for summer interim committee studies will not be formally determined until later this spring, several committee chairmen have indicated their support of issues important to community colleges.  Most significant is SB 586.  SB 586 is an initiative proposed by Senate leadership to address the deferred maintenance needs of the six universities.  Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, and Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, have asked the Board of Regents to include our 19 community colleges and Washburn University in their proposal. While no legislative action is anticipated this session, these legislative leaders plan to propose a summer interim discussion of the issue. 

Equally significant to community colleges is SB 588, which has not yet passed both houses.  SB 588 would create a commission to look at governance, funding and the mission of Kansas’s technical colleges and vocational education schools.  Also proposed by Senate leadership, the commission would be charged with submitting a report with recommendations to the legislature on or before the start of next year’s legislative session with a final report made before the start of the 2008 session.  The bill has passed the Senate and currently is stalled in House Higher Ed where it could reappear in a conference committee report.  Many view this interim commission proposal as critical to the future of technical college/school funding. 

Two other possible interim studies are HB 2775 which would call for three-tuition levels at state higher education institutions and HB 2684 which would offer a financial incentive for those students who graduate early with the intention of pursuing technical education studies.

KAN-ED Funding.…Although the Board of Regents requested $2 million from the state general fund for KAN-ED, the Governor failed to include this amount in her budget and the legislature did not make the addition.  KAN-ED will, however, receive $8 million from the Kansas Universal Service Fund and the Board of Regents has asked that the legislature consider amending in the proposed $2 million at omnibus.  A proposal to bring correctional facilities and other state entities into the KAN-ED network failed to move out of committee.  

Bills We Continue to Monitor….With unanswered concerns about how Kansas will fund a yet-to-be-determined school finance bill, the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee has temporarily shelved action on HB 2619, the proposed tax exemption on new machinery and equipment purchased after July 1, 2006.  With extra dollars in short supply, Senate committee members were reluctant to work the bill with its anticipated price tag of $316 million or more; however, there are many fans of this legislation who see it as a major tool for economic development.  As the plan for K-12 funding emerges during the waning days of the session, the M & E tax exemption could again become an issue.

One answer to the funding question could be gaming.  Senator Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, introduced a new gaming bill last week and there are rumors of others being readied when legislators start looking for funding sources.  Because, in an earlier bill, community colleges were cited as potential recipients of some of the gaming profits through reinstating demand transfers to again give local units of government -- including community colleges -- their “aid to local units of government” (which was defeated), we will be watching as proponents push new gaming legislation as a means to fund our schools.

What Happens Next…The legislature is in recess until Wednesday, April 26, when everyone will return for the veto session which is expected to last until about Friday…or Saturday…May 5…or 6.  Committees, particularly those dealing with K-12 issues and the final funding measure, the omnibus reconciliation bill, will begin returning to Topeka on Monday, April 17^th, with conference committees scheduled for later that week followed by a long weekend, through Tuesday, April 25^th.

Important Resources to gather legislative and budget information:
www.Kansas.gov
www.kslegislature.org Kansas Legislature
http//skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/klrd.html Legislative Research Department