December 22, 2016 Published by the League of Kansas Municipalities
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Volume 21 - Number 49 - December 22, 2016 Published by the League of Kansas Municipalities Headlines 1 | Committee Leadership Appointed in the Senate and House 2 | Governor's State of the State Address 3 | Register for Local Government Day 4 | New KPERS 457 Roth Offering 1 | Committee Leadership Appointed in the Senate and House Following the elections of Senate and House Leadership, Senate President Susan Wagle and House Speaker Ron Ryckman, Jr. appointed chairs for legislative committees. Here’s a breakdown of Senate and House leadership, as well as those chairing committees for the 2017 legislative session. If committee chairs or vice-chairs filled out a candidate questionnaire for the League, their name is hyperlinked for you to view where they stand on city issues. Senate Leadership President: Susan Wagle (R-Wichita) Minority Leader: Anthony Hensley (D- Vice President: Jeff Longbine (R- Topeka) Emporia) Asst. Minority Leader: Laura Kelly (D- Majority Leader: Jim Denning (R- Topeka) Overland Park) Minority Agenda Chair: Marci Francisco (D- Asst. Majority Leader: Vicki Schmidt Lawrence) (R-Topeka) Minority Whip: Oletha Faust-Goudeau (D- Majority Whip: Elaine Bowers (R- Wichita) Concordia) Minority Caucus Chair: Tom Hawk (D- Manhattan) Senate Committee Chairs Committee Chair Vice-Chair Agriculture & Nat. Dan Kerschen (Garden Bud Estes (Dodge City) Resources Plains) Dan Kerschen (Garden Assessment & Taxation Caryn Tyson (Parker) Plains) Commerce Julia Lynn (Olathe) Gene Suellentrop (Wichita) Molly Baumgardner Education John Doll (Garden City) (Louisburg) Ethics, Elections & Local Steve Fitzgerald Elaine Bowers (Concordia) Government (Leavenworth) Federal & State Affairs Jacob LaTurner (Pittsburg) Bud Estes (Dodge City) Financial Institutions & Jeff Longbine (Emporia) Rick Billinger (Goodland) Insurance Judiciary Rick Wilborn (McPherson) Julia Lynn (Olathe) Barbara Bollier (Mission Public Health & Welfare Vicki Schmidt (Topeka) Hills) Transportation Mike Petersen (Wichita) John Doll (Garden City) Utilities Rob Olson (Olathe) Mike Petersen (Wichita) Carolyn McGinn Ways & Means Rick Billinger (Goodland) (Sedgwick) House Leadership House Speaker: Ron Ryckman, Jr. (R- Minority Leader: Jim Ward (D-Wichita) Olathe) Asst. Minority Leader: Stan Frownfelter (D- Majority Leader: Don Hineman (R- Kansas City) Dighton) Minority Caucus Chair: Barbara Ballard (D- Speaker Pro Tem: Scott Schwab (R- Lawrence) Olathe) Minority Agenda Chair: Brandon Whipple Asst. Majority Leader: Tom Phillips (R- (D-Lawrence) Manhattan) Minority Caucus Whip: Ed Trimmer (D- Majority Whip: Kent Thompson (R-Iola) Winfield) Majority Caucus Chair: Susan Concannon (R-Beloit) House Committee Chairs Committee Chair Vice-Chair Agriculture & Nat. Resources Don Schoeder Larry Hibbard (Toronto) Budget (Hesston) Kyle Agriculture Kent Thompson (Iola) Hoffman (Coldwater) Troy Appropriations Erin Davis (Olathe) Waymaster (Luray) Stephen Alford Children & Seniors Linda Gallagher (Lenexa) (Ulysses) Commerce, Labor & Economic Les Mason (McPherson) Ken Corbet (Topeka) Development Corrections & Juvenile Justice Russ Jennings (Lakin) John Whitmer (Wichita) Education Clay Aurand (Belleville) Diana Dierks (Salina) Energy, Utilities & Joe Seiwert (Pretty Randy Garber (Sabetha) Telecommunications Prairie) Federal & State Affairs John Barker (Abilene) Ron Highland (Wamego) Financial Institutions & Jim Kelly Randy Powell (Olathe) Pensions (Independence) General Government Budget Bill Sutton (Gardner) Chuck Weber (Wichita) Government, Technology & Pete Degraaf (Mulvane) Greg Lewis (St. John) Security Health & Human Services Dan Hawkins (Wichita) Susan Concannon (Beloit) Susie Swanson (Clay Higher Education Budget Kevin Jones (Wellsville) Center) Jene Vickrey Willie dove (Bonner Insurance (Louisburg) Springs) Judiciary Blaine Finch (Ottawa) Fred Patton (Topeka) Steve Huebert (Valley K-12 Education Budget Larry Campbell (Olathe) Center) Kristey Williams Jack Thimesch Local Government (Augusta) (Cunningham) Brenda Landwehr Stephanie Clayton Social Services Budget (Wichita) (Overland Park) Steven Johnson Taxation Tom Phillips (Manhattan) (Assaria) Richard Proehl Transportation Shannon Francis (Liberal) (Parsons) Transportation & Public Safety Michael Houser J.R. Claeys (Salina) Budget (Columbus) Lonnie Clark (Junction Veterans & Military Les Osterman (Wichita) City) Water & Environment Tom Sloan (Lawrence) Ken Rahjes (Agra) 2 |Governor's State of the State Address Governor Sam Brownback will deliver his 2017 State of the State Address on Tuesday, January 10th, at 5 p.m. The address will come a day after the start of the new legislative session, which will face looming issues of school finance and solutions to balance the state budget. League legislative staff will be listening to the Address to determine what, if any, mention is provided to local governments and to what effect it might be. The State of the State Address will be delivered from the Kansas House and will be live-streamed on www.ksgovernor.ks.gov. The Democratic response by Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley will be released shortly after the conclusion of the Address. 3 |Register for Local Government Day Start the year off with another opportunity to stay informed on what's happening in the Capitol by attending Local Government Day on Wednesday, January 25th. Meet with your legislators, hear an update on legislative issues, and network with fellow local government officials. In addition, the Kansas Mayors Association hosts lunch for all mayors prior to the afternoon events. Local Government Day will kick off at 2:00 p.m. awarding the "If I Were Mayor" contest winners, followed by the legislative policy meeting and an evening reception with state legislators and county officials. We will update the schedule of events as more information becomes available, register here. 4 |New KPERS 457 Roth Offering Beginning in 2017, participating employees in KPERS will be able to take advantage of a new KPERS 457 Roth option. To help participating local employers understand the new offering, KPERS will be holding informational webinars beginning in January. The webinars will also be available to help you understand what employers need to do in order to implement the new offering within the office to employees and how employees can take advantage of the alternative 457 plan. The January webinars will occur on January 6, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m, for which you can register here. The second January webinar will occur on January 11, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., for which you can register here. For more information, please see this attached flyer or contact KPERS at 1-785-414- 3600 or by email at kpers457@kpers.org. © League of Kansas Municipalities | For subscription changes, address changes, comments or suggestions, please contact Nikki Harrison. | To access old League News, please click here. .