From the Gallery
State Legislation

The Kansas Legislature is moving right along with "turn-around" coming up on February 27. This week legislators will be busy in full session cleaning up their agendas in order to start on bills generated in the opposite house. It is a busy time; the legislators need your prayers for wisdom and discernment right now as the pressure to get everything done heats up.

Health Care Freedom:
Testimony was heard last week at a joint meeting of the House and Senate Health Committees regarding SCR 1626, legislation that proposes to protect the ability of Kansans to make their own choices regarding health care. This legislation, an amendment to the Kansas Constitution, would have to pass by a 2/3 majority in both houses for it to be placed on the ballot in 2010. Similar legislation is being proposed in 35 other states in response to what is perceived as a usurpation of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by the federal government. The Tenth Amendment gives the states authority over matters that are not explicitly delegated to the federal government. One of the proponents of the resolution was Christie Herrera, the director of the health and human services task force for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). She stated that SCR 1626 supports continued health care access for Kansans, frees Kansas from having to comply with federal mandates, and sends a message to the federal government that it needs to be careful in its approach to healthcare to avoid overreaching its constitutional authority. Forty-seven Kansas legislators are members of ALEC which is a non- partisan public policy organization. Herrera stated in her testimony, "SCR 1626 would not attempt to block implementation of any federal law as long as the federal law does not require an individual/employer mandate, or forbid patients from paying directly for medical services. Citizens can still participate in the proposed public option, the national health insurance exchange, and the Medicaid expansion. They just can't be forced into those choices." Final action on SCR 1626 will take place in committee on Wednesday, February 17, at 1:30 p.m. in Room 546- S. ["Health Care Freedom Supporters Testify or Joint Health Committee" Kansas Liberty February 9, 2010]

State Sovereignty:
The Kansas Senate passed a state sovereignty resolution (SCR 1615) last week that urges the federal government to respect state's rights as stated under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The resolution passed 33-7. This resolution is non-binding; it gives the federal government notice that the state will stand behind its state powers and will resist federal encroachment. As one senator put it, even though the resolution is just a "document," the Declaration of Independence was once just a document as well, but with it came the birth of the nation which eventually wrote a constitution that limited federal powers.

Many legislators are becoming increasingly troubled by mandates by the federal government some of which are unfunded. Legislators argued that many of the mandates have cost Kansas millions of dollars. At a time when Kansas is losing revenue, these mandates make an already tricky job of balancing the budget even more difficult.

Abortion insurance rider:
HB 2564 was heard in the House Insurance Committee last week. This bill provides that abortion be removed from standard inclusion in all health care policies, except when necessary to preserve the life of the mother or in the case of rape or incest involving a minor and reported to a law enforcement agency. Abortion coverage would still be available through optional riders. Presently Blue Cross provides such riders. Since 1978 seven other states have adopted this policy. The bill assumes that the optional ending of a pregnancy does not legitimately qualify as "health care" unless the life or the health of the mother is threatened. This debate is raging on at the federal level as well with abortion being included in the proposed "public option" in several bills. Current provisions allowing abortions to be performed under the State Employee Health Benefit Program are as follows: We will be following this legislation closely. Contact your house representative and ask him to support this bill.

Montoy Decision: The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that they would not re-open the Montoy school funding case. Their decision reads in part, "This court is an appellate court and not a fact-finding court. The constitutionality of SB 549 (school funding) is not before this court. It is new legislation and, if challenged, its constitutionality must be litigated in a new action filed in the district court." The Court further stated that the school funding formula it was asked to review was different than that in the Montoy decision. Currently school districts calling for the review are paying approximately $2 per student in taxpayer dollars to launch action against the taxpayers of the state. A coalition of 74 school districts is using taxpayer dollars to secure more taxpayer dollars for the schools.

Attorney General Steve Six requested that the Supreme Court follow precedent and refuse the coalition's request to re-open the case, essentially a "short-cut" to re-open a new case.

Concerned Women for America of Kansas
P. O. Box 11233
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207
Phone/Fax: 913-491-1380
Email: director@kansas.cwfa.org
Web site: kansas.cwfa.org