From the Gallery
State Legislation
The Kansas Legislature started off the second half of
the session with bad news from the Kansas
Department of Revenue. The "tax-only revenues" fell
$71 million below estimates for February leaving a
total shortfall for November 5 to date of $105 million.
Individual income taxes in February were $33.5 million
below the estimate of $80 million which is a 42
percent drop according to Hawver News Report,
February 26, 2010. Sales tax receipts were $14
million below expectations showing a 10.8 percent
drop from estimates. Meanwhile the Legislature is
working on appropriations bills which will surely come
to a vote closer to the end of the session. Obviously,
we need to pray that legislators would have wisdom in
making the necessary cuts to the budget and that
Kansas' economic picture would brighten.
Human Trafficking
Substitute for SB 353 renames the existing crimes of trafficking and aggravated trafficking to make it human trafficking and aggravated human trafficking.
Additionally, the bill would expand the crime of human
trafficking to add coercing employment and peonage
(involuntary servitude) as two additional ways to
commit the crime. The bill clarifies that the use of the
labor of persons that are incarcerated in a state or
county correctional facility does not apply. The bill
would add the list of crimes to crimes subject to
forfeiture, i.e. seizure of the property and the proceeds
of the illegal activity. Under the original SB
353 two new crimes of coercing employment and
involuntary servitude would be added to the newly
renamed crime of human traffickingknowingly
transporting or concealing any person into the state
who is not lawfully present in the United States.
Transporting or concealing such person would have
been a severity level 2, person felony but also would
have been subject to a ten-year enhancement if the
offense was part of an ongoing commercial or
criminal organization or enterprise and the aliens'
lives were in danger or if the aliens presented a life-
threatening health risk to Kansans. These provisions
were removed in Substitute for SB 353.
However, the crimes of coercing employment and
peonage are incorporated into the crime of human
trafficking. Proponents of the original bill were Sen.
Derek Schmidt (R-Independence); representatives of
the Kansas Peace Officers Association, the Kansas
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wichita
Children's Home, the Kansas Area United Methodist
Church, Concerned Women for America of Kansas
and former senator Nick Jordan. Opposing the
original bill was the Kansas Livestock Association
who raised concerns over the provision that would
have expanded human trafficking to add knowingly
transporting or concealing any person into the state
who is not lawfully present in the U.S. with the ten-year
enhancement. The ensuing bill, Substitute SB
353 resulted and was submitted to the
committee. Sub. SB 353 passed the Senate
with a vote of 40-0. The bill now moves to the House.
State Sovereignty Amendment
Hearings were held in the Senate on the amendment
to the Kansas Constitution (SCR 2615 that
protects Kansas citizens from the federal government
imposing health care regulations). It merely upholds
the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which
gives the states the powers not expressly delegated to
the federal government. Watch for updates as the bill
is to be heard in a House committee this week.
Insurance Rider for abortion
HB 2490 has been re-referred to the
Insurance Committee after being place on General
Orders in the House. Two amendments were added
to the bill in addition to the abortion rider provision.
One dealt with illnesses directly caused by the use of
tobacco products; requiring additional riders for
illnesses and medical conditions caused by the use
of these products. In addition an amendment was
added to provide for additional optional riders for
drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Grand Jury
SB 468, a bill that we reported on last week
has been re-referred to Senate Judiciary. The other
bill concerning grand juries, HB 2226 has
passed the House and is in Senate Judiciary. This
bill allows the attorney general and district attorneys to
convene grand juries but leaves in the ability for
citizens to petition for a grand jury with 100 + 2% of the
voters in the last gubernatorial election. The
Senate bill raises the number of petitioners
considerably and also gives extraordinary powers to
the county clerk to disallow the petitions.
Continue to pray and encourage the legislators!
Those who represent us need our prayers and encouragement especially in these hard economic times. Please continue to pray; if you contact them, please remember to do your homework; make your requests of them in a polite and gentle manner.
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
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