The views and opinions expressed in this editorial article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Salina Post or Eagle Media. The editorial is intended to stimulate critical thinking and debate on issues of public interest and should be read with an open mind. Readers are encouraged to consider multiple sources of information and to form their own informed opinions.
By: SCOTT HILL
Kansas Senator 24th District
The senate finished committee hearings on Tuesday of this week. Judiciary committee had an especially busy week. Bills that strengthen foster care and prevent violent offenders from being on our streets were especially important to get moved into the process.
With committee work done, we focused on debating legislation on the floor of the Senate. Wednesday and Thursday were full days as we debated 87 bills in those two days. Most of those were House bills that needed senate approval before they were sent to the Governor. By contrast the House only debated a handful of bills that the Senate sent over before they adjourned and went home. Apparently, the House leadership thought it was more important to stop rural hospitals from having discounted drugs than it was to debate any other legislation.
The following is a list of key legislation that the Senate approved:
· HB2594 increases the prosecution and penalty for individuals who blackmail others with digital images including those that have been digitally altered.
· HB2323 enables the insurance commissioner to crack down on insurance fraud.
· HB2518 increases the penalty for perverts who record and share explicit images of children.
· SB454 creates a way that we can prosecute individuals representing a foreign government and that threatens residents of Kansas.
· HB2018 creates a crime of intentionally interfering with a religious service.
· HB2468 expands educational scholarships from both the state and federal levels created by donations that the donor receives a partial tax credit for. The federal scholarships are for both private and public-school children.
· HB2727 strengthens the protections women in crisis pregnancies are granted to know all of their options. In particular, it allows women to sue abortion providers who do not inform them of non-abortion alternatives.
· HB2729 clarifies that the Department of Health and Environment must provide information to women in a crisis pregnancy including information that there are reversal options to a chemically induced abortion.
· HB2762 protects school children from predators who are contractual workers at a school.
· HB2320, which I carried, helps foster children who change schools to get their records and transportation as well as attending the best school for them.
· HB2590 allows married couples to create a special kind of trust for estate planning.
· HB2737 enacts a new type of tax increment financing for municipal economic development.
· HB2114 reduced the burden on watersheds and irrigators who use water retention structures.
· HB 2535 shows that the legislature even cares about feral cats. This bill protects those who care for feral cats by catching them for spaying and neutering from being charged with animal cruelty.
These are some of the bills that may be of interest to you. I supported each of these bills and they all passed out of the senate. Some will be going directly to the Governor and some still need to be reconciled with the House. The final week of regular legislative session is a flurry of ideas, combinations, and compromises.
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