Monday Morning Update

1) Things are starting to shake, rattle and roll in Topeka!
· Shake - State revenue deficit continues to grow while confidence decreases.
· Rattle - Legislators continue to upset the applecart by proposing new cuts and changes to State Agencies in order to save money.
· Roll – Friday is the last day to introduce bills (with the exception of a few committees) so legislators are rushing to meet the deadline.

2) Talking about bills - an important bill (HB2593) was introduced last week in the Tax Committee by Representative Pat Colloton. This bill would increase the tax rate on some alcoholic liquor and cereal malt beverages. It will have a hearing in the committee during the next 60 days. Hopefully it will pass out of committee and then go to the House floor for debate. If passed, this tax is estimated to bring in an additional $22 million. The beauty of this bill is that it designates that half of the revenues received goes into funding the DD waiting list and the other half goes to fund community mental health programs. This alcohol tax is above and beyond the current tax and won’t affect revenue currently received by cities.

This is definitely a bill to watch! I’ll keep you updated about its progress.

3) Many legislators are talking about taxes as a way to increase the State’s revenue. Some legislators want to do this by eliminating certain taxes and others want to increase taxes. Other legislators want to leave taxes just the way they are and cut programs. An important thing to remember is that Kansas relies on taxes to provide the basic services of government. Ask yourself whether serving vulnerable Kansans is one of those basic services of government. I know my answer, what about yours?

4) The House Appropriations Committee completed hearings on their Rescission Bill (HB2222). This bill made it out of committee (meaning that it was approved by the committee and now can go to the House floor to be “worked”). This is slated to happen this week. If you remember prior Monday Morning Updates, I’ve shared information about the State General Fund (SGF)/Medicaid swap. Our hope is that this “swap” will be introduced as an amendment during bill discussion. If the amendment is approved by the House, we’ll still have the hurdle of having it pass the Senate. If the swap is not approved, the 10% cut to Medicaid remains in place and businesses, providers and consumers will see disastrous results!

5) What do I mean by disastrous results?

· I’m aware of one JoCo Urgent Care provider that is no longer accepting Medicaid.
· Some Medical equipment providers are turning away customers whose primary payment source is Medicaid.
· A provider of DD services in a bordering county has eliminated their community employment and life enrichment programs limiting consumer options.
· And…it’s still early.

Your To Do List for the week:

1) Call your Representative (Senator - not necessary this week) and ask them to support the “SGF/Medicaid Swap”. For many of you, making this phone call will mean getting out of your comfort zone. Remember that drastic times call for drastic measures!

· It is very important to call Monday or Tuesday.
· Call their Topeka office (their number is listed in the chart I sent you last week).
· If you are fortunate enough to speak to your Representative, introduce yourself as a constituent, a person who cares about individuals with developmental disabilities and ask them to support using DD State General Funds in place of the 10% cut to Medicaid.
· If your Representative is not available (very probable) leave the same message with the assistant. She/he will pass on your message.
· This won’t take more than 5 minutes of your time, but is a huge issue that must be addressed this week! If this swap doesn’t get approved, the cuts to Medicaid will continue, allowing further damage.

2) Get our your calendar, find March 3rd and write “InterHab Day at the Capitol”. I’ll provide more information later about this event.

As usual, thanks so much for your attention and devotion to our cause. Remember to visit www.invisiblekansans.org for additional updates.

Warm Regards,
Lurena Mead