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Kansas lawmakers will be considering major issues in the 2013 legislative session_ school finance and property tax reforms as well as lower taxes. John’s e-mail newsletters will help you keep up with developments on the issues that could affect you.
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John recorded a public service announcement in January for the Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association stressing the importance of reading to young children.
It is an honor to be asked by the Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives to lead a House debate on several bills. That honor was accorded Wednesday Feb. 13 to Rep. Rubin. (Photo by Scott Schwab)
The economics of tax reform is explained at Kansas forum
LAWRENCE | What is the economics behind Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax reform strategy?
A noted Kansas economist, Dr. Art Hall of the KU business school, explained the rational for the tax effort being made now in Topeka. He spoke April 2 at a forum on Kansas tax reform sponsored by the Douglas County Republican Party.
Hall explained that growth in the Kansas economy doesn’t come from companies moving to Kansas. Dynamic growth occurs, he said, from small businesses starting and expanding in Kansas.
The tax climate in the state, he said, must encourage that kind of growth.
To view his presentation, click on THIS VIDEO LINK. It runs for 15 minutes but is highly informative. Every Kansan should see it.
Law eliminates time limit on rape cases
TOPEKA | Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill into law April 1 abolishing the statute of limitations on the prosecution of rape cases.
Rape and aggravated criminal sodomy could be prosecuted at any time after the attack occurs, according to the bill, HB 2252.
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Legislature passes “Innovative” schools act
TOPEKA | A bill to give school districts the ability to try more innovative approaches to education with less state regulations passed the Legislature Friday, April 5.
HB 2319 would allow a school district to be an innovative district that supporters said would attract the best and brightest teachers. The bill limits that designation to 10 percent of the state’s school districts.
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Closer tie between KDOT, Turnpike sought
TOPEKA | First came the suggestion from the governor that a lot of money could be saved by merging the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Kansas Turnpike Authority.
There was too much duplication of effort, Gov. Sam Brownback argued, and merging the two agencies would bring greater spending and personnel efficiencies.
On Friday April 5 the Legislature passed a bill tying the two agencies closer together, giving the governor a partial win. It did not merge KDOT with the KTA.
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Preservation of Religious Freedom Act
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Bill wants more unspent dollars spent in classroom
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If you have a question or comment about an issue before the Kansas Legislature, you can go to the Contact Page and fill out the REMARKS section of the form there or click on John's E-MAIL link.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach spoke Tuesday March 19 on the federal government's new gun control efforts. He praised efforts for Rep. John Rubin in Kansas for introducing legislation that asserts state sovereignty on the issue. (Video by the Johnson County Republican Party of Kansas)
Major prolife bill passes Legislature
TOPEKA | The main prolife legislation of the 2013 Kansas Legislature was approved Friday April 5 by the House affirming that life begins at conception and prohibiting the use of tax money for abortion.
The bill, HB 2253, was approved earlier by the Senate. The House action sent the bill to the governor desk. He later signed it into law.
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Bill to ease prison overcrowding is signed into law
TOPEKA | Kansas Lawmakers approved a bill April 1 affecting inmates released from prison under supervision that could reduce the number of prison beds by 863, which experts say will be needed next year.
Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican and chairman of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, said the measure is needed to avoid future overcrowding in the state’s prison system. He said it will also save the state money in the long run.
Gov. Sam Brownback signed the bill into law April 11.
The current available bed capacity (as of Jan. 14) was 9,564. The Kansas Sentencing Commission predicts that passage of HB 2170 will reduce the need for prison beds by 863 in fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1, and between 2,611 and 2,744 by FY 2023.
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Lawmakers expand conceal-carry law
TOPEKA | The Kansas Legislature approved a bill Friday April 5 that supporters say will increase citizen safety when gun violence threatens.
It passed the House 104-16 and the Senate 32-7 and was signed into law by the governor April 17.
Senate substitute for HB 2052, would clarify the statute that prohibits firing a firearm within city limits. It provides several exemptions, including the firing of a weapon in defense of a person or property.
The bill allows people with permits to carry their weapons into a government building, including state and city properties, if they lacked adequate security measures such as electronic detection, guards at entrances to check for guns or other weapons.
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Brownback signs drug testing bill into law
TOPEKA | Welfare recipients suspected of drug use would be tested and could lose their benefits under a bill approved today April 2 by the Kansas Senate.
That vote sends the bill to the desk of Gov. Sam Brownback. He signed the bill into law Tuesday April 16. The drug tests will begin after Dec. 31.
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House passes plan to reduce income tax; 2015 start
TOPEKA | The Kansas House passed a plan Thursday March 21 that begins to phase out the state’s income tax beginning in tax year 2015.
The vote was 82-39. The Senate recently passed its version of tax reform that is different from the House-passed bill (House substitute for SB 84).
In the House bill, the Secretary of Revenue would be required to determine the percentage of revenue growth above 2 percent and use that percentage to reduce the upper individual income tax bracket by that percentage plus an additional 0.5 percent.
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Second amendment protection act goes to governor
TOPEKA | The Legislature approved a bill Friday April 5 that would exempt a “personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition owned or manufactured in Kansas” from federal regulation.
Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican is the bill’s chief sponsor.
A final version passed the House 96-24 and the Senate 35-4. The governor signed the bill into law April 16.
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More tax dollars don’t equal better schools
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Bill prohibits city exceptions to “open carry” law
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A Case for Kansas Gun Rights
Rep. Rubin’s testimony Feb. 19 on HB 2199 before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee
Chairman (Arlen) Siegfreid and committee members, I appreciate this opportunity to testify today as the lead sponsor and proponent of HB 2199. I am proud that 49 House colleagues have joined me in sponsoring this vitally important legislation, which proclaims loudly and clearly that not only the Second Amendment but the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution are alive and well in Kansas, and which for the first time puts real teeth into protecting the precious individual right of every Kansan to keep and bear arms under the United States and Kansas Constitutions.
This proposed legislation begins by citing the constitutional rights guaranteed to every Kansan to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment and, under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, to retain all powers and rights not specifically granted to the federal government – guarantees that were understood as a precondition to and a matter of contract between the state of Kansas and the federal government at the time Kansas entered the compact to join the Union in 1859.
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Issues facing the 2013 Legislature
In a recent questionnaire from The Kansas City Star, John Rubin received the following question:
The Star: What do you think are the most pertinent issues facing the Legislature right now? How would you address those issues?
Answer: This election was all about returning our state and nation to economic growth and prosperity and creating thousands of new jobs for Kansans by reducing the heavy tax and regulatory burden, and resultant uncertainty, on this nation's job creators, especially the small businesses that provide over 80% of the jobs in our state. This will greatly expand the tax base and actually grow state revenues.
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A Path to Victory
In the general election on November 6, while Democrats did well on the national scene, my conservative message of limited government, lower taxes and less regulation to make Kansas more prosperous and business-friendly, spur economic development and create thousands of new jobs for Kansans, and to promote a culture of life and traditional family values, resonated with Shawnee voters here in Kansas House District 18, leading us to a convincing Republican victory over a determined Democratic opponent.
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Health Insurance and ObamaCare
In the 2012 session, I had the privilege of co-sponsoring, carrying, and helping to lead the fight on the House Floor on behalf of House Concurrent Resolution 5007, the Health Care Freedom Amendment, and Senate Bill 14, the Health Care Freedom Act.
HRC 5007 sought to place on the ballot for voter approval an amendment to the Kansas Constitution to preserve the right and freedom of Kansans to provide for their own health care. It passed the House overwhelmingly, but unfortunately did not get out of the Senate. This prevented you, the citizens of Kansas, from having your say on this important issue at the polls.
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Measure would lower tax on boats
TOPEKA | Boat owners haven’t been left out of the Legislature’s efforts to cut taxes.
The Kansas Legislature passed and sent to the governor a bill that lowers the current local property tax rate for boats from the current 30 percent of market value to 5 percent over a two-year period. The governor signed the bill into law April 16.
It will lower the rate to 11.5 percent next year and then to 5 percent in 2015 and future years.
The measure is a response to a constitutional amendment approved by Kansas voters last year that authorized the Legislature to make the change.
The original bill would have exempted all watercraft from property taxation by 2016. But a subcommittee of the House Tax Committee found that a total exemption was not warranted.
It also recommended that the tax rate not fall below 11.5 percent, which is the rate for homes. The full committee, however, did not adopt that recommendation.
Because of the current high tax, some Kansas owners register their boats in other states where the tax is lower. Proponent of the bill said a change in Kansas rates could lure those boats back to Kansas.
Lawmakers pass tracking device bill
TOPEKA | Law enforcement could obtain a search warrant for the covert installation, maintenance and use of a tracking device if there is probable cause that a crime is about to be committed.
Under current law, all search warrants must be supported by facts sufficient to show probable cause that a crime has been or is being committed. A final form of the legislation unanimously passed the both the House and Senate on Friday April 5 and was signed into law April 16.
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