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Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

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Legislature's issues in 2008 mirrored nation's

What won, what lost Immigration, coal plants, health care were main concerns

BY DAVID KLEPPER AND JEANNINE KORANDA

Eagle Topeka bureau

TOPEKA - Kansas lawmakers spent the 2008 session wrestling mightily with problems of national, even global scope, and their failures were nearly as big.

Attempts to curb illegal immigration and dry up the jobs that attract them imploded under pressure from business.

Health care reform saw modest progress, but most of the plan went unfunded.

The fate of two coal-burning power plants for western Kansas -- seen as a key indicator of future energy policy -- remains unsettled. But efforts to authorize the plants appear doomed to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto pen.

This year, the Legislature's debate was America's debate. Topeka might as well have been Washington.

So how'd they do?

"Major progress on a number of fronts," said House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls.

"Probably the most difficult session in my years as governor," Sebelius said. "Because there was an attitude of ultimatum."

"The governor stood in the way," said Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler.

"A downhill conversation," said Marcia Nielsen, director of the state's Health Policy Authority.

"Hijacked by coal," said Rep. Pat Colloton, R-Leawood.

"We had a mountain of possibilities and we've created a molehill," said Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, D-Wichita.

Some victories

Lawmakers can claim their victories: tight fiscal restraint to gird for tough economic times, economic incentives for a new Cessna plant in Wichita, a raise for state employees, more than $100 million in business tax cuts for next year; tougher penalties for stalking and theft, a new voter ID measure, and more money to educate preschoolers and help people with disabilities.

But if the Legislature's own priorities, announced in January, are any guide, it was a year marked by small victories and big failures.

The scuttling of immigration bills and the veto of an abortion bill frustrated conservatives.

Small steps on health care reform angered Democrats.

And the two top lawmakers -- Neufeld and Senate President Steve Morris -- look likely to lose their major challenge of the year, the coal fight.

The number of bills passed is another indicator. Lawmakers introduced 800 bills and resolutions and passed 266.

In the last election-year session, 2006, legislators passed 320 bills, including eminent domain restrictions, a concealed-weapons law, a massive school finance bill, and a large sales tax cut for business.

Reasons for failures

The reasons are varied.

The November elections made lawmakers timid. A tough budget year made new spending and new programs unlikely.

And the sheer complexity of the big issues -- health care, illegal immigration and energy policy -- posed an almost insurmountable challenge. With all its resources and power, Congress can't solve these problems, so how could Kansas?

"This the reason they call the states the laboratories of democracy," said Joe Aistrup, political science chairman at Kansas State University. "They had some failures this year, but look at the issues. These things require years to resolve. The feds aren't doing any better."

Plus, many lawmakers say they spent much of their time trying to resolve problems created by Sebelius.

When her environmental regulator rejected the coal project -- even though it met all state regulations -- they say it not only dealt a blow to western Kansas but jeopardized the state's entire business climate. Efforts to reverse the rejection were therefore of obvious importance, they said.

Their final attempt tied the fate of the plants to unrelated projects across the state, including the Gardner intermodal freight hub proposed for Johnson County.

Neufeld said he thinks Sebelius will overlook her concerns about the coal-burning plants and let the bill become law without her signature.

"I'm working under the assumption that economic development, somewhere in the state, is important to the governor," he said.

A veto looks more likely. Sebelius said she thinks the bill may be unconstitutional because it contains more than one subject. As for Neufeld's hope that she'll let the bill move on without a signature, she said that's "based on his conversations with himself."

Should Sebelius veto the bill, as she has two earlier attempts, lawmakers could try to overturn the veto on May 29, the one-day end to the session. But previous veto override efforts, which require two-thirds majorities, have failed in the House, and many lawmakers don't even attend the largely ceremonial final day.

'This is politics, not Sunday school'

Amid the failed coal bills and stalled immigration legislation, however, individual lawmakers were able to push through initiatives important to their districts, and in some cases, the whole state.

Lawmakers passed reforms to strengthen oversight of the Board of Healing Arts. Penalties for drug possession were tightened.

Rep. Raj Goyle, D-Wichita, pointed to the Judiciary Committee as an example of success.

"There were a lot of bills that came through and a lot of compromises reached and that's the way the Legislature should function," he said.

Rep. Lance Kinzer, R-Olathe, got through a bill requiring judges to state a reason before sealing court cases.

In a farewell address on the session's last day, retiring Rep. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, a Kansas historian, reminded colleagues that making new laws has always been hard.

"This is politics, not Sunday school," she said. "The political process is messy, convoluted and sometimes downright mean. Get over it. As it was a hundred years ago, so is it today."

Contributing: Jim Sullinger
Reach Jeannine Koranda at 785-296-3006 or jkoranda@wichitaeagle.com.