State of the State Day One
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Submitted by: Kari West
The KARL Class XVI began our leadership experience in the Capitol City where we explored policymaking, state judiciary responsibilities, trade association advocacy and what makes Kansas a leader in rural development.
Kansas Bankers Association – Doug Wareham
Our journey began at the Kansas Bankers Association (KBA) with a lunch and a welcome from President and CEO, Doug Wareham and Alan Cobb, President & CEO of The Kansas Chamber.
Wareham spent time sharing why leadership matters when sustaining local access to credit in rural communities. KBA has 36 staff members who assist with legal issues, compliance, government relations, education, employee benefits, etc. Here are some key points you should know:
· 98% of Kansas banks are represented by the KBA
· KBA members each have one vote (1 Bank = 1 Vote)
· Founded in 1887, more than 136 years in service
· Today there are 177 state-chartered banks, 27 national-chartered banks, and 7 national savings & loan institutions who manage more than $89,977,257,000 in assets.
Wareham shared that the Community Banking Model continues to change and shared alarming statistics which he referred to as “Boiling the Frog,” a result of mergers and acquisitions. In 2001, Kansas had 390 state-chartered banks. By 2021, more than 177 banks sold or consolidated in the state. When that occurs, communities generally lose top level jobs and big decisions tend to be moved to the headquarter locations removing local from the equation. The last new state-charter for a bank in Kansas was 2007.
There are several factors leading pushing community lenders to consolidation.
· Regulatory Burden & Overreach – think about the layers of regulations banks must work through. Couple that with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created as a result of the 2008 housing crisis.
· Rising cybersecurity & fraud costs (11% of bank expense load is related to this)
· Tax Equity challenges
The KBA is assisting local banks with the ability to make change in legislation and push back to protect the free market. Why should you care? It’s simple:
Local Leadership = Local Decision Making = A Win for Rural Communities!
The Kansas Chamber – Alan Cobb
Alan Cobb, President & CEO of The Kansas Chamber, shared some Chamber 101 facts about the Kansas Economy. Currently the Kansas Chamber has more than 600 members in a variety of sectors. Nearly 80 of the 105 counties are represented in their membership.
He explained that the heart of the Kansas economy is agriculture, manufacturing, aviation/aerospace, oil/gas, and financial services. Both the rural and urban areas have unique challenges, but both are experiencing the workforce issues.
Did you know…
· Kansas is second in the nation per capita of number of government employees
· Kansas is also 12th in the nation in goat production
· There are more than 3,500 units of Local Government in the state
· There are more than 600 cities & 1,500 Townships
The Legislative Process – Doug Wareham
When we came into the room for the first session, we all drew parts to play in the legislative process. Doug’s enthusiasm and real-world experience with how a bill becomes a law in Kansas, was both entertaining and enlightening in an interactive presentation. One key takeaway from this exercise: Legislature should only be used as a last resort.
Doug shared several thoughts as we worked through an actual banking bill from introduction to inception using real-life examples.
Before introducing legislation, consider the following questions:
· DO we have a legitimate concern or problem?
· CAN we make a case for it?
· DO we have adequate information to back up our claims?
· DO we have grassroots support? To get something passed, you need to have an Army behind you, and the fight should happen in the boardroom, so do your homework.
The key to an effective case plain and simple: COMMUNICATION.
Did you know that more than 80% of bills introduced will disappear by Turnaround Day? In this process, lobbying either by trade association or other lobbyists is crucial to gaining needed support for your endeavor. Views from a lobbyist:
· The legislative process is designed by nature to kill bad ideas.
· Strategy is most definitely required.
· If you get hot, leave the building.
· If you only show up when you want something, you’ll never get anything.
· Don’t burn bridges.
· When asked about where a bill should be introduced first, he said pick the best odds and know where your champions lay. Which group will the bill go the furthest, the fastest?
· Develop a coalition of supporters.
· Don’t be afraid to lobby the lobbyist. Make sure you’re ready when you have the opportunity for your 3-1/2-minute elevator speech.
Kansas Works Registered Apprenticeship Program – Shonda Atwater
The Office of Registered Apprenticeship is housed in the Kansas Department of Commerce and led by Shonda Atwater. This office was established in September 2022 by Governor Laura Kelly to help address growing workforce needs in Kansas.
The new Office of Apprenticeship will serve as the primary resource to connect industry partners and training providers with the goal of Keeping Kansans in Kansas.
The office will work to serve as a resource provider, to convene partners and the guide apprenticeships in the state. There is a newly appointed Kansas Apprenticeship Council that will guide the program. (Spoiler alert, KARL Class XVI participant, Jeremy Johnson’s dad, Mark, currently serves on this statewide council.)
Kansas currently has 212 recognized Apprenticeships programs with close to 4,000 residents participating. Did you know that 9 out of 10 employees will stay where they completed their apprenticeship?
Another one of the many things Atwater is excited about, is the apprenticeship “Dinner Bell Calls” that are held to promote success, connect with others and help to grow the program. For more information, email apprenticeship@ks.gov.
Laws that Make Kansas a Great Place for Agriculture/Business – Allie Devine
Former Secretary of Ag and current lobbyist shared her take on the laws that make Kansas a great place for agriculture. Kansas is a pro-ag, pro-growth state.
· Kansas values ag property on the use value or inherent ability to produce, not on market basis
The impact of this draws ag-related businesses to Kansas. Devine said, “Die on your sword to protect use value.” But there are several other factors that contribute to the Kansas ag business climate:
· Taxation of tangible personal property. Kansas offers tax exemptions to businesses as a part of making the product.
· Limitations on County Home Rule. Counties were never meant to be separate from the state, they are a subdivision of the state.
· Sales Tax Exemptions – there are many exemptions that get challenged on a regular basis that could impact how we do business. It’s important to remember, ag producers enjoy these exemptions because they are producing a commodity for the wholesale market.
· Other areas of ag regulations are limited to uniform state law:
o Examples include, but are not limited to: Weights & Measures, Conservation Programs, Grain Warehouses, Dairy Inspections, Water Structures & Appropriations, Plant Inspections & much more.
o In 1990, Kansans fought for uniformity.
Devine wrapped up her conversation with the group by talking about lobbyists, their impact and planting the question, who will be the guardians of these laws in Kansas moving forward? She encourages communities to send the best and brightest, educated and articulate to Topeka. The state needs the next set of leaders. After all, we are the best lobbyist there is. Key Takeaway:
Common People Doing Extraordinary Things
A special thanks to those KARL Fellows who joined us for the last session of Day 1, and to Alan Cobb and the staff at The Kansas Chamber for hosting the event.
State of the State Day Two
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Submitted by: Greg Doering
Understanding Education, Finance and KSDE Legislative priorities
Kansas Department of Education officials Craig Neuenswander, deputy commission fiscal and administrative services, and Dale Brungardt, director of school finance, told us Kansas is a state of “small, rural schools” was the main takeaway from their presentation to start off Thursday’s session in the State Capitol on school finance. The quote was backed up with statistics as well. Sixteen school districts account for about half of the 470,000 students. The other half are distributed over 270 school districts ranging in size of just under 1,000 square miles (Syracuse) to less than 15 square miles (Galena).
Just as districts differ in geographic size, they also differ in appraised valuations used to fund K-12 education. The larges district has a valuation of $4.24 billion while the smallest clocks in at just under $10 million. The state’s task is to provide equitable and adequate funding for all districts. To do so, it allocates a base amount of $4,846 per “fulltime equivalent student” (FTE). That base funding is supplemented by a weighting system that accounts for various factors, like low or high enrollment, transportation and the number of students considered “at-risk”. The weightings can increase a district’s FTE enrollment, which is multiplied by the base aid to determine how much money a district will receive from the state.
KSDE is currently working to close the gap between state and federal support for special education services, which are currently underfunded by the state by 16 percentage points and at the federal level by 24 percentage points. Special education services are required by law, so the money not provided by other governmental entities comes from districts’ budgets.
Panel discussion on Kansas Commodity Checkoff
Up next, Kaleb Little, Kansas Soybean CEO, and Matt Teagarden, Kansas Livestock Association CEO, gave a panel discussion on commodity checkoffs, which are essentially serve as a producer-assessed tax for the purposes of research, consumer preferences, market development, outreach, education and engagement. Most importantly, checkoff dollars can’t pay for lobbying efforts at the state for federal level, though those efforts are important to both organizations.
Little said lobbying efforts, especially at the federal level are more about trying to prevent bad policy than passing good policy and noted the grassroots engagement of members is more important to lobbying efforts than spending money. Teagarden agreed, saying ag organizations often join together when they have similar positions on issues, which makes the much more effective for their members.
Christy Davis, Rural Development State Director for Kansas
To wrap up the morning session, Christy Davis gave an overview of her presidential appointment overseeing the USDA’s Rural Development office in Kansas. Davis said she views her job as providing a push to accelerate rural development across the state with resources from her office.
One of the biggest challenges Davis has encountered in her first year is building capacity on the ground to identify needs and develop solutions. The Rural Development office in Kansas has about 30 employees, which makes it tough to provide statewide assistance. Davis says she’s working to build
capacity in communities across Kansas to ensure fair access for housing development, business expansion and other community building programs funded through Rural Development.
Hill’s Global Pet Nutrition Center
After lunch, we had the opportunity to visit the happiest place on earth, Hill’s Pet Nutrition Center, where the company researches current and future pet food formulations for either palatability or therapeutic efficacy for health improvement for conditions ranging from weight management to kidney care.
Scott Mickelson, the center’s attending veterinarian, gave an overview of the research laboratory that also includes 900 cats and dogs who are considered colleagues of the human staff. The animals’ only job at the lab is to eat pet food.
From a bark park for the dogs to sun porches for the felines, the pets live the highlife between shifts at the food bowl, which is where technology provides a research edge for Hill’s. Each pet is equipped with a microchip to access specialty feeders that allow access to individual animals. The bowls are on scales that detect the amount of food consumed in a sitting, and can cutoff access for the pets who believe they’re eating at a buffet.
In addition to controlling the amount of food each pet receives daily, about half of the pet population have been trained to conduct taste preference tests at the facility so it can be determined if the animals prefer one brand of food over another.
In addition to daily interaction with human staffers, Hill’s has a veterinary hospital on site to provide care for sick animals in addition regular checkups and annual teeth cleanings.
Kansas Hospital Association
After leaving Hill’s Pet Nutrition Center, we returned to the Statehouse to hear from the Kansas Hospital Association’s Chad Austin (president and CEO) and Cindy Samuelson (senior vice president of member and public relations) on issues critical to KHA, hospitals and rural Kansas.
Austin said KHA is a voluntary, nonprofit that exists to provide leadership and services to 123 member hospitals across the state. Some of the pressing issues include financial challenges, co-existing with Covid-19, workforce shortages, access and affordability of health care and the ongoing transformation of how healthcare is delivered and paid for.
Over the past 30 years, Kansas has seen the greatest decline in health rankings, from a high of No. 8 in the early 1990s to 29 in 2019, of any state in the U.S. based on a number of factors. Some notable contributors to this decline are an increase in adverse childhood experiences, low birthweights and occupational fatalities. Actionable information for community health improvement is available at www.kansashealthmatters.org. The website is made possible by KHA and other industry partners.
In the early months of 2022, more than 50 percent of all Kansas hospitals reported limiting services because of staffing shortages as a result of Covid-19 burnout, retiring Baby Boomers, limited education opportunities and a desire for flexible work schedules.
While all hospitals have challenges, rural hospitals are facing an acute struggle in remaining sustainable with an aging population, a higher number of uninsured patients and fewer health care workers living in rural areas, which often lack employment opportunities for spouses and childcare.
Seven hospitals in Kansas have closed since 2010, and currently 55 rural Kansas hospitals are operating at a financial loss and are in danger of closing. KHA supports the expansion of KanCare, the state’s Medicare program, and says doing so would increase the number of rural residents with access to insurance and, in turn, provide support to rural hospitals.
Panel with KDA Secretaries past and present
We concluded the day with an informative and entertaining panel discussion featuring current Kansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Beem and his predecessors at KDA Allie Devine, Josh Svaty and Jackie McClaskey for a wide-ranging discussion about leading the state’s agriculture policy.
All four shared how they became Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, with Devine being the first one appointed to the position after an interview with Bill Graves. McClaskey said a summer internship at KDA got her interested in pursuing a career path toward the top job. Svaty said it’s hard to say no to a governor’s request, but noted being a Democrat familiar with production agriculture makes it much more likely to receive such a request. Beam said he was lobbied to consider the job while in a car with Devine.
Beam said the pandemic proved the importance of KDA and agriculture in the state and he was proud of the agency’s work to keep meat processing plants open throughout the spring of 2020. Svaty discussed the regulatory nature of KDA during his term, noting trade and promotion was not part of the mission. McClaskey talked about the responsibility the secretary has in guiding KDA.
The four concluded the night by offering their opinions on the biggest challenges and opportunities for Kansas agriculture, which Beam summed up in two words: workforce and water. Svaty was optimistic about water, noting Kansas farmers learned from the Dust Bowl and are in a better position than other states facing similar issues. McClaskey said we do production ag really well in Kansas and the state is well positioned to capitalize on that by continuing to recruit and expand value-added processors. Devine noted the Ukraine-Russa war and said tight food supplies across Europe has the potential for greater conflict. She said it will be up to the U.S. to feed the world.
State of the State Day Three
Friday, January 20, 2023
Submitted by: Lindsey Ott
After two productive days, we concluded the Topeka seminar by starting the day with fellowship, coffee and breakfast at Juli’s Coffee and Bistro across from the Cyrus Hotel.
Once sufficiently caffeinated, we met at the Kansas State Capital Visitor Center to hear from our first speaker of the day, Kimberlyn Jones, Digital Equity Program Manager for the Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD).
Ms. Jones provided an overview of broadband initiatives to bring secure access and connection to rural Kansas. KOBD was founded in 2020 and currently has four personnel.
Goals of the department are to provide affordability, accessibility, and equity in broadband. According to the FCC, 15% of Kansas don’t have fiber, but the actual numbers are likely closer to 20-25%.
KOBD are conducting a map challenge to collect real-world data from Kansas broadband users to verify FCC data.
You can log on to this website to check your address and see if your location and speed are correct: https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home.
Providing this information strengthens KOBD’s ability to deliver broadband to Kansans. They are also collecting real-world data by going on a Kansas Broadband Roadshow which is an 8-region state listening tour to hear individual Kansan’s broadband needs. Comically, this roadshow was coined the “countrified broadband explosion” tour by a Kansan they met during their travels.
Our next agenda item was a tour the capitol building. Our tour guide was a wonderful source of information and walked us through the Governor’s office, the State Library, the House of Representatives, the Senate, through the rotunda, and by many of the beautiful murals found in the capital including the John Brown mural.
After our tour, Melissa King, Director of Appointments for Laura Kelly, spoke to us about serving on Kansas’ boards and commissions. If you are interested in learning more, see the link here: https://governor.kansas.gov/serving-kansans/office-of-appointments/
After this, Dalton Henry, VP of Policy, US Wheat Associates, spoke to us about making the most of capitol hill visits in preparation for KARL Class XVI’s visit to DC in March.
He also recommended that we should participate in a DC Fly-in if we get the opportunity.
Using a blind date as an analogy, Mr. Henry provided a checklist for how to approach a congressional visit.
Like a blind date, a congressional visit is setup for you, can be awkward, you present yourself in the best light possible, can go wrong if someone talks too much about themselves, and if it goes well, you’ve successfully gotten to know the person and may work together in the future.
A checklist of items to consider for the visit include:
— Before the meeting: do homework and know who you are meeting, where, who is saying what
— Be on time
— Know the issues going on that day
— During the meeting: be flexible, have a purpose, ask good questions, gather contacts, don’t talk about elections or fundraising, and be mindful of how you draw attention to your issue
— After the meeting: send a follow-up thank you note (with handouts and business card), send an email outlining what you discussed and your issue (easy for staff to search), sign up for newsletters, go to in-state events
After Mr. Henry’s talk concluded, we walked from the capitol to the Kansas Supreme Court. The Honorable Dan Biles meet with us in the Supreme court room and discussed an overview of the Kansas Judicial Center. Judge Biles discussed the structure of the Kansas Court system where the hierarchy of the court system moves from municipal courts, to district courts, to Court of Appeals, and finally to the Supreme Court.
In Kansas there are 105 counties and 110 county courthouses (certain counties have 2 courthouses). The Kansas Judicial Center is currently incorporating a new eCourt system that creates a statewide, web-based courthouse. eCourt is a centralized case management system that will be used by all state courts. When Judge Biles was asked about how the justices research and learn about a case, he said the court is currently a “hot court” meaning that the justices can research prior to the oral argument through memos prepared by staff. They also hear an argument and discuss in the same day.
We concluded our Topeka seminar by discussing everyone’s take aways. A few class member highlights included learning about the legislative process from Doug Wareham, appreciating the importance of networking and relationships, touring the capital building, and seeing the Hill’s facility. We adjourned the Topeka seminar around noon.
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