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Friday, March 24, 1989 / University Daliv Kansan
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TOPEKA — Supporters of a comprehensive highway program are hoping that a Band-Aid package by the House grows in the Senate.
Highway backers seek more money
Alternative revenues proposed
By JOHN P. MILBURN
Kansan staff writer
Members of the Senate Transportation and Utilities Committee yesterday began two days of hearings on a bill that would upgrade Kansas highways and bridges. More public discussion was scheduled today.
The committee is scheduled to meet next week to consider the bill before the session ends in two weeks.
Members of the House last week scaled back the program from more than $3 billion to $1.06 billion. Local
participation in highway improvements would increase the amount and put road repair on higher priority for projects for projects under the program.
Supporters yesterday urged the committee to reinstate methods of financing that were deleted last week by the House.
An increase in the sales tax and issuing of bonds were reasonable measures for financing the program and should be returned to the plan, which spoke on behalf of Economic Lifelines. Hurley supported the bill.
The House Transportation Committee proposed the use of bonds to finance the program and to use the
The House voted not to raise the state sales tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent but did approve transferring 12 percent of sales tax receipts from the general fund to the state highway fund.
The transfer was not recommended by Gov. Mike Hayden or the budget office, said Michael O'Keele, state budget director. He said the transfer would place a burden on the state if the federal government continued to place more programs under state financing.
increase in motor fuels taxes, sales tax and vehicle registration to pay off the bonds.
Mary Turkington, executive director of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association, said that the Legislature should be pleased with the work it had done but that more work remained.
"This is one of the fairest and equitable plans that has ever come from a committee," she said.
Turkington supported the bill even though members of her organization would face an increase of $400 a year in registration fees.
She said that increased registration fees would be a small price to pay for improved highways.
"There is not a car owner in the state that would not spend $1 a month for good roads," Turkington said.
Car owners will face a maximum increase of $12 a year for registration, and fees for pickup trucks would increase $10 a year.
Horace Edwards, transportation secretary, told the committee that positive attributes could be found in the program. Of the the proposed highway projects, 70 percent to 80 percent were for safety reasons.
Convicted killers may face forty years and no parole
by Alan Morgan Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Forty years in prison, with no chance of parole, may be the sentence facing persons convicted of premeditated murder if a bill in the House is passed.
State Sen. Richard Bond, R-Overland Park, told the House Federal and State Affairs Committee yesterday that the bill would strike a balance between those favored the death penalty and those opposed to it.
"This permits an option for courts when dealing with the most heinous of crimes," Bond said. "This could be a vehicle to change the 40-year mandatory death penalty. If you do change it, the bill will fail."
"I would hope the bill would not be amended for a death penalty."
Kansas has no death penalty.
Rounds has no decision权力. Bond told the committee that the bill was needed for dealing with murders, which the current laws did not adequately cover.
Sen. Richard Bond R-Overland Park
I think that there are some criminals that we do not want to give hope for parole. '
"We need an alternative for the very worst (murderers) in our state or the very worst that come into our state." Bond said. "This bill provides very simply for a mandatory 40-year jail sentence for persons committing premeditated murder."
Under current law, Bond said, a person sentenced to life in prison is eligible for parole after 15 years. The proposed law would not allow parole or behavior until the 40-year sentence is completed.
A date for future discussion of the bill has not been set.
During the hearing, committee members questioned whether the bill would have an adverse effect on criminals who would not have hope for parole and that in certain cases, that would not be an issue.
"I think that there are some criminals that we do not want to give hope for parole," Bond said. "I
suspect that there will be some unhappy campers over in Leavenworth because of this bill.
State Rep. Betty Jo Charlton, D-Lawrence, expressed concern about whether the 40-year sentence would replace the current 15-year option. Bond said the 40-year sentence would be an additional option, and the district or county attorney could chose between the two.
The attorney would have to file written notice of intent to seek the 40-year mandatory sentence at the time of arraignment. The bill, if passed, would terminate the program by submitting premedicated murder on or after July 1.
Charlton said she was giving serious attention to the hill. She has voted against the death penalty.
"Since I supported the 30-year mandatory sentence proposed in the past, I am probably leaning toward support of the 40-year sentence, although the 40-year is a little tougher," she said.
Charlton said she hoped the bill would take the place of the death penalty as a means of dealing with violent crime.
William Arnold, representing the Kansas Council on Crime and Delinquency, opposed the bill.
Arnold, associate professor of sociology, said that increasing the severity of punishment for homicide had not been an effective deterrent for murder.
"A key reason, of course, is that homicide is most often a result of rage at someone known to us." Arnold said. "The proposed increase in sentence length would not materially achieve any of the traditional purposes of punishment, save possibly our feeling of need for retribution."
Bill encourages Kansas students to enter nursing
by Alan Morgan
Kansan staff write
TOPEKA - Supporter of a bill that would establish a nursing student scholarship program in Kansas say that it could be a solution to the state's nursing shortage.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee listened to testimony yesterday about the proposed state-supported scholarship program.
The bill, passed by the House on March 8, would establish a Nursing Scholarship Fund and a review committee for allocating the money. As many as $350,000 exceeding $3,500 each, would be awarded each year.
A date for future discussion of the bill has not been set.
Terri Roberts, executive director of the Kansas State Nurses' Association, told the committee that future demand for nurses would increase dramatically because of an increase in people over age 65.
The elderly, who are hospitalized more frequently than average and stay longer once admitted to the hospital, are projected to make up 21 percent of the population by the year 2040. Roberts said
"Maximizing educational opportunities and making financial support available to prospective nursing students are key elements in successful nursing recruitment," she said.
Jeff Chaney, representing the Kansas Association homed for the Aging, also testified in support of her.
Roberts said Kansas enrollments in registered nursing programs had declined 24.7 percent from
Chanay said the shortage threatened the quality of care delivered by the health care systems.
"In adult care homes, only 81 percent of the intermediate care facilities are covered." Channy said.
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