Location: Kansas Capitol, Topeka KS, House Chambers
Time: House convenes at 11:00 a.m.
Issue: Sunflower Electric’s proposed 1400 MW of coal-fired generation, and the role of the KDHE Secretary in protecting Kansans’ health and environment
Bills/ Legislative Action:
- Saturday night, the legislature melted down. Coal was involved. For a summary of what happened, click here. FYI, the Senate did decide to reconvene (or at least “gavel in” – I don’t know how many senators are actually here) at 11:00 a.m. as well, but they don’t have much to do until the House gets cracking.
- Two things need to be resolved today – (1) the budget, and (2) HB 2412, a huge “economic development” bill that also contains the coal plants.
- House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 5042 (.pdf) may also come up for consideration – it would allow the legislature to sue the Governor over the coal plants.
- Disclaimer: No matter what you think might happen, be prepared for something entirely different to occur.
- If you have only recently come to this policy debate, check out CEP’s FAQ’s on the Kansas Coal Controversy.
- Please hit your refresh button during the day to check for updates. – 99.9% of this entry is hidden below the surface – be sure to hit the “read the rest of this entry” link to see the full, er, glory
Summary/ Action: Yesterday, we watched mud dry. Today, we watched paint. Tomorrow, concrete…?
4:48 The House adjourns for the day, and will return at 11:00 tomorrow. For the third day in a row, they do not consider the House Concurrent Resolution for the legislature to sue the Governor over the coal plants. Nor do they act on the budget or the third coal bill. The limbo continues.
5:34 Several leading Democrats just finished a press conference on the House Concurrent Resolution and other issues, including the new coal bill. Keep an eye on your papers for the results.
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Here we are again…
I need to apologize again for not getting to my email. (Please keep sending messages, though, I love it.) I took most of Sunday off to enjoy sun, garden, family, friends, jeans and a t-shirt (no fancy stuff), and a nice long nap.
The strategy worked perfectly, because when I got on the interstate this morning I did indeed drive toward Topeka and the Kansas statehouse – instead of toward absolutely anywhere else on the planet.
But the strategy did fail to get my email answered. Very sorry!
We all know why we’re here today. CEP is here to keep an eye on energy issues, as usual, and the coal stuff is still threatening to boomerang around in the legislative arena.
However, I have a feeling that most of you are now reading this to see how the Kansas legislature will work itself out of the larger crack it has gotten itself stuck in.
I have faith that they will manage it. It might be easy to lose sight of when meltdowns occur, like that on Saturday night – but there are a lot of good people here who truly do want the best for their constituents, and also for Kansas as a whole. I’m going to be naive and idealistic – and stubborn – and put my money on them.
OK. Go enjoy some coffee. Tune back in around 11:00 a.m., when the statehouse drama grinds back into gear.
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11:00 a.m. We are gaveled in, House comes to order. Prayer and pledge said.
11:10 House is recessed till 4:00 p.m. Kid you not.
Does CEP know what is happening? No, not really. Here is what we do know: The Kansas legislature is at a stalemate.
The budget bill and the new coal bill are both at the level of conference committee. However, with the Senate gone (there are apparently only five senators on the floor right now in the other chamber; they were told not to return today until called) there can be no conference committees.
No conference committees, no agreements, no votes, no resolution, no issues addressed, no end of this in (immediate) sight.
Why are we in this position? In large part because the Senate leadership ended up furious at the House leadership last Saturday night, for adjourning early when the Senate expected them to work late.
The Senate appears to have made its final offer on the budget bill, and has no more to negotiate with the House. Why is the Senate not returning to work on the new coal bill? I have no idea.
What will happen at 4:00? Speaker Neufeld mentioned that there were a couple of conference committee reports to address.
How to keep up on this – the mike in the House has been left open during recess for announcements of conference committee meetings (should the stand-off status change). The House floor is actually full of reps. You can can listen in live here if you would like.
Other than that…? Unless I hear amazingly accurate and insightful and verifiable gossip, I mean information – see you back here at 4:00 p.m.
3:51 back sitting in the House Gallery. Floor is full of reps. The rotunda was full of reps. They’re here.
What we missed – a fire alarm in the Capitol. All is well. Apparently House Speaker Neufeld and Senate President Steve Morris met during the long recess to put together a new omnibus budget proposal. EDIT: I phrased that wrong, but it is so funny I will leave it… just to clarify, Neufeld and Morris in no way contributed to the fire alarm.
The last budget proposal flamed out disastrously – the House slammed back the conference committee report, due to their dislike of what they called earmarks. If Neufeld and Morris have a meeting of the minds, then the conference committee would consider their new proposal.
What does the budget have to do with the new coal bill? If the budget goes through, supporters of the coal plants could lose a major hammer with which to bonk opponents over the head.
