Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008

Disasters in all counties spark legislative attention, resources

by Clarke Davis

Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-47th by Clarke Davis Kansas had four federally declared disasters last year with losses adding up close to $800 million.

“Everyone has been affected,” state Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-47th District, said. “All 105 counties have been included.”

Tafanelli has been deeply involved from two angles. First, as a colonel in the Kansas National Guard, he is director of operations that coordinates the military response with civil authorities.

Second, as a legislator serving on an interim committee this summer, he has been studying ways the state can create an emergency disaster fund so it can do a better job of meeting its responsibilities.

Ice storms in western and northeastern Kansas, a flood in the southeast, and the Greensburg tornado all in one year has the legislators looking at state policy.

“We’re asking, What is the role of state government and how can we better prepare for the long term?” he said. “Last year has eaten up our resources.”

Tafanelli is vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, which has just been handed the Governor’s budget proposal. Since nearly all legislation affects the budget, everything will in time pass through this committee.

The mail and responses from constituents inform him that health care and taxes are always the main concerns. His mail stacks about 1 foot high each day with about a dozen letters a week from constituents. These deal with those needing help with some bureaucracy to supporting some kind of legislation.

“Most of my contacts with constituents is by email or telephone,” he said.

State representatives do not have staff members to assist them, so he said he is often slow getting back to people with a response.

“We have a secretary at the capitol that routes phone calls and helps us with scheduling but that’s all,” he said.

Two local issues he has spent time on deal with boat noise and grave desecration. He explained:

A bill passed last year sets a limit on boat noise measured in decibels and warning tickets began to be issued after July 1.

“It caused an uproar and I guess we will try to find a compromise,” Tafanelli said.

The other request came from a woman who reported the theft of an urn and its contents from a grave. Because its value was under $50, it made the matter a misdemeanor, and the woman would like to see it be a felony to disturb a grave.

He has the bill written, but it hasn’t passed the many tests needed to become law.

There’s good news in the area of corrections where the building of more prison space may have been put off by eight or 10 years.

“Our investment in a re-entry program seems to be working and has cut the recidivism rate,” he said.

A lot of it is in drug and addiction treatment. Prior to a prison sentence ending, the prisoner is given job training and attempts are made to introduce them into society in a new environment outside of the one that they were orginally in.

“It appears to be working,” he said.

The State Employee Compensation Committee, which he is a member of, has restructured the way state employees are paid. The employees in the three branches of government have been placed in five groups with salaries being market driven.

There is also a merit pay component to reward the better workers.

“The current system was 30 or 40 years old and outdated,” he said. “People would often be promoted to supervisor not because they wanted the job but rather because it was the only way to reward them.”

In regards to education, he only addressed the small-school problem faced in rural areas and said he believes “we need to fundamentally change the way we educate our kids.”

Interactive television and the Internet will have to play more of a role to provide these students with an equal education, he said.

“We will have to find ways to link more schools with technology to provide more for the students,” he said.

Tafanelli does not believe consolidation nets very much in savings and “putting them on a bus [for a] longer [time] is not the answer.”

The representative waded into the coal plant controversy at Holcomb stating that the rejection of the permit by the Secretary of Health was “a political decision that had no merit.”

There is expansion of wind energy, but if people want the lights to come on when they flip a switch for the foreseeable future we must rely on coal, he said. He believes the Legislature will address the issue.

The last 10-year highway plan is being completed this year and will be a topic next year. Highways are a concern in Jefferson County, especially the mounting traffic count on K-4, he said.

Tafanelli, 46, was first elected to a term in the House in 2000, but missed the 2005 session because he was serving in Iraq.

With everyone on the House and Senate up for re-election, it will create different dynamics in Topeka this year, he said.

“Some will hold out longer before compromising and others will be looking for that ‘gottcha’ to use in the campaign,” he said.

In addition to the committees mentioned, Tafanelli is chairman of the Public Safety and Transportation Budget Committee and member of the Government Efficiency and Technology Committee and Joint Committee on Kansas Security. This summer he served on the Legislative Budget Committee.

On a personal level, he is working to complete a master’s degree in strategic studies through the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa. He will graduate in July.

Tafanelli will file for re-election.