Dear Friends and Neighbors:

During this Christmas season it is only natural to reflect on the many things for which we have to be thankful. Chief among these are the many freedoms we enjoy as citizens of this great country. As I consider these freedoms I am reminded of a quote from one of my favorite authors, Russell Kirk, who wrote, “Every right is married to a duty, every freedom owns a corresponding responsibility.”

There is great wisdom in these words which remind us that the very freedoms we all so rightly cherish are ultimately untenable in the absence of our willingness to vigorously defend them. In this vein we daily receive word of brave soldiers who have given the last full measure of devotion in order to protect us from those who would attack our freedom from without. The debt we owe to each of them is beyond all measure. Perhaps one small way to pay on that debt is to think carefully about what we each can do to responsibly exercise the freedoms we enjoy.

When the Kansas Legislature returns to session on January 9th we will confront a full range of issues involving everything from school finance to strengthening laws that protect our children from predators. It is a great honor and privilege for me to serve as your representative as we grapple with these issues. I am keenly aware that to perform my legislative responsibilities to the best of my ability I need your help. In particular I earnestly invite you to contact me with your opinions.

This newsletter will provide you with a brief update on some of the issues we face in Kansas. For more detailed information please visit my website www.lancekinzer.com. To receive periodic e-mails regarding legislative issues please send an e-mail to newsletters@lancekinzer.com. and you will be added to my electronic newsletter list.

God bless each of you, Merry Christmas.

Cordially,
Lance Kinzer

Unfortunately, the Kansas Supreme Court has taken it upon itself to order the legislature to spend particular dollar amounts on K-12 education. This represents an egregious violation of the separation of powers between the branches of government. As we all learned in high school government class it has always been the case that the legislature branch alone may spend the peoples’ money, because it is the legislature that is accountable to them. This basic idea was at the very core of why our country came into being in the first place.

The Kansas Constitution already provides that “no money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pursuance of a specific appropriation made by law.” In order to clarify this provision further I have proposed a constitutional amendment that would add that “the executive and judicial branches shall have no authority to direct the legislature to make an appropriation of money.” This proposal passed the State Senate last year, but failed in the House. I plan to introduce this amendment again in the 2006 session.

In October the Kansas Supreme Court took its activist role a step further when it invalidated the criminal sentence of a man who committed a sex crime against a mentally disabled minor. In reaching its decision the Court wrote, “the promotion of majoritarian sexual morality is not even a legitimate state interest and that criminal legislation on matters such as fornication, bigamy, adultery, adult incest, bestiality, and obscenity cannot survive rational-basis review.” (A note to those who are rubbing their eyes in disbelief: Yes this is actually in the Kansas Supreme Court opinion).

It is clear to me that reigning in the Court’s radical agenda must be a key legislative priority.

II. Taxation and Fiscal Policy. As a member of the House Tax Committee I was very pleased that during the last legislative session we held the line on taxes. The long term health of our economy, and thus the fiscal condition of Kansas is dependant upon a tax and regulatory structure that is attractive to both families and businesses. Unfortunately, Kansas has a relatively high tax burden compared to neighboring states. In fact, according to the Tax Foundation, Kansas's state and local tax burden percentage ranks 14th highest nationally. The result of this non-competitive tax climate is that economic growth in Kansas is not as strong as it should be.

In addition to tax policy we must also address the overall size of Kansas government. Putting it bluntly we are a “big government” state, indeed between December 2001 and December 2004 Kansas added 9,400 public sector jobs while losing 14,700 private sector jobs. In addition, Kansas has the 6th highest number of government employees per 100 residents of any state in the country.

To rectify these issues I support reform of our current property tax appraisal structure, elimination of the franchise and mechanical and equipment taxes on business and structural reforms to limit the growth of government. I strongly believe that any attempt to increase taxes on families and businesses would be bad for Kansas.

III. Crime. The bottom line is that we must do more to protect our children from predators. I am privileged to serve on both the Kansas Criminal Justice Recodification, Rehabilitation, and Restoration Project, and the Attorney General’s newly formed Security and Firm Enforcement for Kansas (SAFE) Task Force. Each of these committees is working diligently to formulate legislation that will extend prison sentences for violent offenders, strengthen our offender registration program and better educate the public about steps we can all take to protect ourselves and our children. One such step is to be aware of potentially dangerous people living in our community. This information is available by visiting http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi/ro.shtml. I strongly encourage you to visit this web-site.

IV. Education. Adequate funding and sound policy for our schools must always be a top legislative priority. As a parent of two children who attend Olathe Public Schools and the husband of an Olathe School District teacher I am very aware of how crucial our schools are to our community. As mentioned above I have supported increases in school funding. But, money alone is not enough to ensure a top-notch education. We must also make sure that our local school boards have the flexibility to spend that money in the manner that makes the most sense for their particular district. We must also do a better job of making sure that the money we spend is getting to the classroom; according to a Kansas Legislative Post Audit Study Kansas ranks among the bottom 10 of states on this score.

While I would not presume to suggest that I have the solutions to all of the vexing challenges we face, I do think that, to borrow from Senator Brownback, the principles of Reduce, Reform and Return are a good place to start:

• 1) Reduce the number of districts in the state and the bureaucratic overhead within those districts.
• 2) Reform the current school finance system in a manner that allows us to avoid the perpetual crisis mentality being forced upon our schools by the flaws in the current system.
• 3) And Return control to our local school boards both in terms of educational policy and the ability to raise revenue at the local level.

V. Building a Culture of Life. As a strong and compassionate nation I believe we must extend that compassion to the weakest among us; the disabled, the unborn and the terminally ill. We cannot treat human beings as objects, whether they live in the womb, in a wheel chair or in a nursing home. While life issues can be contentious I believe there are certain concrete policy steps we can take that most people will agree with. First, as long as abortion is legally protected by federal law we must work to see to it that those who have abortions do so in a safe and sanitary environment. Current clinic conditions in Kansas are unacceptable. We urgently need more stringent health and safety requirements for abortion clinics.

We also need to protect the unborn from violent criminals. Even California recognizes an unborn child as a separate victim when a crime is committed against a pregnant woman. If Connor Peterson, the son of Laci Peterson, had died in Kansas, he would not have been considered a human being. Kansas needs Unborn Victims of Violence legislation.

Finally, we must insure that the disabled and terminally ill are granted reasonable due process rights. I am please to be serving on a Kansas Judicial Council Task force that is studying Kansas law to make sure we have appropriate safeguards in place to guarantee that medical care as well as nutrition and hydration are not withdrawn under inappropriate circumstances.

Rep. Lance Kinzer
12549 S. Brougham
Olathe, KS 66062
(913)782-5885