Political Awareness Update

In 2010, YPW began a series of events that bring awareness to the importance of our local and state government. Our goals are to educate our members on the roles of city, county and state officials, create knowledgeable YPs who will get out and vote, and provide a non-partisan view on local issues that affect YPs and the Wichita community.

Last week saw considerable movement on key issues facing the Kansas Legislature as lawmakers enter the final stretch leading up to first adjournment. Most significant in the Senate was the Ways and Means Committee’s passage of its fiscal year 2012 budget. Thursday and Friday were designated as tax policy days in the House, and after some maneuvering and caucusing, the House did take major action on altering the state’s tax policy.

Taxes

What has now become House Substitute for Senate Bill 1 is legislation drafted by Senators Ty Masterson and Terry Bruce. The legislation is a comprehensive overhaul of the Kansas corporate and personal income taxation method. In short, the bill would lead to decreases in personal and corporate income rates that are equal to the percentage growth in state tax receipts from the previous year. Basically, if the state received 12% more money in 2011 then corporate and personal income tax rates would drop by 12% in 2012. If there is no growth – there is no decrease. Nothing in the legislation prohibits the legislature from raising other taxes, nor does it contain any spending limits as some opponents of the bill have tried to assert. It is conceivable that over time the state’s personal income tax rate could be “bought” down to zero (0).

The House initially rejected the bill on Thursday. Conservatives were generally supportive of the bill, but several voted no due to a provision that would have made last year’s sales tax increase permanent. That provision was removed Friday morning and the bill passed with 72 votes. The bill is now headed over to a Senate that is likely not as impressed with tax reduction as is the House.

The House also passed the major components of the governor’s economic plan. The expensing and reformulated HPIP and deal closing fund, as well as the rural enterprise zones intended to spur growth in low population areas, all passed the House.

Budget

The Senate Ways and Means Committee, after several weeks of work, did pass a budget on to the full Senate. The bill cuts $535 million in spending next fiscal year and includes portions of the governor’s original rescission bill.

The House Appropriations Committee, just today, completed work on their budget. At the time of this update, the total amount of cuts had yet to be determined, however the House Appropriations Committee made significant cuts beyond what the governor recommended, including the total elimination of the Kansas Affordable Airfares Program. It’s probably fair to say that even conservative budget hawks will view this budget as somewhat harsh in terms of the cuts made to state funded programs. After a several weeks long process of budget subcommittees trimming budgets, the full committee, over a four day period, made even more cuts. Among the casualties - school budgets were hit, as were Meals on Wheels, Disaster Relief, assistance for the aged and the Departments of Health and Environment and Social and Rehabilitation Services. The Judicial Review Panel was completely eliminated.

Typically, the House and Senate would work their respective budgets this week and conference to work out the differences. However, that scenario seems unlikely at this point as the Senate may be hesitant to enter into house “politics” prior to first adjournment. The conference committee between the two Chambers on the FY 11 rescission bill was less than productive. They never did reach an agreement and the Senate walked away clearly frustrated with the House negotiators. Remember, brand new revenue estimates are out April 1 and to many it may make more sense to just wait for the new numbers and work through the budgets the last week of April when legislators return for Veto Session.

Clearly, many people are alarmed at the actions taken by the House Appropriations Committee. It remains to be seen if the actions are simply the result of overzealous budget cutters or if the House has proposed cuts even beyond their comfort level in an attempt to force the Senate to cut more in conference. Conference committees typically meet somewhere in between their two chamber’s final numbers. The House, in the past, has not really been very strategic in planning their budgets with Senate negotiations in mind. The Senate, on the other hand, has.

Both Chambers are on the floor today (Monday) through Wednesday this week. Conference committees will start meeting this Thursday and will run through the end of next week heading towards first adjournment which is Saturday April 2.

Meet a Member - Chris Hurst

Meet YPW Member, Chris Hurst. He is the 2011 YPW Board of Trustees secretary and has been a member for 5 years.
Name: Chris Hurst
Age: 36
Occupation: Engineer

YPWHow long have you been involved?: 5 years

Why you are involved?: I joined YPW to discover the city and meet other young professionals. Since I didn’t grow up in Wichita, I didn’t realize all that Wichita and Wichitans had to offer before joining YPW.

Has the organization allowed you particular opportunities?: While YPW has created opportunities both professionally and within the community for me, I would say the greatest opportunity was making some great friends. I’ve been able to meet many new people, often from different walks of life, whose paths would never have crossed without an organization like YPW.

Your personal goals for the organization: That YPW continues to drive positive change in the community and is an advocate of issues that are important to YP’s.

Favorite recent YPW event?: As an avid homebrewer and a movie lover, I would have to go with the Suds and Cinema event. A perfect pairing of Tallgrass Brewing beers with fan favorite short films from the Tallgrass film fest.


Career
How did you get to where you are today?: Persistence and hard work, mostly.

Anything you would do differently?: I ended up where I wanted to be. If anything, I would have liked to have been more involved at WSU while I was getting my MBA. Work plus school didn’t leave much time for anything else.

What inspired you to get into your profession?Or, What is inspiring about your profession?:  It’s a bit geeky, but ever since I saw Star Wars for the first time as a little kid, I have been fascinated by aircraft and spacecraft. Plus, I really enjoy building things. There is a real satisfaction when I see one of the airplanes I’ve worked on flying around.


Community
Involved in any way? I’ve been a volunteer with YPW since it launched. Currently I am serving as the Board secretary and I am also a property manager for this year’s Enhance Community Project. In addition, I am an officer for the Cessna YP organization. Outside the YP world, I have been a big proponent of downtown development and I have attended and volunteered at many of the community meetings that occurred over the last couple of years. It is really exciting to see the entertainment, social, and retail options improve in Wichita.

Your favorite thing about Wichita/Most unique thing about Wichita: It’s an easy, comfortable town to live in. It’s not hard to get around and people are friendly. It lacks a lot of the stress that you might see in other places.

Why did you choose Wichita?: I came here mostly because of the job, but I also really liked how affordable it is to live here. I love sports and I also really enjoy travelling. The low cost of living leaves plenty extra in the budget for other things.

Meet a Member - Chad Glenn

Meet YPW Member, Chad Glenn. He is the 2011 YPW Board of Trustees Chair-Elect, is the Chair of the Enhance CommunitYProject subcommittee of the Community Relations Action Team, and has been a member for 5 years.

Name: Chad Glenn
Age: 35
Occupation: Architect

YPW
How long have you been involved? 5 years

Why you are involved? I got involved to make connections and discover Wichita. It has been successful because I have meet some amazing people and have learned so much about my city. The young professionals of this community are not only the future but the current movers and shakers of Wichita and I enjoy being around such an influential group.

Has the organization allowed you particular opportunities? Wichita has an amazing wealth of individuals with innovative ideas and a passion to make a difference which has inspired me to think differently and challenge myself in new ways.

Your personal goals for the organization? I hope YPW continues to tap into the amazing talent in the community and show others how it's being utilized to make a difference enticing future professionals to call Wichita home.

Favorite recent YPW event? Enhance Community is by far the best YPW event being able to use my talent to give back to the community is enjoyable and rewarding. Bias aside the Holiday PrePairings was a ton fun. Local Chef Jeremy Wade made the interactive cooking event informative and delicious.

Career
How did you get to where you are today? Architecture has been my passion since my first lego set. My 7th grade drafting class was my first step toward becoming an architect. I never looked back or waivered from my dream and 15 years after, received my license.

Anything you would do differently? Looking back on my college experience, the time commitment and drive to accomplish my goal of obtaining an architecture degree I should have taken more time to breath and enjoy my surroundings. I have now learned from that and try to take in as much as I can at every stage of my career and life. My wonderful wife, amazing step-daughter and soon to arrive baby boy has also helped keep my focus grounded. The importance of family and community now surpass my personal career aspirations.

What inspired you to get into your profession? Or, What is inspiring about your profession? Every day I get to not only think about how to make this community better but put pencil to paper (or mouse to screen) and see the physical transformation of my surroundings with each project we complete.

Community
Involved in any way? I like to try different things stopping and getting involved in the ones I really feel passionate about, YPW being one of those. I started as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and continued with being a board member of AIA of Kansas and K-State Architecture studio critic. Currently I am involved in Big Brother's Big Sister's, volunteering for various groups like the American Heart Association, Make-A-Wish, and the American Diabetes Association. This may include anything from standing at an intersection requesting financial support to transferring my hobby of photography for a good cause. I am the Enhance Community Project chair and incoming chair for YPW, and also sit on the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce Board.

Your favorite thing about Wichita/Most unique thing about Wichita? The people. Wichita is a very family oriented community which includes friends, business associates and the stranger on the street. There is this great passion from the community for the community, as proven by the downtown master planning and the support shown for it.

Why did you choose Wichita? I was born and raised in Kansas with family still in the area. Growing up in Garden City, Wichita was always seen as the "big city". Wichita has those big city amenities while being small enough to feel a sense of community.