Kansas Silver haired Legislature Meets in Annual Session

KANSAS SILVER HAIRED LEGISLATURE MEETS IN ANNUAL SESSION

The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature held their 34th Annual Session in Topeka on October 4 - 6, 2016. At this Annual Session, the delegates debate and vote on the issues presented to them by the Executive Board from their July meeting. These issues, in the form of Bills and Resolutions, are subjected to a two-day process of committee hearings and debate, and then voted on two separate times before being considered as “passed”. Those Bills and Resolutions that do survive this process are then sent to the Kansas State Legislature for consideration during the 2016 Legislative session. It is just one way for the Senior Citizens in Kansas to have their collective voice heard.

Here are the Resolutions passed by the full body of the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature at this year’s Annual Session:

1) Resolution No. 3301 - Urge the Kansas Legislature and the governor to fully fund all Kansas Public Employees Retirement System obligations (KPERS), including the interest at 8% on the bonds passed this past legislative session.

2) Resolution No. 3307 - Urge the legislature and the governor to provide a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for each retiree who is entitled to receive a retirement benefit from KPERS. This has not happened since 1998.

3) Resolution No. 3302 - Urge the legislature and the governor to repeal the non-wage business income tax exemption, passed by the Kansas Legislature and signed by the governor in 2012, and replace it with a tax policy fair to all Kansans, with shared responsibility for contributing by all Kansans.

4) Resolution No. 3303 - Urge the legislature and the governor to continue to support and fund public transportation, so vitally needed by our Kansas Senior Citizens, especially in rural areas of our state.

5) Resolution No. 3304 - Urge the legislature and governor to restore the 30% cut to the Senior Care Act program, which allows a qualifying senior to stay in their own home with just a minimum of assistance, which averages approximately $250.00 a month. This is a substantial savings when compared with an alternative of nursing home expenses, which can easily average around $4000.00 per month.

6) Resolution 3305 - Urge the legislature and governor to support the expansion of Medicaid (KanCare) in Kansas. Currently, approximately 150,000 (of which around 16,000 are Kansas seniors between the age of 60 - 65 years old) Kansans fall into the "coverage gap" - they make too much money to qualify for the base Kansas KanCare program, yet not enough to be able to afford medical insurance on their own. The Kansas Hospital Association, and the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas are both in full support of this resolution.

The Silver Haired Legislature was created by an act of Congress in 1969, with the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature being formed in 1982. The KSHL is charged with identifying issues important to older Kansas adults 60 years of age and older, of which there are nearly 500,000, and to educate the Kansas Legislature about those issues. Each county is entitled to one representative, with the five largest counties having up to five additional representatives. This coming spring, the SHL delegates from the eleven regions across Kansas will begin meeting once again to decide the issues of importance to Kansas seniors, and preparations will be made for the 35^th Annual Session next fall in Topeka. Talk to your county’s SHL delegate between now and then so the issues important to you can be considered in this next cycle.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA