Dear Friends:

In an effort to keep you informed about the activities at your State Capitol and how those activities may impact your lives, I am offering a regular electronic newsletter. This column includes information about bills making their way through the legislative process, including legislation that directly affects the citizens of Kansas City. I welcome your feedback and encourage you to contact my office with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you.

Expanding the eligibility requirements in our state for food stamp assistance has been one of my top legislative priorities while serving in the Legislature. This priority, which is included in Senate Bill 680, moves one step further in the legislative process with its vote out of committee. Pursuant to the option granted under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, my legislation would allow an individual who has a possession or use of a controlled substance felony conviction to be eligible for food stamp benefits; murderers, child molesters, and rapists are currently eligible for this assistance.

Our state is one of a handful in the nation that has not lifted or changed this ban on food stamp assistance for those with this type of felony drug conviction. In order for a person to benefit from this program under my bill, they would have to:

• Successfully participate in, be accepted for treatment or on a waiting list for, or satisfactorily complete a substance abuse treatment program;
• Be determined by a division-certified treatment provider to not need substance abuse treatment;
• Comply with all obligations imposed by the court, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Division of Probation and Parole; and
• Those falling under these provisions would have to meet all other factors for food stamp eligibility.

Identical to legislation I have filed in previous years, this bill enforces the call to expand requirements for food stamp assistance to those who have been convicted of a felony drug charge. Allowing those to get back on the right track by lifting the lifetime food stamp ban for felony drug convictions, we can help these individuals move past the stigma of being a past offender and once again become productive citizens of our society. With an unanimous vote in the Senate Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee, my legislation now moves to the full Senate for debate.

We've reached the half-way point of the 2014 legislative session. Below is a complete list of legislation I'm sponsoring and co-sponsoring this year, as well as each bill's status in the legislative process.