Issues

Eminent Domain

You probably remember this term from your social studies classes in high school.  Eminent domain is the power of governmental units to acquire property by paying property owners the fair market value of their property.  While most cities and counties use this authority with the utmost caution, integrity, and responsibility, that is not always the case.  Our own community has been cited both nationally and internationally for misuse of eminent domain.  The legislature has discussed this issue at length and several bills have been proposed, including a constitutional amendment.  Rep. Morrison supports legislation to protect landowners against the fraction of localities that abuse their powers of eminent domain.

 Education

Rep. Morrison has consistently supported efforts to increase local control of our Shawnee Mission schools.  Educating the next generation of students is crucial to the future of our state.  It is necessary, however, to maintain a balance between the needs of our students and the needs of their grandparents.  Many of our friends and neighbors are struggling under the weight of taxes, specifically property taxes that are used to raise money for our local schools.  Local control is fundamental to maintaining our success in Shawnee Mission, but property taxes are not the magic bullet. 

Elderly & Disabled

Our community is diverse and has unique needs.  Increasingly, couples with young children are finding our tree-lined streets, practical-sized homes, and tight-knit neighborhoods a warmhearted spot to raise their children.  Shawnee and Merriam are also home to young, single professionals owning their first homes.  Most notably, we have grown wise with the commitment of seniors who have been the foundation of our community for decades.  These pillars of the community built our roads, schools, and sense of identity.  They are entitled to our respect, as well as the dignity of remaining in their own homes, close to their families, whenever possible.  There are a number of measures we can take to help the elderly lead independent lives:

• Keeping property taxes low is a top priority for Rep. Morrison because increasing costs for those on a fixed income, who have lived in their homes for decades, is a sure-fire way to drive the elderly out of their homes and neighborhoods.  This is a quality of life issue for many of our residents.
• Accessibility to affordable transportation is crucial to healthy living for active seniors. 
• Counseling will protect the elderly against scams involving health care, prescription drug, retirement, and funeral planning.

Taxes

As a fiscal conservative in the Kansas House, Rep. Morrison consistently fought tax increases that disproportionately affect Johnson Countians.  One-third of the tax revenue Kansas receives comes directly from Johnson County in the form of sales, income, and property taxes.

One tool Merriam uses to keep funds at home is tax situs on motor vehicles.  Kansans come to our community from all over the state to find a large selection of cars.  When they spend their money, the sales tax paid on those vehicles should stay here in Merriam where our residents work hard to earn those sales and where our residents welcome the traffic that comes with those car lots.  During Rep. Morrison's tenure in the House, she has consistently fought off attempts to change motor vehicle tax situs, saving Merriam from doubling its local taxes. 

In order to bring tax relief to many citizens of Kansas, Rep. Morrison introduced House Bill 2031.  This legislation allowed any household with income of $75,000 or less to be exempt from paying Kansas State taxes on Social Security. It was signed into law by the Governor on April 19, 2007.

Human Rights

During the 2005 legislative session, Rep. Morrison introduced legislation to combat human trafficking and slavery in Kansas.  Unintentional loopholes in the law were enabling predators to take advantage of vulnerable foreign women and men who were simply looking for opportunities to improve their lives by coming to the United States.  As a result of Rep. Morrison’s work, Kansas has established a hotline for human trafficking. Additionally, public service announcements on radio and TV have focused attention on this critical human rights issue.  Rep. Morrison worked with members of the House and Senate to craft a bill that unanimously passed both chambers.  House Bill 2004 was signed into law in 2005.

 Victims Rights

Rep. Morrison introduced House Bill 2626 which would amend the law regarding missing persons by expanding the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) database on missing persons to include an unidentified person database.  This bill is derived from President Bush's DNA initiative and calls for a link to the national database.  Information would be maintained to improve the ability to locate and return missing persons, identify persons or human remains, and inform family members. Information in the database would be available to law enforcement officers, state coroners, and state agencies with the need to know. The bill would outline procedural guidelines and time frames related to reporting.  Finally, this bill would prevent law enforcement from giving information to the reporting party if there is reason to believe that the missing person is an adult, an emancipated minor, has made contact with or is staying at a domestic violence or sexual assault program or has not consented to the release of this information.

When it comes to victims, Rep. Morrison made it a priority to protect the youngest victims in our society.  In 2005, she supported HB 2126, which would allow a State Representative to participate in a child in need of care (CINC) hearing as observers, if their presence is requested by the parents or guardians of the child.

Our military, our security

It is fitting for our state to show appreciation to Kansans who serve in the military.  Rep. Morrison supported HB 2210, exempting hunter's safety education requirements for certain current or former members of the armed forces.  The bill had a hearing on January 25, 2006.  As our World War II veterans grow older and wiser, we are losing the lessons learned and experiences gained by these mainstays of American culture.  In 2005, Rep. Morrison cosponsored HB 2338 which gives the Kansas Historical Society the task of gathering the stories of Kansas World War II veterans.  It was signed into law on May 9, 2005