State Rep. Fred Gardner reports “there’s a lot going on,” now that the legislative session is in its sixth week.
In a visit on Friday, Gardner, R-Garnett, said he’s willing to “go across the aisle” and vote with Democrats if the case merits.
“The truth is, a lot of what we do is just common-sense problem solving, that is not partisan politics,” he said.
Gardner used House Bill 2070 as an example. The bill allows those convicted of a non-drug related crime to be referred to a drug treatment program.
“For instance, someone caught stealing money to pay for their drug habit. But they weren’t arrested for using drugs,” Gardner said. “So, the judge determines they were committing the crime because they have a drug problem and then he can say they qualify for a drug rehab program.”
“It’s hopefully another way to keep people out of long-term incarceration, particularly early in the process when there’s a better chance of rehabilitation.
“Drugs are a big problem, and we need people in rehab. This gives judges another tool to use,” he said. “What difference will this make? I don’t know. But you got to try.”
Other legislation that had unanimous support was House Bill 2033. The bill changes the criteria used to refer and admit juveniles to a juvenile crisis intervention center from “mental health” to “behavioral health.”
That difference, Gardner said, allows children and juveniles experiencing a behavioral crisis to receive care without a court declaring it as a mental health issue.
“This helps speed up the process,” Gardner said.
Democrats and Republicans also joined forces to pass House Bill 2042, which authorizes people who own storage units to have motor vehicles, boats or trailers hauled off if the renters fall behind on their payments or skip town.
“Sometimes the owners are left storing cars and boats for a year or two with no recourse,” Gardner said. “At least this way, they’ll have permission to call a tow truck and have it hauled away.
“Before, there wasn’t a clean, legal way to get it out of there,” he said.
Gardner also supported Senate Concurrent Resolution 1602 to oppose the federal government’s listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species in Kansas and efforts to remove the designation.
“For 25 years there’s been debate back and forth about whether they are a threatened species. And the minute it gets on there, there’s enough birds to where it doesn’t qualify and it’s back off,” Gardner said.
“Yes, there’s a declining population. We’re all aware of that. The bird is very responsive to droughts and so the numbers have dropped. But when it starts raining, the numbers will come back.”
