The Kansas Senate and House officially opened the 2021 session Jan. 11, and unless extended by a resolution, session will wrap up 90 days later. On the heels of a pandemic year that also survived a presidential election, this year’s session and any ramifications on electric cooperatives is, well, rather difficult to predict.
In her State of the State Address, Gov. Laura Kelly indicated the administration will focus on economic recovery from the effects of COVID-19 and will initiate an economic action plan targeting five areas for economic growth: small business, infrastructure, new job creation, agriculture, and broadband. On the other side of the aisle, the GOP outlined its top priorities this session to include tax reform, safely opening businesses, education, and advancing the “Value of them Both” Constitutional Amendment. Let’s hope the parties find common ground and work together on those issues critical to our rural communities, such as access to broadband and economic recovery.
Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.’s public policy engagement focuses on direct advocacy on behalf of our rural electric cooperatives and building relationships with policymakers at the local, state and federal levels. All of this is in partnership with our member co-ops who are focused on those issues directly affecting the affordability of electric rates and the economic stability of the communities the co-ops serve.
KEC’s Government Relations staff works on behalf of the 27 distribution electric cooperatives and three generation and transmission co-ops in Kansas. At the direction of the KEC Legislative Committee, staff will be engaged under the dome (and virtually this session) continuing to foster relationships with newly elected lawmakers and building upon the strong relationships already forged with tenured legislators. Cooperatives are uniquely structured and it’s KEC’s duty to ensure lawmakers understand what makes us different from other utilities, that our consumer-members own their co-ops and that the co-ops were built by — and belong to — the community members we serve.
KEC staff looks to member cooperatives for guidance on public policy issues. Through discussions with the KEC committees, the KEC board, and local co-op leaders, direction is provided on issues to advocate for, those to advocate against and where to stand neutral. Criteria used to guide our position on public policy issues include costs to electric cooperatives, costs to consumer-members of electric cooperatives, potential impacts to the electric cooperative structure, legal obligations placed on electric cooperatives, and overall benefits to consumer-members of Kansas electric co-ops.
One such issue, access to reliable broadband, is not only an important quality of life issue for all Kansans but a key to the economic success of our rural communities. When the pandemic shifted work and classroom instructions online, the digital divide in Kansas was exposed to be more like a chasm. Families without internet were forced to find open WiFi hot spots made possible by organizations, such as Wheatland Electric Cooperative, to ensure their kids could simply complete homework.
As a member of the Statewide Broadband Expansion Task Force formed during the 2018 legislative session, KEC consistently promotes the urgent need for our rural communities to have access to high-speed internet. Kansas electric co-ops can be key partners in delivering rural broadband and we continue to explore ways to advance broadband deployment across the state, looking at a variety of models and whether they are viable options for their cooperatives.
As we complete nearly a full year of pandemic upheaval in our lives, perhaps 2021 will be the year we, as co-ops, the state and our nation, make decisive headway on eliminating broadband disparities.
Lee Tafanelli is Chief Executive Officer of Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. in Topeka.