A new year, a new legislative session and many new faces under the dome — 35 to be exact. This includes 34 new House members — 33 newly elected and one new appointee — and one newly appointed Senate member.
These freshmen public servants will be sworn into office Jan. 9, the first day of the 2023 Legislative Session.
Each new legislative session is an opportunity for Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (KEC), our Government Relations team and our KEC Legislative Committee, comprised of electric cooperative representatives, to build and maintain relationships with our policymakers. It is not, however, the beginning of our advocacy efforts for the year. Far from it. The work KEC and its member co-ops perform on behalf of electric cooperative consumer-members happens year-round — before, during and well after the legislative session ends, and these efforts are not exclusive to the Kansas Legislature. Depending on the issue, we engage in discussions with members of the Kansas congressional delegation, the governor, and agency leaders and staffers.
KEC and our member electric cooperatives’ advocacy efforts are tied to Cooperative Principle No. 7 — Concern for Community, to ensure the best interests of electric co-op consumer-members remain at the forefront of policymakers’ minds and actions. KEC also actively engages with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, as well as utility and agricultural organizations, to advance cooperative interests on both state and national levels.
At all levels of government, it is imperative that relevant legislative and regulatory matters are monitored and acted upon. By coming together and addressing issues with one voice, the electric co-ops continue to help shape and foster sound public policy for the benefit of rural Kansas.
Your local electric cooperative does more than just keep the lights on, homes comfortable and your electronic devices charged. They are powering your local economy, providing jobs, promoting economic development, and supporting schools, community programs and leadership development opportunities. Why do co-ops care about their community? Because a cooperative is not a faceless entity. As a member-owned and controlled business, the cooperative is your neighbor, the parent you sit beside at a youth activity and the farmer across the fence. And, as a co-op member, the co-op is you!
As for this year’s Kansas legislative session, we believe there will be several issues of interest to cooperatives that come before the legislature including, but not limited to, tax proposals and renewable energy. In addition, two federal rulemakings related to avian species have been released and could affect Kansas electric cooperatives along with renewable energy development, agriculture, and oil and gas operations. We will keep the electric cooperative consumer-members updated on these issues as they move forward and potentially affect your local electric cooperative.
KEC is here to serve our Kansas electric cooperative members, just as the electric cooperatives stand ready to serve you, their consumer-members. To learn more about how KEC analyzes and evaluates public policy issues, I urge you to read the article “Member-Driven Framework Shapes Electric Co-op Advocacy Efforts” of this issue of Kansas Country Living.
