Pub. 1 2012 Issue 3

6 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s I WOULD CONTEND THAT most young men that move away from home for the first time, be it to a college dorm room or a shared apartment with friends, quickly realize their daily dietary regimen becomes rather limited with good ole Mom no longer around with her abundance of cooking skills and seemingly limitless number of family recipes capable of satisfying one’s pallet. I too experienced this troubling period of limited dietary variety, at the age of 18, when I ventured 80 miles west to attend the university that would soon discover a man named Bill Snyder. After quickly growing tired of chicken pot pies and microwavable burritos (purchasable in quantities of four for $1 at a local grocer) my roommates and I decided to take a bold leap one evening and embarked upon the task of cooking spaghetti. While we knew how to brown hamburger (even young men know how to cook beef), and we had purchased the ready-to-mix jar of spaghetti sauce, we still found ourselves in a quandary. None of us knew how to tell when the now boiling pot of pasta would be ready for consumption. Alas, one quick call home to Mom yielded the knowledge we were lacking. I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO BE a Kansan, but never more so than when I travel to Wash- ington, D.C. to visit with our Congressional delegation. While my colleagues with other State BankingAssociations are vis- iting with their delegations, many of whom are very antagonistic towards the banking industry, I get the privilege of visiting with a very supportive delegation. Such was the case in March when a group of Kansas bankers and I participated in the ABA’s Government Relations Summit. The group of Kansans included John Lehman, First National Bank, Girard & KBA Chairman, Frank Carson, Carson Bank, Mulvane &KBAChairman-elect, John Boyer, KANZABank &KBAPast-Chairman, Jeannette Richardson, Farmers National Bank, Stafford, Jim Richardson, Farmers National Bank, Stafford, Earl McVicker, Central Bank, Hutchinson, Lyndy Wells, INTRUST Bank, Wichita, Mark Larrabee, Arvest Bank, Overland Park, “Throw a little against the wall,” Mom said. She added, “If some of it sticks, it’s probably ready.” By the time you receive this edition of The Kansas Banker maga- zine, the 2012 state legislative veto session will be well underway, and it might even be close to wrapping up. I certainly hope at least one of these scenarios is the case, because May is typically my favorite month of the year. My favorite month that is, unless the legislative veto ses- sion is dragging on and on because nothing seems to be sticking at the Kansas statehouse. During the past four months, Kathy Taylor and I have reported to you weekly on the progress, or lack thereof, on the major legislative issues facing state lawmakers. Tax reform, education finance reform, KPERS reform, Medicaid reform, immigration policy reform, the state budget and redistricting are all individual items worthy of a press conference should state lawmakers and the Governor find the right ingredients that can move Kansas forward on these bellwether issues. Most of these topics have been cooking; some boiling, for quite some time now. Unfortunately, aside from water policy reform, nothing else has passed the spaghetti test so far this year. Let’s hope the 2012 veto session has been a different story and resolutions to some of these items end up sticking to the Governor’s desk for signature. Kent Needham, First Security Bank, Overbrook, Clark Boyer, KANZA Bank, Kingman and Frank Carson IV, Carson Bank, Mulvane. During our Hill visits we discussed 1) our opposition to credit unions expanding their business lending authority; 2) our support for the “Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act”; 3) our support for increasing the shareholder limit for SEC registration; and 4) our concern with the SEC’s definition of “municipal advisor.” Our whole delegation expressed strong support for our positions on these issues. I want to express my thanks to all Kansas bankers who contact our Congressional delegation on a regular basis about banking issues and lay the essential groundwork for these visits. In addition to the Hill visits, the Summit also included updates and strategy sessions and speeches by Congresswoman Shelly Moore-Capito (R-West Virginia), Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana), Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and updates from the CFPB, OCC and FDIC. The Summit is a great way for bankers to get involved in helping our industry carry its message to Congress. If you have never attended one, please consider attending next year in April. Glad to be a Kansan While in Washington DC Chuck Stones, KBA President Spaghetti Testing and the 2012 State Leg i slative Session Doug Wareham, KBA SVP-Government Relations