Pub. 1 2012 Issue 8

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 T H E B A N K I N G world is changing and everyday seems to bring a new challenge to our members. One of the roles of the KBA is to bring the best products and services to our member banks to try and help them meet those challenges. I just returned from an annual meeting of my counterparts from 24 other state bankers associations to discuss that very thing. Who is doing what? What is working for your members? Who is providing the best solutions for your member banks? The answers varied but some of the responses were: Bankers Dashboard, Wolfpac,Verafin,Vintek, e2Value, FocusAudits, Lereta, EquiasAlliance,AsSys Group, SNLFinancial, EverFi and, my personal favorite, REODeedwagon. There are a lot, but all of these companies are trying to stay ahead of the curve and bring solutions to the banking industry and meet the demands of our ever-changing environment. I amworking with a few of these companies already, starting the process with a few others and leaning onmy counterparts to help get me informed on the others through our nationwide Google hotline. As always, we will try and bring you the very best solutions for your bank. If you ever have questions about a company, please let me know. If I don’t have the answers I’m sure the folks on the other end of my Google hotline can help. Who is Doing What? What is Working for Your Members? Who is Providing the Best Solutions for Your Member Banks? Mike Norris, KBA SVP-Member Services I T SEEMS SOMEWHAT ironic that this year’s tumul- tuous campaign season result- ing in the election of 55 new members to the Kansas House of Representatives and 16 new members to the Kansas Senate, also produced the exact same balance between Republicans and Democrats in the respective state legislative chambers. While the players have changed dramatically, the break- down of the Kansas House remains at 92 Republicans to 33 Democrats and the partisan tally is also un- changed with 32 Republicans to eight Democrats in the Kansas Senate. The identical numbers don’t reflect the shift that occurred during this election cycle, which ushered in a new more conserva- tive era for the Kansas Statehouse. The make-up of the Kansas Legislature continued to make a rightward shift on November 6th, and for the first time in decades, the Kansas Senate will be driven by the priorities of a socially and fiscally conservative dominated Republican caucus. For years, moderate Republicans have enjoyed a slight edge in numbers in the Kansas Senate and that group often worked with the minority party to drive policy in the upper chamber. The number of conservative members of the Kansas Senate has jumped from roughly 17 to a commanding 27 members of the 40-member Kansas Senate. Most statehouse insiders expect the 2013 version of the Kansas Senate to work very closely with Governor Brownback, who actively supported many of the newly-elected Senators, including eight conservative members of the Kansas House that were successful in challenging long-standing GOP senate moderates back in the August primary. With 55 new faces in the Kansas House, it’s a little less clear if that chamber will be as stridently conservative as it was the past two years. However, it appears at least 70 members of the House Republican Caucus describe them - selves as conservatives, so expect little resistance to the Governor’s initiatives in the 125-member Kansas House. Both the House and the Senate will soon elect new lead - ers to guide the legislative process moving forward and everyone seeking top leadership posts in the Senate and House are touting their conservative credentials. Stay tuned for a complete summary of those leadership elections, which are scheduled to take place on December 3rd. General Election Produces Many New Faces and Same Old Numbers Doug Wareham, KBA SVP-Government Relations With 55 new faces in the Kansas House, it’s a little less clear if that chamber will be as stridently conservative as it was the past two years.