By NOAH TABORDA
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Kansas senators approved a series of bills Tuesday, including one allowing the construction on Statehouse grounds of a permanent memorial honoring the immediate families of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Senate Bill 330 comes in response to a unanimous decision by the Capitol Preservation Committee to add a Gold Star Family monument to the Veterans’ Walk outside the Capitol building in Topeka. The memorial will be funded entirely though donations and private funds.
“We are very anxious to erect and have a dedication ceremony for this Gold Star memorial later on this year,” said Sen. Jeff Longbine, R-Emporia. “The Capitol Preservation Committee has given preliminary approval. The design has been done and fundraising is getting ready to be started.”
The Senate approved the bill 40-0, and an identical measure has a hearing Thursday in the House Veterans and Military Committee.
Senators also approved legislation concerning water supply, boiler safety and disability savings accounts.
Perry Wiggins, executive director for the governor’s Military Council, said Kansas is one of few remaining states yet to have one of these memorials established on Statehouse grounds. He said the bill would rectify this oversight and emphasize Kansas’ military support.
“As a father of two servicemen myself, I can tell you that’s one of the hardest things you can do. Standing on point for this nation in uniform for me was not difficult but to have to have two of my own standing on point is very difficult,” Wiggins said. “Our true and unsung heroes for this nation are those families, the ones who have given the ultimate sacrifice and sacrificed our nation’s most precious resource, which is its sons and daughters.”
The monument will be 44 inches tall with a purple and gold pin recognized by the Department of Defense shortly after World War II at the top of a plaque. The plaque will read: “Dedicated by the grateful citizens of the state of Kansas in honor of those Gold Star families who sacrificed a loved one for our liberties and freedoms,” Wiggins said.
In addition to approving the memorial, senators passed a bill adjusting water boiler exemptions, which passed 125-0 in the House, and legislation to allow financing from the Public Water Supply Loan Fund for public water supply projects that acquire water through a water transfer.
They also approved a measure updating the state ABLE savings accounts, intended to help individuals with a disability and their families to save funds. Currently, ABLE accounts are required to have a conservatorship or a guardian in place. This measure would give a little bit more flexibility and would also bring the law into compliance with new federal regulations.
“This is a good bill for those who utilize this and without this bill, a lot of folks who deal with these kinds of issues will lose their ability to use the ABLE accounts in Kansas,” said Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-Leavenworth.