Editor’s note: The following column was written in response to a Journal-World invitation to members of the Kansas Legislature to share their thoughts about their hopes for Kansas and major issues facing the state.

Kansas legislators have responsibilities that encompass education, safety, health care, child care, energy plans and options for economic opportunity. Current choices addressing these responsibilities follow.

We have a viable three-year education funding plan in place and have set aside the money that will be needed. Higher education remains on the margin. Tuition is high and likely to increase. Financial support at this level of education is a major responsibility that we cannot ignore. Deferred maintenance of Kansas Board of Regents schools must be dealt with this year. It has been proven time and again that earlier education is critical for our children and all-day kindergarten is a must for all schools in Kansas.

Health care is a state and federal responsibility. Some states are taking the lead here and Kansas legislators have started to talk about it. Until we are serious about its obvious costs, general health care is unlikely to move into critical consideration.

Children’s health insurance is another matter. Federal funding is available for children’s health insurance, however, enrollment is stymied by rules requiring that a child’s identity and citizenship be clearly established. As many as 50 percent of the children eligible for health insurance cannot get the proper documentation that satisfies these requirements. A passport fulfills the need, but it costs close to $100 and this doesn’t help the cause.

Kansas dental care is marginal. There are 1,200 practicing dentists in Kansas, and 50 percent of them are over 50 years of age. Kansas needs a dental school, probably in Wichita, to generate the dental coverage obviously needed in the future. Again, children do not get the oral care they deserve in this state.

Safety concerns can be addressed without making inroads into the general fund. We recently passed the teenage seat belt bill. The next step will be the requirement for all passengers to be belted. That will have an impact on safety immediately. An even more profound move would be passage of the graduated driver’s license bill. This would move the beginner driver up to 15 years of age and require the person to be belted and drive only with a person at least 21 years old in the front seat. They could have no other passengers in the car, and use of a cell phone while driving would be prohibited. These restrictions would apply for one year after a six-month initiation period. More mature drivers make for significant highway safety for us all.

Our prisons are inadequate for the need. Prisons should remain under public supervision. We must fund them adequately and build what is necessary to house those requiring incarceration. We must insist on full E-911 coverage for the whole state. It is piecemeal now. The current highway plan has to be kept intact with its funding obligations.

An energy plan is beginning to take shape. It must emphasize conservation and set forth reasonable requirements to that end. We must institute an overall premise for coal-based, nuclear and wind energy development for the next 30 years. It also goes without saying that we must establish tough fuel economy standards and formulate a system to cap carbon dioxide emissions.

Economic development plans can and should tout favorable Kansas weather, work ethic and education. Recent bills passed by the Legislature will make the tax structure of Kansas more appealing to business. We need to support in every way possible the establishment of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan or Leavenworth. It will have the single greatest impact on the state’s economy in recent memory.

Child care is vital in this day and age with both parents needing to work placing children’s needs in jeopardy. Public-private relationships are necessary for organized child care to happen and both should take the lead. The state should encourage nutrition education and discourage ready access to sugar-loaded beverages in our schools.

Kansas is on the cusp of moving on to a improved economy and health care and safety. Steadfast resolve can make it happen.

– Sen. Roger Reitz represents the 22nd District, which includes Manhattan, Ogden, Junction City and Geary County. He has practiced internal medicine in Manhattan for 41 years and previously held elected positions as a school board member, city commissioner and state representative. He is vice chairman of the Senate Elections and Local Government Committee and the Federal and State Affairs Committee and serves on the Senate Commerce and Utilities committees and on joint committees on Children’s Issues and Health Policy Oversight.