American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016 - 82

ConventionSection: Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association

KIOGA Annual Meeting - Wichita, KS.
Sunday, Aug. 14
1-7 p.m. Registration, Connecting Lobby,
Wichita Century II Performing Arts &
Convention Center
2-4 p.m. Board of Directors and General
Membership Meeting, Cypress Room A,
B
4-7 p.m. Trade Show, Century II Expo Hall
5-6 p.m. Cocktail Mixer, Expo Hall
6-10:30 p.m. Chairman's Reception, Convention Hall
Entertainment by Jazz Boomers

Monday, Aug. 15
7 a.m.-7 p.m. Registration, Connecting
Lobby, Wichita Century II Performing
Arts & Convention Center
7:30-9:15 a.m. Buffet Breakfast, Connecting Lobby
Speaker: Rick Tyler, Co-Founder of
Foundry Strategies "2016 Race-The Inside of an Outsider Campaign"
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Trade Show, Expo Hall
10-11:30 a.m. Morning Seminar: "The
Changing Face of Energy Policy," Cypress Room A
Panelists: U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, RKs., Congressmen Tim Huelskamp, RKs., and Mike Pompeo, R-Ks., and
Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, R-Ks.
Moderator: Edward Cross, KIOGA President
10-11:30 a.m. Morning Seminar: "Which
Way are the 'Currents' Flowing for Electric Rates: Drilling Down from an Oil
Perspective," Redbud Room B&C

area, with no one individual location receiving more than a certain volume of
fluid each day," he predicts.
State Budget
A future increase in market prices
also means operators will have to worry

Summit
Drilling
Serving the
Midcontinent to 4,500'
620-343-3278
P.O. Box 2004
Emporia, KS 66801
82 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Panelists: Adam Beren, Berexco LLC;
Stuart Lowry, Sunflower Electric Power
Corp.; Earnie Lehman, Midwest Energy
Inc.; Gary Aksamit, Aksamit Resource
Management
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dave's Diversion,
Expo Hall
12:30-2 p.m. Annual Membership Luncheon, Convention Hall
Robert J. Grenier, "Terror, Instability and
Oil: Current Geopolitics of the Middle
East"
2:30-4 p.m. Afternoon Seminar: "Paying
Attention to Pipeline Safety," Cypress
Room A
Susan Ginsberg, Independent Petroleum
Association of America
2:30-4 p.m. Afternoon Seminar: "Survival
Tips-Operational, Accounting and
Legal," Redbud Room B&C
Panelists: Jeff Kennedy, Martin Pringle
Law Office; Leon Rodak, Murfin
Drilling Company; Joyce Moellinger,
Allen, Gibbs & Houlik LC
5:30-7 p.m. Cocktail Party, Connecting
Lobby
Entertainment by Nikki the Night Swallow

Tuesday, Aug. 16
9 a.m. Annual Golf Tournament, Crestview
Country Club, Wichita, Ks., North and
South Courses
9 a.m. Sporting Clays Tournament, Shady
Creek Sporting Clays, Belle Plaine, Ks.
3-5 p.m. Gin Rummy Tournament,
Crestview Country Club

whether Kansas legislators will see the
industry as a revenue source again, Cross
warns. "If there was a silver lining to oil
and gas prices being down, it was that it
helped keep the industry out of the legislature's cross hairs for any type of tax increase. If prices go back up, I would
expect the industry to again be a target.
And so, KIOGA will have to be prepared,"
he says.
Kansas legislators ended the 2016
session on June 1 by concentrating on
school financing, and the summer interim session, held June 23-24, followed
suit, Cross recounts. After the November
elections, he says KIOGA will continue
its job of monitoring the statehouse
and how legislators react to any budget
shortfalls.
That scrutiny will include any impacts
from a school finance lawsuit that will
be heard in the Kansas Supreme Court.
An earlier court ruling ordered Kansas
to make the state's school funding equal
and equitable, media reports indicate. In

a special session following the regular
term, legislators approved a $38 million
redistribution of moneys from richer districts to poorer ones to resolve the equality
mandate. News accounts say four school
districts have filed suit against the state,
arguing the funding distribution system
is unfair. The Supreme Court will hear
oral arguments on Sept. 21.
"That schedule means the court will
not rule on the case until after the elections," Cross says. "How the justices rule
could affect not only oil and gas in
Kansas, but all Kansans because their
decision could require much more revenue
for the state. In that case, (lawmakers)
will be left to come up with that money
somehow. KIOGA will be watching how
they do that. The association has to look
not only at increased taxes, but if legislators
decide to consider them, oil and gas tax
provisions."
November Elections
The makeup of the Kansas House and
Senate will not be known until after the
Nov. 8 elections. Cross predicts that for
most new faces, oil and gas issues will
not loom large. Instead, he says, both
new and veteran lawmakers will be focusing on taxes, school finances, and the
Kansas budget.
All 125 House members are up for
re-election, and 26 incumbents have decided not to run this year, media reports
indicate. In the Senate, eight incumbents
are leaving the chamber, and 11 of the
32 Republican senators faced primary
challengers.
KIOGA is involved in the state's political process on two levels, Cross says,
citing individual member involvement
in local races, and the association's legislative contact volunteer program. He
describes the program as providing financial support to candidates who support
the oil and gas industry, with an emphasis
on legislative leaders and those serving
on committees that impact operators.
Cross adds that KIOGA relies on the
contact program in place of a political
action committee.
"The legislative contact volunteer program includes KIOGA members who
have been asked to support some of the
candidates who will be new in the legislature," he says. "If those candidates win,
then KIOGA already has begun a relationship. The association can build off
that and talk to the legislators about
energy issues."
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016

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