2012 JCPPC Senate or State Rep Candidate Profile. Response for: Mark Hagen

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1 2012 JCPPC Senate or State Rep Candidate Profile Response for: Mark Hagen 1 Please enter the information indicated below. Name: Mark Hagen Work Phone: Home Phone: Address: Birch St Leawood, KS Political Affiliation: Republican 3 District: House District 28 4 Campaign Chair &/or Treasurer: Bob Lambrechts 5 Phone Number: Committee Name: Mark Hagen for State Representative 7 Campaign Website: 8 Campaign mark@hagenlawoffices.com 9 Occupation/Work History (last five years - 50 words or less): Owner, Hagen Law Offices, LLC General practice law firm, specializing in business litigation and criminal defense in municipal and state courts for both Kansas and Missouri.

2 10 Most Recent Political Experience (50 words or less): Candidate for Kansas State House of Representatives 28th District 11 Most Recent Community/Civic Experience (50 words or less): Chairman of Johnson County Bar Association Municipal Court Bench Bar Committee City of Lenexa Pro-tem Municipal Judge City of Roeland Park Pro-tem Municipal Judge 12 Are you, or have you been, affiliated with a local or state chamber of commerce? Please list chamber(s) and any leadership positions held: I belonged to the Raytown, Missouri Chamber and was Chairman of its Economic Development Committee. 13 Are you, or have you been, affiliated with any other business organization(s)?please list organization(s) and any leadership positions held: Johnson County Bar Association Kansas Bar Association Missouri Bar Association U.S. District Court of Kansas U.S. District Court " Western Missouri 14 As a candidate, what are your top three policy issues (10 words or less per issue)? Work tirelessly to obtain appropriate funding for K12 education in the District. Encourage economic development to sustain our superior quality of life. Otimize consensus building efforts in the legislature to achieve goals.

3 15 What are your views on state tax policy (75 words or I am not inclined to support more taxes to expand government without a clear and pressing need to do so. I further believe appropriate funding of schools and the transportation system require prudent, responsible taxing considerations to prevent any long term problems brought on by neglect. If we don t continue to adequately fund these perishable assets our quality of life will be adversely affected. 16 If Kansas were to face a significant revenue shortfall in meeting its budget, how would you propose to balance the budget? Please be specific (75 words or less). The two hardest decisions in government are, a) which services or benefits may need to be cut and b) who pays more taxes. A reasonable blend of judicious cuts coupled with modest tax increases should address any revenue shortfalls. Shifting tax burdens from income taxes to sales or property taxes creates a host of problems. Similarly,deferring capital maintenance costs and taking money out of the dedicated transportation budget to meet operating revenue expenses merely delays a problem, it does not solve it. Perhaps Kansas could follow the example of successful large cities that set aside suplus revenue in a fund that rolls over year to year to cover emergencies. That way, we limit the constant up and down motion in taxes. 17 What are your views on the possible imposition of a sales tax on professional services, such as architects, lawyers, engineers, doctors - a significant economic base in Johnson County (75 words or I am opposed to a sales tax on professional services. Our county has perhaps the largest professional services industry in Kansas. This industry yields a tremendous amount of income tax revenue to the state. If this ill conceived tax comes into being, thousands of jobs will simply relocate across the state line, where no sales taxes are imposed. Many owners and employees may choose to continue to live in Kansas but all the jobs will leave the state. This tax will destroy this county and severely damage Kansas. 18 Do you support or oppose limiting by law how much state or local governments can tax or spend each year, such as requiring a "supermajority" 2/3 voting requirements to approve state or local tax increases? Why (75 words or I am opposed to adding yet another obstacle to budget reconciliation talks in the legislature. Not only is it unnecessary it is ill advised and will produce more inaction in the legislature when the State needs more solutions and fewer problems. We elect to make those reasonable decisions after considering all

4 the facts and these deliberations include flexibility for each governmental entity to provide the services needed. 19 What are your views on fundamental reform of K-12 school funding (75 words or I believe the formula employed over the years has proven inadequate. And the 54 school districts suing the state, again this year, along with the thousands of dismayed patrons, parents, and students agree with me. We must explore the Local Operating Budget (LOB) option. It is unconscionable that the school districts in this county are only allowed to spend in the bottom 15 percentile on per pupil expenditures. Local control would allow our taxpayers to remedy this injustice. 20 Do you support expanding local funding flexibility and control over how education funds are raised and spent (75 words or Yes. Johnson County School Districts have demonstrated responsible use of every dollar spent towards education. The School Districts have been fullly accountable to their citizens and have amply demonstrated this year after year by every measurement. 21 What are your views on Kansas' current toolbox of economic development incentives (75 words or Most of the success Kansas has enjoyed in attracting new business can be attributed to the two pillars in the community; educated work force and superior quality of its transportation system. Combined, they provide a superior and highly affordable quality of life. These two pillars supporting economic development are threatened to crumble if we don't continue to find revenue to adequately fund them. And these two pillars will continue to be our top priorities for keeping our economy vibrant and quality of life high. However, we compete on a national stage and the Economic Development tools in Kansas are crucial to continue competitiveness. PEAK, HPIP, KIT, KERR etc are vital to our success. 22 What types of tax and/or economic development policy will you support to encourage job growth and business expansion in Kansas (75 words or Commercial tax abatement is quite effective, but there are more options. Tax credits to employers adding jobs is a another tax vehicle that has been successful.

5 23 What kind of measures would you support to help control or reduce key business costs (75 words or If the legislature makes good choices and encourages consolidating state agency redundancies, this will lower the cost of state business. Our business community will then see lower tax and license expenses. 24 Do you support or oppose the diversion of dedicated state highway funds for any use other than the funding of the transportation projects for which it was created? Explain (75 words or less). I oppose this practice. It has been modestly successful in making up general operating budget shortfalls. The result: long term transportation infrastructure problem. If it belongs in transportation, it needs to stay there 25 What is your policy position on immigration mandates, such as requiring all employers to enroll in a federal government program known as E-verify to check the immigration status of all potential new hires (75 words or The E-verify program is entirely cost free and helps an employer comply with federal employment law in screening new hires. It is sadly full of errors so more needs to be done on the federal level before it will be fully embraced by business. 26 What do you believe is the most pressing issue or challenge facing Kansas today (75 words or Uncompromising legislators have brought Kansas to a standstill too many times in the last few years. See redistricting. It is abundantly clear that our tax revenue is not keeping pace with obligations so, without sincere negotiations by all parties, one or more critical state programs will suffer. 27 What do you believe most distinguishes you from your opponent(s) in this race (75 words or I will bring a voice of reason and moderation to the legislature. Because of my diverse business experience and educational background I understand the business climate. With a masters in public administration, and service as a US Navy officer, I function well in a government budgeting environment.