Kansas Lawmakers Scuttle Plan for Cutting Taxes, Defying Governor and GOP Leaders
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bipartisan group of rank-and-file lawmakers in Kansas scuttled a plan for cutting taxes Thursday, with Republicans defying GOP leaders and Democrats ignoring a personal appeal from the state's Democratic governor.
The state House rejected a plan to cut taxes by about $1.4 billion over the next three years. It resulted from a deal between Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature, but the House decided on a voice vote to have House and Senate negotiators draft a different plan. The vote was overwhelming enough that House members didn't ask for a count or roll call vote.
Some critics, particularly Republicans, saw the plan as too small. Others, mostly Democrats, argued that it was weighted too heavily toward wealthy taxpayers because it would have dropped the state's top personal income tax rate to 5.5% from 5.7%. Lawmakers in both parties thought it cut property taxes too little.
“Let us rise up and be united and send a message that Kansans deserve more,” state Rep. Stephen Owens, a conservative central Kansas Republican who led the effort to reject the measure, said during the House’s short debate.
The House's action came after the Senate approved the plan 38-1, a vote that normally would have been a good omen for a House vote. Instead, many House Democrats clearly planned to vote “no” going in, and House Republicans had a private meeting outside the Statehouse beforehand, apparently so that supporters of the plan could work on their colleagues.
Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said the Legislature won't consider another tax plan this week. Lawmakers are set to adjourn Friday for a three-week spring break and go back in session April 29 for a few days to wrap up business for the year. Masterson said another tax plan could be considered then.
The events in Kansas came two weeks after Georgia’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed personal and corporate income tax cuts that GOP Gov. Brian Kemp favored. Like Georgia, Kansas has a big budget surplus — still projected at more than $4 billion for the end of June 2025.
A dozen other states cut their income tax rates last year, according to the conservative Tax Foundation, but major tax cuts were thwarted in Kansas by the dispute between Republican leaders and Kelly over a GOP proposal for a single-rate, “flat” income tax, something Kelly said would benefit the “super wealthy.”
Kelly vetoed a plan with a single-rate income tax in January, and Republicans were unable to muster the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override her action.
Republican leaders wavered on a single-rate income tax in recent weeks as they grew less willing to chance having no cuts enacted this year. All 40 state Senate seats and 125 House seats are up for election this year.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins told his colleagues during a brief debate that if they rejected the plan, they would face headlines of “House scuttles tax relief.”
“There isn't a single one of us who wants to scuttle tax relief,” said Hawkins, a Wichita Republican.
Their private meeting before the vote was in the Kansas Contractors Association office near the Statehouse. When an Associated Press reporter showed up, Republican Rep. Patrick Penn, of Wichita, was urging colleagues to overcome their misgivings. GOP leaders forced the reporter to leave.
Later, after Owens finished his last speech against the bill, a few Republicans members could be heard saying quietly, “Here, here,” and some clapped and tapped on their desks when the plan failed.
And frustration with the plan and Kelly's intervention was palpable when the governor met Thursday morning with House Democrats to sell it. She touted it as a big victory for Democrats.
“I can guarantee that the other side has gone as far as — a lot farther than — they wanted to go,” Kelly told them. "We should be embracing this and taking credit for it."
Besides adjusting the state's personal top income tax rate, the bill also would have eliminated state income taxes on retirees’ Social Security benefits, which kick in once a person receives $75,000 a year. It also would have increased the state’s standard personal income tax deductions, increased an income tax credit for child care expenses, reduced property taxes the state imposes to raise money for public schools and ended an expiring 2% sales tax on groceries six months early, on July 1.
The property tax was modest. For the owner of a home at the Kansas median value of $210,000, the annual savings would be about $140. A home’s appraised value can easily rise enough in a year to wipe out the cut.
“This, in my mind, is half a Band-Aid when the sore is still festering,” state Sen. Tom Holland, a northeastern Kansas Democrat and the only “no” vote in the Senate, said during debate.
(–Earlier reporting–)
Tax Cut Deal Reached in Kansas Statehouse
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Leaders from the Kansas House and Senate have reached a new deal on tax cuts after previous Republican plans failed. The Kansas News Service reports that the new plan would lower the highest Kansas income tax rate by 0.2% and make no cuts for lower tax brackets. Republican lawmakers had hoped to pass a flat tax this session but were unable to override a veto from Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. The new plan includes several other measures Kelly supports, like eliminating taxes on social security benefits and fully repealing the food sales tax by July instead of next year. Both chambers are expected to vote on the plan in the coming days.
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Legislature Considering Property Tax Exemptions for Private Businesses that Compete with Non-Profits
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers are considering property tax exemptions for private businesses that say they compete with tax-free organizations. The Kansas News Service reports that under the bill, certain Kansas businesses like gyms and child care centers would be exempt from property taxes if they compete with government entities or nonprofits that are tax exempt. Proponents of the bill say those tax exemptions give organizations like the YMCA an unfair advantage over private gyms. But Jay Hall, with the Kansas Association of Counties, says the plan would raise taxes for all other property owners. “This is essentially a tax shift from commercial, to residential and agricultural and other classes of property,” he explained. The measure has been considered for years in the Legislature but has renewed support with just days left in the session.
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Kansas House Approves Special Education Spending Plan, but Without Veto-Proof Majority
UNDATED (KNS) – The Kansas House once again approved a controversial school spending plan Thursday that adds about $77 million in funds for special education. But the Kansas News Service reports that supporters still don’t have enough votes to override a potential veto. The measure also would change the way the state counts special-ed funding. It would force districts to shift money from local property taxes toward special education. Republican Rep. Scott Hill supported the bill and says it adds budget transparency, clarifying that “...I want to see special-ed fully funded. I want to see those kids taken care of. And I don’t believe that hiding special-ed money other places does that.” Public school advocates worry the change would underfund classrooms. They support a task force plan that would add $82 million for special education each year for the next four years.
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Plans Emerge to Formalize State Foster Care Oversight Agency
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers may soon vote on a plan to formalize the state’s foster care oversight agency. The Kansas News Service reports that the plan lawmakers have advanced outlines how the Child Advocate is appointed. Kansas House lawmakers wanted to create a new advisory board to pick the agency’s leader. But the Senate wanted the position to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Republican Senator Kellie Warren says an advisory board would not be accountable to Kansas voters. “The governor is accountable to all Kansans. The governor would have the incentive to pick a good, qualified child advocate,” she explained. Lawmakers negotiating the bill went with the governor’s appointment option. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly created the Child Advocate position through an executive order. The position independently reviews complaints about the Kansas child welfare system.
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Microbrewery Bill Heads to Kansas Governor
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - The Kansas Legislature has approved a plan to allow microbreweries in the state to distribute beer and hard cider themselves. The bill passed by overwhelming margins in both chambers and now heads to Governor Laura Kelly’s desk. KSNT reports that a licensed microbrewery would be allowed to sell beer and hard cider to alcohol distributors, retailers, clubs and various drinking establishments. The bill would also allow a microbrewery to sell beer and hard cider on the premises and off the premises at special events.
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KU Health System and K-State Research & Extension Join Resources to Address Rural Health Disparities
The University of Kansas Health System and Kansas State University are joining forces to address health disparities across the state. They’re doing so through K-State 105, a program designed to build the economy in all Kansas counties. Elaine Johannes of K-State Research and Extension says the partnership is breaking down barriers between the two universities so they can work together. “We know who to talk with, who to work with. And then we can start thinking about bringing some of those larger funds in the state, and across the whole state so everybody has access and opportunity,” she added. The universities say they’ll focus primarily on rural health, by addressing things like access to telehealth services and OBGYN care. The program could also help Kansas organizations better compete for grant funding.
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Southwest Kansas Women Still Missing in Oklahoma
HUGOTON, Kan. (KPR) — Foul play is now suspected in the case of two southwest Kansas women who went missing in the Oklahoma panhandle. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, from Hugoton, were driving to pick up children in Eva, Oklahoma, but never made it. Their abandoned vehicle was later found south of Elkhart, Kansas, in the panhandle of Oklahoma. The search continues for the women, who disappeared on Saturday.
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Three Killed in Highway Accident North of Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - Three people have been killed in a traffic accident north of Lawrence. The crash happened Wednesday afternoon. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that U.S. Highway 24/59 was temporarily closed to all traffic between Midland Junction and an area near the Douglas-Jefferson county line, as first responders worked the scene. A spokesman with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said three people were killed in the crash. The scene of the accident was near the turnoff to the landfill.
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Manhattan, Kansas, Man Guilty of Sexual Exploitation of Teenager in Virginia
LYNCHBURG, Va. (KPR) – A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to federal child exploitation charges. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Andrew Kent, of Manhattan, entered a guilty plea this week to one count of sexual exploitation of a teenage girl. He's facing a sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison. Authorities say Kent told the victim, a 14-year-old girl in Lynchburg, Virginia, that he wanted to “take a kid’s virginity” after meeting her online. According to court documents, Kent met the 14-year-old girl on Twitter in January 2023. He was arrested in June of last year. Kent admitted to using Twitter, Snapchat, and Discord to contact minor girls for the purpose of getting them to send him naked pictures. Kent estimated he solicited and received images of child sexual abuse material from approximately 200 minor girls.
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Ag Equipment Company Investing $105 Million in Central Kansas Town
STERLING, Kan. (KPR ) — A new ag equipment manufacturing company will build a new North American headquarters and a production facility in the small, central Kansas town of Sterling. Governor Laura Kelly announced this week that KMW will invest $105 million and create 250 new jobs in the Rice County town. The company makes agricultural front loaders, backhoes and other attachments. KMW selected Sterling after a competition among several Midwestern states. The company, based in the Czech Republic, already operates two other plants in Kansas, one in Great Bend and another in Lyons.
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Report: Disparities Persist in Poverty and Wellness for Black Children in Kansas
UNDATED (KCUR) — Federal aid during the pandemic lifted millions of children out of poverty… but disparities still persist for Black children in Kansas. KCUR reports that the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s latest Race for Results report scores child well-being out of a thousand points based on benchmarks for education, early childhood and family resources. Black children in Kansas received just 381 points. Jessica Herrera Russell with Kansas Action for Children said a statewide child tax credit could help close gaps in wellness, explaining that "...doing something like this in Kansas would really give that monetary relief back to families, and help them be able to pay for the necessities that their kids need to really grow up healthy and thrive." Asian and Pacific Islander children ranked highest in the state with a score of 747.
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Kansas Lawmakers Want Schools to Show Proof of Effectiveness of At-Risk Programs
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas lawmakers want schools to prove whether programs for academically struggling students are really working. The Kansas News Service reports that lawmakers hammering out a school spending bill have agreed on a measure that would require schools to show how they use money set aside for at-risk students. Under a pilot program this year, 10 districts chosen by the State Board of Education would submit reports showing whether their programs improved test scores. The following year, all districts would file the reports. Republican state Senator Renee Erickson says the change improves accountability. “That’s the best safety net we can use to make sure that the continuation of that at-risk program is, that’s giving us positive results,” she added. A recent audit showed that Kansas schools aren’t following state law in how they spend $730 million set aside for at-risk students.
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Climate Change Documentary Screens Thursday in Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — A new documentary called "Hot Times in the Heartland" will be screened at Liberty Hall in Lawrence Thursday night. One of the people featured is University of Kansas professor Ward Lyles, who says climate conversations are having an effect on his own students. "Students are coming to me despondent. There's climate grief, climate anxiety," he said. "This is a huge and growing field." The documentary begins at 7 pm Thursday at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. The screening is free and open to the public.
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GOP Lawmakers Use Budget to Pressure Kansas Governor on DEI and Immigration
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are likely to approve a proposed state budget for Kansas with provisions aimed at forcing the state's Democratic governor to restrict diversity initiatives on college campuses and help Texas in its fight with the Biden administration over border security.
GOP negotiators for the state House and Senate have agreed to include those items in a single bill containing the bulk of the $25 billion in spending for Kansas' 2025 budget year, which begins July 1. Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature expect both chambers to vote this week on the final version of the bill. “It’s an opportunity to make a point,” state Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said Wednesday. “The power of the purse — that’s all we have. That’s our main power.”
Both the Kansas House and Senate approved resolutions this year expressing their support for efforts by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to enforce a law there allowing his state to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. The Biden administration argues that only the federal government sets immigration policy.
But Republicans in the Kansas Senate then added an extra $15.7 million in the next state budget with directions to Gov. Laura Kelly that she provide Kansas National Guard resources to Texas.
Republican senators also included provisions to withhold a total of $35.7 million in funding from state universities unless their presidents appeared before Kelly and top legislative leaders and confirmed that they were not requiring prospective students, job applicants or staffers seeking promotion to provide statements endorsing diversity, equity or inclusion initiatives or discussing past experiences with it. The GOP budget negotiators agreed to retain those provisions unless a separate bill banning the practice becomes law.
The state constitution gives Kelly the power to veto individual budget provisions, and it's not clear that the immigration or anti-DEI ones have the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override a veto. But if Kelly were to veto the anti-DEI provisions, the $35.7 million would go with them. “It's kind of like blackmail,” said Democratic state Rep. Tom Sawyer, of Wichita.
Republicans in at least 20 states have sought to limit DEI initiatives, arguing that they are discriminatory and enforce a liberal political orthodoxy. Alabama and Utah enacted new anti-DEI laws this year.
The Kansas House last month approved a bill that would bar universities, community colleges or technical colleges from basing a student’s admission or an employee’s hiring or promotion on any statement or pledge about DEI or “any political ideology or movement." Republicans are hoping to have a vote on a new version in both chambers this week.
But the Kansas Board of Regents, which oversees the state's higher education system, already is responding to GOP lawmakers' concerns. The board expects to consider a proposed policy change in April that would ban requirements in admissions or employment for “statements pledging allegiance to, support for, or opposition to diversity, equity or inclusion.”
“I really don’t think it’s going to be an issue. I think they’re all going to change their policy,” said state Rep. Kyle Hoffman, a Republican from western Kansas and a House budget negotiator.
Republicans' interest in border security comes with former President Donald Trump ramping up anti-immigrant rhetoric as he campaigns for reelection, often spreading falsehoods about migration. Roughly two-thirds of Americans disapproved of President Joe Biden's handling of border security in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in March.
GOP officials in many states also frame the issue as stopping the flow of the dangerous opioid fentanyl across the Mexico-U.S. border, though experts agree the key is reducing demand for it in the U.S. “We need to stop it,” said state Sen. J.R. Claeys, a central Kansas Republican and a budget negotiator. “Obviously, the Biden administration isn’t going to do that, so we’re going to have to do it ourselves.”
But state Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Kansas City-area Democrat, said problems at the border demonstrate the need for reforming national immigration laws and argued that Americans are more likely to smuggle fentanyl than immigrant families seeking a better life in the U.S. “They’re willing to blame every possible thing on immigration in on immigrants,” she said.
Some Republicans expect Kelly to veto the provision. Last month, she told reporters that the state constitution makes her the guard’s commander-in-chief and she decides how its resources are used.
But Claeys responded: “We also have other budgetary ways of making things happen, so we’ll continue to use those and the power of the purse.”
(–Related–)
Study Evaluates Possible Economic Impact of Passing Anti-DEI Bills in Kansas and Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – The economies of Missouri and Kansas could be significantly affected if state lawmakers pass bills that attack diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a recent study shows. KCUR reports that economic consulting firm The Perryman Group found Missouri could lose more than $2 billion and close to 24,000 jobs by 2030, while Kansas risks losing close to $900 million and more than 8,000 jobs. That’s because travelers and prospective businesses see these bills as discriminatory. Health Forward Foundation published the report in February. Vice President Eusebio Díaz says the proposals would diminish economic development for years. “Two sectors are significantly impacted … tourism and retail. But we see the impact across all sectors,” he explained. Kansas’s anti-DEI bills focus on education and employment. Missouri’s proposals outlaw state spending on DEI efforts.
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After KC Area Voters Reject Tax Measure, Chiefs & Royals Consider Options
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - After the decisive failure of a ballot measure that would have provided public funds for a downtown ballpark in Kansas City and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, the Royals and Chiefs must decide what's next for the future of their facilities. The Royals wanted the tax extension to pass to help fund a $1 billion-plus stadium, which would serve as the centerpiece of a $2 billion ballpark district. The Chiefs wanted to use their share of tax money to help pay for $800 million in renovations to Arrowhead Stadium. Now, the two clubs are left to explore their options, which could include leaving Kansas City.
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Kansas Trooper Stops Driver Traveling 150 MPH in a 55 MPH Zone
HARVEY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Highway Patrol said a driver was pulled over in Harvey County for driving nearly 100 miles over the speed limit. KSNW TV reportsthat the driver was stopped Monday on U.S. Highway 50 in Harvey County. According to the citation, the driver was clocked on radar, traveling 150 miles per hour. The posted speed limit is 55 for that section of Highway 50. The driver was also cited for operating without registration or with an expired registration. According to the citation, the driver is a resident of California. The Kansas Department of Transportation reports that in 2022, there were nearly 5,000 (4,890) speed-related crashes in the state.
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Attorney Says Chiefs' Rashee Rice Was Driving Lamborghini in Dallas Chain-Reaction Crash
DALLAS (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs player Rashee Rice was the driver of one of two speeding sports cars who left after causing a chain-reaction crash on a Dallas highway over the weekend, the wide receiver's attorney said Thursday.
Why Rice left the crash Saturday was “a good question that's still being investigated," said Rice’s attorney, state Sen. Royce West, but he declined to elaborate. West expects charges to be filed against Rice, who was driving a Lamborghini sport utility vehicle, he said at a news conference without his client.
“He’s a young man that made a mistake,” West said Thursday, adding that Rice’s “heart goes out” to those who were injured. The crash involved the Lamborghini, a Corvette and four other vehicles and left four people with minor injuries, police said.
The driver of the Corvette also left without determining whether anyone needed medical attention or providing their information, police said. The Corvette belongs to Rice, West said Thursday, but no information has been released on the driver.
Rice posted to his Instagram Story on Wednesday that he was taking “full responsibility” for his part in the wreck.
Police have said the drivers of the Corvette and Lamborghini were speeding in the far left lane when they lost control and the Lamborghini traveled onto the shoulder and hit the center median wall, causing the chain collision.
West said that Rice, who is 23, will “do everything in his power to bring their life back to as normal as possible in terms of injuries, in terms of property damage.”
Investigators are interviewing witnesses, victims and others who may have been involved, police said Thursday.
Rice was leasing the Lamborghini from The Classic Lifestyle, said Kyle Coker, an attorney for the Dallas-based exotic car rental company.
Rice was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Fort Worth, Texas, suburb of North Richland Hills. He played college football at nearby SMU, where a breakout senior season in 2022 put the wide receiver on the radar of NFL teams. The Chiefs selected him in the second round of last year's draft, and he quickly became one of the only dependable options in their passing game.
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