A dramatic midnight showdown over school funding at the Kansas Statehouse this weekend ended with a deal meant to satisfy the state Supreme Court. Celia Llopis-Jepsen from the Kansas News Service explains.
(-Alternate newscast version-)
Kansas lawmakers wrapped up the main part of their session over the weekend, but it wasn’t without some drama that frayed nerves. A lengthy Senate debate on a tax-break bill almost prevented them from passing a school funding plan needed to respond to a Kansas Supreme Court order. Representative Melissa Rooker, a moderate Republican from Fairway, says the state can’t afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on tax breaks.
The tax bill – which supporters say would prevent the state from reaping a windfall from recent changes in the federal tax code – passed the Senate in the waning hours but not the House. Lawmakers will try to compromise on that bill and dozens of others when they return for a week-long housekeeping session later this month. - By Jim McLean