Americans for Prosperity-Kansas remarks on the completion of the 2013 session of the Kansas Legislature.
TOPEKA, KAN. — The Kansas chapter of the grassroots group Americans for Prosperity released the following statement in response to the close of the 2013 Legislative Session:
“In the last few years, legislators have made great strides to bring the state of Kansas on a path toward fiscal responsibility,” said AFP-Kansas state director Jeff Glendening. “The budget for the next fiscal year included a slight reduction in spending that certainly was a step in the right direction, but there is still work to be done in reducing the size and scope of our state government. The budget provision that limits the growth of state spending to 2 percent per year is an important step to keep spending under control.
“With regard to the statewide sales tax rate, however, it is unfortunate that legislators chose to impose a higher sales tax rate on Kansans. While the Legislature showed respect for taxpayers by lowering the overly burdensome sales tax rate, it was only a partial victory for Kansans’ pocketbooks because the rate did not return to the previously promised level of 5.7 percent.
“Additionally, we applaud work by legislators to make Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare more difficult to implement in Kansas. The passage of the proviso requiring legislative approval on any Medicaid expansion the Governor would wish to put in place simply adds a necessary layer of protection from the further expansion of ObamaCare.
“It’s disappointing that legislators failed to defund Common Core, with so many Kansans expressing serious concerns with these federal standards. We look forward to legislators re-addressing this issue when they return to Topeka in 2014.
“In the last weeks of the session, hundreds of Americans for Prosperity-Kansas activists sent emails to their elected officials. We applaud those legislators who listened to their constituents, and we send our sincere thanks to the citizens who spoke up throughout the session on overspending, paycheck protection, judicial selection reform and Medicaid expansion. Their efforts were instrumental in leading to legislative victories in these key areas.”
Original is here.
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