Wichita-area legislative meeting reveals differences in approach to government

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Yesterday’s meeting of the South-central Kansas legislative delegation with citizens featured, in the words of one senator, a level of intensity not seen in previous meetings of this body. Senator Dick Kelsey made this observation, remarking that this is the first such meeting where the two parties have been mentioned. Following are a few notes and observations from this meeting.

Conservative groups and advocates often display a chart showing that Kansas spending increased very rapidly during much of the last decade. Representative Melody McCray-Miller reminded the audience that it is Republicans who have been in the majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate during this time.

A suggestion by Representative Kasha Kelley that the state could sell some assets to help with the budget was met with disapproval from some members of the audience.

The audience, which was composed largely of advocates for school spending, union leaders and members representing Kansas state government employees, and people needing social services, cheered several times at mentions of raising the state’s sales tax. Suggestions involving cutting spending or other solutions were not met with approval.

Representative Marc Rhoades of Newton, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and vice chair of the Social Services Budget Committee, gave several examples of how some funding for social services has been restored. He said that the committee takes “a lot of pride in working together across party lines.” He added that there is an effort to increase the state’s investigation of fraud. He said that the former Inspector General of the Kansas Health Policy Authority quit. At the time the Wichita Eagle reported that Robin Kempf “said she resigned from the post because agency managers pressured her and interfered with her ability to do her job.”

Representative Jim Ward, however, disagreed with Rhoades’ characterization of bipartisanship, noting that not one Democrat voted for the budget passed out of the committee, and mentioning large across-the-board cuts.

Ward said there is “Fundamental disagreement on values on the state budget.” Some groups — he pointed to material provided by the Kansas Policy Institute — want to cut taxes and let the economy grow. But Ward said that at some point spending cuts will prevent state agencies from fulfilling their mission, mentioning Meals on Wheels and schools specifically.

Ward mentioned another type of spending the state does: “We spent over $12 billion in tax cuts the in the last ten years.”

Senator Les Donovan, who is chair of the Kansas Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee spoke about the tax increase proposals that were heard in that committee. His committee heard several days of testimony on raising various taxes such as the sales tax, alcohol tax, tobacco tax, and creating a new tax on sugar in soft drinks. Donovan “moderated” each of these taxes, proposing to implement them at a lower rate than what was introduced in the bill. But each tax bill failed to make it out of that committee. (See Kansas sugar tax testimony heard, bill doesn’t advance, Tax on beer, liquor subject of Kansas Senate committee hearing, and Kansas tax increases promoted, even by Republicans.)

In his remarks yesterday Donovan listed — from memory — tax cuts that have been made: A cut in income tax rates for single individuals, an increase in the personal tax exemption, elimination of the marriage penalty, removal of the sales tax on residential remodeling, a cut of 15 mills from property tax (both commercial and residential, with close to 80% of the property being residential), removal of income tax on military retirement pay, a reduction in the taxes on automobile registration, creation of an exemption of $20,000 of valuation on residential property taxes, an increase in the earned income tax credit (a program at both the federal and state levels that issues grants to low income families), an increase in the food sales tax rebate program, exemption of social security payments from Kansas taxation for many families, exemption of residential utilities from sales tax, and elimination of the Kansas inheritance tax.

Donovan said that these tax cuts are larger, by far, than the business tax cuts that spending advocates, including Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson, blame in part for the current budget deficit.

Comments

2 responses to “Wichita-area legislative meeting reveals differences in approach to government”

  1. Wichitator

    Why didn’t anyone discuss the numerous tax and fee hikes that have been all too common in Kansas? In 1993 the Democrats who ran most of Topeka raised corporate and personal income taxes. In addition, sales taxes were raised.

    Gasoline taxes have been raised repeatedly. Sales taxes were raised in 2002 and then the rollback that was promised during the Graves administration was postponed to the Sebelius administration. And then the liberal Sebelius administration spent it. Sebelius appointed most of the current judges on the Kansas Supreme Court who ordered almost a $1 billion increase in government school spending in 2006.

    Statewide property tax appraisals keep soaring, so property that is unchanged has its taxes raised repeatedly. My home is way above what I paid for it in the late 1990s. Property tax revenues keep soaring too.

    I keep hearing about tax “cuts” but the income tax in Kansas is not indexed for inflation like the federal tax. Inflation keeps pushing me into a higher tax bracket and that is an outrage. No one in Topeka cares. What government employees in Kansas care about is “85 and out” where they can retire in their 50’s with about 30 years of government work and get a full retirement.

    In the private sector, many folks are struggling so they can retire when they reach their 70s. Civil servant has now been replaced with civil master and that is not the way the American Dream is supposed to work.

  2. Kerr Avon

    “In 1993 the Democrats who ran most of Topeka raised corporate and personal income taxes. In addition, sales taxes were raised.”

    Really?

    Do you really want to blame the Democrats who haven’t controlled the Legislature for the last 17 years?

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