Those $88-a-day legislators (plus per diem, of course) are still on their Turnaround Day break, presumably exhausted from debating many of the bills in each chamber and sending them across the rotunda to the other chamber. And they’ve sent just one bill to Kelly so far. Best deal for those legislators is that they get paid by the day—not on commission—or we’d see them at street corners with signs seeking lunch money.
That single bill they’ve sent to Kelly is the $115 million repayment of money borrowed from the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System, and Kelly isn’t saying whether she’ll sign or veto it, and it would be out of character for her to just let it become law without her signature.
The bills floating around? Well, they’re still floating at what is theoretically, or popularly, called the “halfway point” of the session. That’s the tax cut bill and the K-12 bill, which at least the Senate Education Committee hasn’t finished up yet and isn’t likely to move to floor debate this week.
The tax cuts? Kelly doesn’t think that the state has enough information on just what those federal cuts are going to do to Kansas revenues. She for the first time last week said out loud that she might not sign a tax cut bill this year.
For some number of Republicans—and mostly party leadership—those tax cuts are politically vital.
The leadership refers to making those federal tax cuts trickle down to Kansans vital. And cutting Kansas taxes now? Well, Republicans call not cutting Kansas income taxes a tax hike, because the less you pay to Washington, the more money is available for taxing by Kansas.
There are also some relatively clever little political games within the tax debate, like a one-cent reduction in Kansas sales tax on groceries, from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent. Nobody doesn’t want to pay less sales tax. And no legislator doesn’t want to vote to cut taxes on nearly everything—and especially food.
While you read a lot about “helping the poor” with that food sales tax cut, the income tax part of the bill helps corporations and the upper-middle and upper-upper income Kansans who probably haven’t eaten bologna on white bread for years…
It might be interesting, though, to see how that Senate-passed, House committee-amended bill does in full House debate.
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The issue that pits conservative Republicans against the Kansas Supreme Court on adequately financing public schools? Well, neither chamber has passed a bill yet. The Democrats are eager to at least pay that $93 million next year to meet the court’s definition of “adequate” funding, and Republicans appear split between whether the “unelected judges” (who stand for retention elections every six years) should determine just what “adequate” is, or whether lawmakers should make that decision.
Lots of talk, lots of committee hearings, but nothing has seen full debate.
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The showdown between Kelly and the Republicans leading the Legislature on nearly every issue?
No winners, just that staring at each other, maybe typing up a little press release, now and again, but so far, nothing very final.
It’s easier when the Legislature and the governor are of the same political persuasion. Little deals are possible.
But when it’s a Democrat governor and Republican legislature? Just try to remember back to high school, and those bad dates…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
