The legislation supplements the state’s $525 million, five-year investment that passed last year, with a series of additional $90 million bonuses during the next four years. SB 142 was crafted to comply with the Kansas Supreme Court’s instructions to add an inflation adjustment. We passed this with the belief that these additional dollars would finally settle the ongoing lawsuit. This is the bill Governor Kelly proposed to settle our lawsuit.
The State School Board also endorsed this bill. Last week the schools involved in the lawsuit changed their mind on the amount of money that we were adding for additional funding and are now asking for additional funds above the $90 million.
SB 22 was sent to the Governor’s desk last week for her signature. An update on SB 22, which was originally introduced in response to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017, and the revenue windfall Kansas is expected to receive because of federal tax reform. SB 22 addresses both individual and corporate taxes by decoupling state law from federal law provisions.
The bill will provide individuals with the ability to itemize when using the federal standard deduction on their tax return. SB 22 provides Kansans with the right to deduct interest on their mortgage, property taxes and health care expenses. The bill also provides incentives for businesses to invest and create jobs in Kansas since it places Kansas on par with surrounding states that have already decoupled from federal law, increasing Kansas’ competitiveness. Kansas is one of seven states that hasn’t decoupled. If SB 22 does not get signed into law, businesses are expected to get hit with $137 million in state income taxes and individual taxpayers would pay an extra $50 million to the state. There were two amendments added to SB 22 by the House.
One amendment provided a 1% reduction in the state’s 6.5% sales tax on food. The food sales tax reduction is expected to provide a $43 million reduction in sales tax, beginning October 1st. The second amendment was an Internet sales tax amendment that requires out-of-state vendors to pay sales tax. Online sales tax is expected to generate about $21 million annually. This will be Governor Kelly’s first opportunity to keep her campaign pledge to not raise taxes.
The Senate passed Sub SB 69 that authorizes an independent $1 million study of retail rates charged by public utilities. This legislation was created in response to Kansas having some of the highest utility rates in the region and is intended to provide information to the Legislature in order to protect ratepayers.
I would like to thank everyone who stopped by the Capitol and my office last week.
I am honored and grateful to represent the 40th Senate District of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail at [email protected] or call me with your questions and concerns. My office number is 785 296-7399 or my cell is 785 899-4700. If you are in Topeka stop by my office at 236-E.