When all was said and done, I missed the final vote. My absence from that vote is explained by my commitment to be a NO vote against a terrible tax bill and the pressures of knowing the Governor was threating to cut the budget to KSU. I felt so poorly by late Thursday afternoon I checked into a hotel room to lay down. While I regret missing a critical vote, I was a solid NO and I was not going to be blackmailed into making a bad vote.
Ultimately, the Senate passed the tax package Friday afternoon and we all went home. The mental and physical exhaustion I’m feeling pales in comparison to the pain I feel for our state – and the pain I know is coming over the next year as families and our economy adjust to these unwise changes.
Even with all of that, this tax package still doesn’t balance the budget. It is still $50 million short of being solvent, relying on Governor Brownback to make cuts as he sees fit, and higher education is the area he specifically mentioned. I have grave concerns about what this could mean for K-State.
My Republican colleagues and I were working hard to find a reasonable tax package to restore the business income taxes, so that over 330,000 businesses would once again pay taxes to the state. About 14 hours before the final house vote, we were told once again the Governor’s office was not at all interested, and further the Senate leadership could not secure the necessary 21 votes to pass any business-related tax. By 2:00 pm Thursday it was clear the push was on to get the ultra-conservatives onboard to pass this bill. This is why the final tax plan, in my opinion, includes bad local government and bad education policy, as a way to get people to vote for tax increases.
The final tactic was to have the Governor speak to a joint meeting of the Senate and House Republicans and indicate the state would face dire financial consequences (including the potential shutting down of summer schools for our universities) if his tax plan were not approved.
To read more about the bill and reaction from across the state, here are a few resources:
Articles
KC Star: Tax plan passes Kansas House and Senate, Brownback set to sign
Topeka Capital-Journal: House breaks gridlock, narrowly approves tax increases in early Friday morning vote
Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas legislators approve ‘Band-Aid’ budget with largest tax increase in state history
Hutchinson News: Kansas lawmakers approve historic tax increase, ending record session
Editorials
KC Star Editorial: Kansans will bear the brunt of tax increases backed by Gov. Sam Brownback and GOP legislators
Topeka Capital-Journal Editorial: Gov. Sam Brownback, Legislature, need to show leadership
Lawrence Journal-World Editorial: Bad to worse
Hutch News Editorials: State of Dysfunction, Train Wreck