Sunday, June 07, 2015

Peter Hancock: "Kansas Legislature: The 'Absolutely Stupid' Stalemate" @ Lawrence Journal World


[Excerpt] ...  And then there are the Democrats who, despite having only 28 members in the House and eight in the Senate, could be a factor in helping broker a deal with one or more factions in the fractured Republican caucus.

But many Democrats won't accept sales tax increases that violate one of their core beliefs, that such taxes fall most heavily on the poor. And although Democrats would like to reimpose taxes on business income and restore higher tax rates on upper-income individuals, they won't vote for it as long as they know Brownback will veto it.

"Why go on record as having supported a tax plan that the governor's going to veto?" asked House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, of Kansas City. "The governor's been void in all of this stuff. He's telling us what he won't accept."

Last week, Brownback did put forth a tax plan that raised sales and cigarette taxes, but did not touch the controversial exemption for non-wage business income. It received only three "yes" votes in the House.

Some Republicans have expressed anger that even if a bill came to the floor giving Democrats everything they want, they would still vote no, either because they don't want to be seen as helping Brownback or because Brownback would veto the bill.

But Burroughs put the responsibility on Brownback's shoulders.

"The governor has to put it on the table and clearly indicate that he's willing to discuss the shortcomings of his previous plan and recognize that his plan has failed," Burroughs said. "That experiment is not working." ... [End of Excerpt]

Read more at the Lawrence Journal World.

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