TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a tax relief bill pushed by top Republicans in the Kansas Legislature (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature are condemning Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a tax relief bill.
Kelly on Monday rejected a measure aimed at preventing individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax law at the end of 2017. She said the measure would have created a “self-inflicted budget crisis.”
Senate President Susan Wagle and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins said Kelly is breaking a promise she made in last year’s campaign not to raise taxes. The two Republicans argued that the bill they championed prevented an unlegislated tax increase.
Hawkins has compared the tax debate to finding a wallet full of cash on the sidewalk with the owner’s ID.
He said: “She kept the money for herself.”
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1:35 p.m.
Kansas’ new Democratic governor has vetoed a tax relief bill approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Gov. Laura Kelly rejected the measure Monday after saying that it would repeat an infamous fiscal experiment that failed under a GOP predecessor.
The bill was aimed at preventing individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017.
Kelly’s top priorities are boosting funding for public schools and expanding the state’s Medicaid health coverage for the needy.
Republicans argued that their bill would prevent an unlegislated tax increase.
Democrats pointed to the budget woes that Kansas experienced after Republican legislators slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013. Bipartisan majorities reversed most of the tax cuts in 2017.
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