TOPEKA — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s debate over raising taxes to fix the state budget and provide additional money for public schools (all times local):
5:19 p.m.
Kansas legislators have drafted a new proposal that would increase personal income taxes to raise $1.2 billion over two years.
House and Senate negotiators agreed Monday evening on a measure that would raise income tax rates and eliminate an exemption for 330,000-plus farmers and business owners. It largely rolls back past tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
The plan is a larger than one rejected by the House earlier Monday when the tax hike was tied to a school funding increase. Kansas faces budget shortfalls totaling $889 through July 2019.
The House expected to vote on the new plan first.
The measure would create a third income tax rate for the state’s highest earners and set it at 5.7 percent. The current top rate is 4.6 percent.
3:56 p.m.
Kansas legislators have separated a plan to boost spending on public schools from a proposed income tax increase in hopes of passing the education proposal more quickly.
House and Senate negotiators agreed Monday afternoon on the details of a plan to phase in a $293 million increase in education funding over two years. It’s a response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling in March that the state’s $4 billion a year in aid to its 286 school districts is inadequate.
Republican leaders had tied the same school funding plan to a proposal to increase income taxes to raise more than $1 billion over two years to help fix the state budget.
Many lawmakers didn’t like bundling the two big proposals together. The House voted 91-32 to reject the combined package.
2:26 p.m.
The Kansas House has rejected a bill that would have raised income taxes and increased spending on public schools.
The vote Monday was 91-32 against a bill that would have raised more than $1 billion over two years with higher taxes. The measure also would have phased in a $293 million increase in aid to public schools over two years.
Republican leaders tied tax and school funding measures together in a single bill to make it easier to pass a tax increase. But Democrats and many Republicans objected to the tactic.
Legislative researchers also projected that the bill might not quite close projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019.
The spending increase was a response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling in March that education funding is inadequate.
11:23 a.m.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback isn’t saying whether he would sign or veto a bill that would raise income taxes and increase spending on public schools.
Brownback told reporters Monday that he wants to maintain pro-growth tax policies even as Kansas raises new revenues to fix its budget and provide extra money to schools. But he wouldn’t say what he would do if a bill backed by Republican leaders reaches his desk.
The plan would increase raise more than $1 billion in new revenue over two years by increasing income taxes. The measure also phases in a $293 million education funding increase over two years.
Kansas faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019 and the state Supreme Court ruled in March that education funding is inadequate.
9:28 a.m.
Kansas legislators have a new, larger estimate for how much a plan drafted by Republican lawmakers would increase spending on public schools.
The State Department of Education projected Monday that the plan would phase in a $293 million increase over two years. The previous estimate was $285 million.
The plan ties the funding increase to another measure that would increase income taxes to raise more than $1 billion over two years to also help fix the budget. The House planned to vote by Monday afternoon on a single bill with the package.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in March that education funding is inadequate and gave lawmakers until June 30 to pass a new school finance law. Critics say the plan would not boost spending enough to satisfy the court.
