TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) New figures from the Kansas Department of Revenue suggest that a plan legislators are considering to cut income and sales taxes would benefit all classes of taxpayers. The department released the figures Wednesday just hours before the Senate was to vote on the plan. The Associated Press obtained the figures from the agency before they were turned over to the Legislature. The figures show that some of the state’s poorest taxpayers, who now receive income tax refunds, would receive smaller refunds under the plan. However, the department projects that change would be offset by a reduction in…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Budget negotiators are expecting to resolve most of their differences over spending priorities in the 2013 Kansas budget by the Legislature’s Friday deadline. Completing the process on the $14 billion bill is central to ending the legislative session on time. House members finished work on their budget version late Tuesday, voting for increases in public schools and social services. The Senate approved a similar measure last week. Negotiators who are meeting Wednesday say 80 percent of each chamber’s bills should be quickly settled. The main obstacle is differences over education policies. House budget chairman Marc Rhoades, a…
MULVANE, Kan. (AP) Voters in Mulvane overwhelmingly approved a $13.4 million bond issue to pay for school additions and improvements. The Sedgwick County Election office says the issue was approved Tuesday by a more than two-to-one margin. The special election drew 25 percent of the area’s voters. The Wichita Eagle reports the bond money will go to pay for school additions and improvements at Munson Elementary School, Mulvane Grade School and Mulvane Middle School. It also will fund expansion at the district’s transportation building. The Mulvane School District covers Sedgwick, Sumner and Cowley counties and serves about 1,880 students.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Despite pleas to reject a complaint from a national group, the Reno County Commission will not reinstate sectarian prayer before its meetings. The commission on Tuesday asked County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan to draft a new policy on prayers at meetings. The move comes after the Americans United for Separation of Church and State objected to the tradition of ministers offering prayers before the meetings. The Hutchinson News reports most commission members favor asking professionals to offer nonsectarian prayers. If no minister or speaker is available, a commissioner could say a prayer or ask for a moment of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Topeka man was sentenced to life in prison for killing a man during an attempted robbery. Thirty-three-year-old Kyree Marshon McClelland was sentenced Tuesday for first-degree murder and other charges in the death of 32-year-old Timothy Stone. Stone was shot in August 2011 during a break-in at the home of a friend. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports McClelland also was severely beaten during the break-in. He was placed in a medically-induced coma to recover. McClelland, who had drugs and alcohol in his system during the crime, apologized for the killing and said he can’t remember what happened.
BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) Baxter Springs voters easily approved an $8 million bond issue to expand the city’s schools. Unofficial results from Tuesday’s special election showed the bond issue passed by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin. The Joplin Globe reports the bond issue will finance new additions at Baxter Springs High School, Central Elementary and Lincoln Elementary. It also will add storm shelters at two schools. The new additions will eliminate the need to use Baxter Springs Middle School as a school. The 1918 building currently houses sixth through eighth grades. The bond issue will require a property…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas congressional delegation is making its case to President Barack Obama that a Roman Catholic priest deserves a Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Korean War. A letter from delegation describes how the Rev. Emil Kapaun pulled wounded soldiers to safety and attended to their injuries while serving as an Army chaplain. Before dying in a prison camp in May 1951, he stole food from nearby farms to bring back to starving prisoners. The letter described Kapaun’s service as “selfless and heroic.” Kapaun was from the Kansas town of Pilsen. He has been classified…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Conservative Republicans are pressing ahead with efforts to have the Kansas House draw new districts for the state Senate. A bill up for debate Wednesday in the House would adjust the lines of the 40 Senate districts to account for changes in population over the past decade. Many legislators believe the map would help conservatives wrest control of the Senate from its moderate GOP leaders in this year’s elections. But conservatives contend a bipartisan redistricting proposal approved last week by the Senate is designed to keep the chamber’s current leaders in power. The dispute among Republicans over…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House is preparing for a final vote on Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to require first-time voters to prove their U.S. citizenship starting next month. The measure on Wednesday’s agenda would impose the proof-of-citizenship requirement on June 15. Kansas already has the rule for people registering to vote for the first time in the state, but it doesn’t take effect until January 2013. Kobach wants the rule in place for the normal surge of voter registrations ahead of this year’s presidential election. Critics argue it will suppress voter turnout. The House approved an earlier…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate expects its vote to be close on proposed income and sales tax cuts. Senators were set to vote Wednesday afternoon. The plan is expected to provide about $60 million in tax relief for the fiscal year beginning July 1, with the total eventually rising to $600 million annually. The plan reduces individual income tax rates, phases out income taxes for 191,000 businesses and other businesses, and drops the state’s sales tax to 5.7 percent in July 2013 from its current 6.3 percent. But a Washington-based think tank has said the plan would favor the…