Kansas lawmakers and Kelly couldn’t agree on tax cuts — so governor calls for another try

Takeaways:

• Kansas lawmakers didn’t pass a tax bill and will return for a special session
• Republicans broke with party leadership to kill controversial bills
• A majority of the governor’s vetoes were sustained this year

Kansas lawmakers failed to pass tax cuts that the governor would sign before adjourning for the year, setting up a heated tax fight during an election year.

The Legislature adjourned early Wednesday morning, but Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has the power to bring lawmakers back for a special session. She promised to do it, to force lawmakers to use a multibillion-dollar budget surplus to pass a tax cut plan that she and legislators can agree on.

Kansas Republicans passed multiple tax cut plans this year, but Kelly vetoed or said she’ll veto all of them and lawmakers couldn’t muster the votes to override her, except for one bill creating some sales tax exemptions.

The defeated tax cuts had varying levels of backing — from massive bipartisan support to thin, party-line margins. Kelly rejected them as too expensive.

Democrats and Republicans continue to squabble over how much taxpayers should get back.

To override a veto, 84 votes are needed in the House and 27 in the Senate. Kansas Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers — 85 House Republicans and 29 in the Senate. That means GOP leadership could override any veto if all members voted with their party, but some tax plans died because members broke from leadership.

The tax fight headlined this year’s veto session, but 15 other bills have been vetoed throughout the year. Here is what became law and what died.

In 2024, Kelly has vetoed:

Income tax, property tax, sales tax and Social Security tax cuts

The larger tax plan veto was upheld. The bill is dead. A smaller set of cuts was overridden and the bill will become law.

First, Kansas Republicans pushed for a flat tax on income that was vetoed and died. That tax cut was controversial because both Republican and Democratic lawmakers said it favored the rich.

Then came a second tax plan that had income tax cuts, cuts to taxes on Social Security income, property tax relief and food sales tax cuts. Kelly supports all of those cuts, but she vetoed the plan because it cost too much.

The second tax plan had massive bipartisan support in the House, with the vote to override the veto passing 104-15. Then, the Senate killed the bill after ending up one vote short of an override.

Republican Sens. Rob Olson of Olathe, Dennis Pyle of Hiawatha and John Doll of Garden City cast the key votes that killed the plan. Those senators liked parts of the plan, but they disliked the idea of squeezing the state’s three income tax brackets into two.

After that plan died, lawmakers quickly cobbled together a new plan that would give taxpayers a smaller break. It promised to cut food sales taxes, end taxes on Social Security benefits, provide more personal exemptions for Kansans with kids and provide property tax relief. It also had two tax brackets on income instead of three.

Kelly has told lawmakers any cut should reduce state tax revenue by less than $425 million a year. The new plan has a $641 million price tag in its first year and is estimated to cost between $462 million and $472 million in its first five years.

“The latest Republican tax proposal hikes the income tax rate for lower income Kansans while increasing the fiscal cost,” Will Lawrence, Kelly’s chief of staff, told The Kansas City Star. “This isn’t a serious proposal. It’s an attempt to leave town without tax relief.”

Kelly hasn’t officially vetoed the bill, but it is doomed. She will call lawmakers back to Topeka for a special session hoping to pass yet another tax plan.

A smaller set of tax cuts survived a veto.

Kelly vetoed a handful of new sales tax exemptions tied into one bill. It creates sales tax deductions for some motor vehicle transactions, allows manufacturers’ coupons to be excluded from the sales price to ease the tax hit and creates other sales tax exemptions.

“The intent of House Bill 2098 is on the right track to provide Kansans with sales tax relief,” Kelly said in her veto message. “However, the impact these tax cuts would have on the State General Fund cannot be realized without knowing the total cost of all tax bills, including a fair, sustainable, and fiscally responsible tax relief package. ”

Her veto was overridden 99-20 in the House and 37-0 In the Senate.

Gender-affirming care ban for trangender youth

Veto upheld, the bill is dead.

Kansas Republicans passed a ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatment and surgery for transgender youth.

Republicans argue transgender kids don’t appreciate the consequences of gender-affirming care and say the medical treatment is ineffective. Democrats counter that research shows that kind of care improves a transgender child’s mental health and lowers the likelihood of suicide.

The veto override passed the Senate 27-13 but failed in the House 82-43. Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican, and Rep. Jesse Borjon, a Topeka Republican, switched their votes. Those two votes officially killed the bill.

Two election security bills

Both vetoes were upheld and both bills are dead.

The Legislature passed two bills on election security.

The first bill:

• Requires county election officers to record the names of people who drop off ballots for others. It’s an attempt to limit ballot harvesting, or when one person brings in a bunch of other people’s ballots. By recording the names of those who drop off ballots, counties could see if someone was dropping off more ballots than they are allowed to. The current limit is 10 ballots.
• Removes the requirement that political advertisements list who is the treasurer of a campaign.

The bill was nine votes short of a veto-proof majority in the House and one vote short in the Senate. It had an uphill battle to become law, and the Legislature didn’t attempt to override the veto.

The second bill:

• Would have banned spending federal tax money on state elections without specific approval from the Legislature.
• Would have clarified that intentionally impersonating an election official is a crime. Past legislation made impersonating an election official a crime. Voting access groups, like the League of Women Voters, then stopped helping people register to vote out of fear that they could be accused of impersonating an election official. The past law was taken to the Kansas Supreme Court, where justices said it was too vague. This bill was trying to clear up that confusion.

The veto override effort passed the House with no votes to spare but came up one vote short in the Senate.

Republicans pushed the bills in the name of voter security. Kelly said there’s no evidence of voter fraud and these bills only make it harder to run elections.

Two bills related to abortion

Both vetoes were overridden and the bills will become law.

One law now requires abortion providers to ask why someone is getting an abortion. Republicans said the survey is optional and provides valuable information. Kelly said the questions are intrusive.

The override passed mostly along party lines, coming out to 84-41 in the House and 27-10 in the Senate.

The second law criminalizes abortion coercion. That makes it illegal to try to force someone to get an abortion through physical or financial threat. Withholding key documents, like passports, also qualifies.

Kelly vetoed the bill, saying extortion is already illegal. She also said the law is too vague and could criminalize people who “are being confided in by their loved ones or simply sharing their expertise as a health care provider.”

The override passed with a nearly identical tally to the other abortion bill — 85-40 in the House and 28-10 in the Senate.

Pregnancy resource centers

Veto overridden, the bill will become law.

Lawmakers created a new tax break for pregnancy resource centers. Supporters of those centers say they provide important resources to mothers, like diapers or other goods. They want a tax break to encourage more donations to help mothers with unplanned pregnancies.

Opponents of these centers say they push anti-abortion propaganda while posing as medical centers to manipulate women at vulnerable times.

“Kansas voters overwhelmingly signaled to politicians that they should stop inserting themselves between women and their private medical decisions,” Kelly said in her veto statement.

The override passed with a few votes to spare. It was 85-40 in the House and 29-7 in the Senate.

Bail bonds

Veto overridden, the bill will become law.

Kansas set a minimum amount someone must pay a bail bond company to be released from jail. But the governor said the minimum doesn’t take into account the type or severity of someone’s crime.

That bond would be a minimum of 10% of the appearance bond. Half of that needs to be paid before someone can get out before their court date.

Kelly worries that will hurt low-income Kansas who didn’t commit violent crimes.

The veto vote was mostly along party lines, though some Democrats joined Republicans to override the Democratic governor — 87-38 in the House and 27-12 in the Senate.

Police dogs

Veto overridden, the bill will become law.

Kansas lawmakers want more jail time for someone who hurts or kills a police dog or horse. A newly-passed law requires 90 days in jail instead of 30. The minimum fine would be $10,000, which doubles the maximum fine of $5,000 under current law.

“The fact that the current criminal penalties for harming a police animal are lower than other animal cruelty laws is a disgrace to both them and their caretaker officers,” said House Speaker Dan Hawkins of Wichita.

Kelly vetoed the bill, saying that abuse of the animals is wrong but that mandatory minimum sentencing takes away judicial power, the jail time is longer than for other crimes without a clear reason, and it requires psychological evaluation and anger management courses when more serious crimes don’t.

The override passed with strong bipartisan support in the House. The final vote was 105-20 in the House and 29-10 in the Senate.

Government oversight

Veto overridden, the bill will become law.

The new law requires any new proposed rule or regulation to get a budget assessment to see if it will cost the state more than $1 million in five years. Expensive rules and regulations are then taken to the Legislature for a vote. Those rules may otherwise be passed by state department heads without going through the Legislature.

The law was pitched as a way to keep the government spending in check.

Rep. Barb Wasinger, a Hays Republican, said the Department of Wildlife and Parks almost eliminated deer hunting season one year. The agency said the regulation would have no cost, but Wasinger said the lack of hunting season would damage the state’s economy.

Opponents of the law say regulations can be both expensive and necessary to protect people. Some laws also create a gray area where department officials need to make clarifying enforcement rules.

The override vote was 87-38 in the House and 27-12 in the Senate.

Plastic bag ban

Veto override not attempted. The bill is dead.

Cities and counties couldn’t ban single-use plastics under this bill. Supporters said a growing patchwork of laws makes it harder for some businesses to operate when the bans exist in some cities but not everywhere in the state.

Opponents of the bill said the choices should be left to local officials.

The bill passed the House 72-51 and 24-16 in the Senate. The bill was well short of a veto-proof majority, so the Legislature didn’t attempt to override the veto.

Drone technology

Veto upheld, the bill is dead.

Kansas lawmakers wanted to stop the state from buying drones that have equipment from countries of concern. That would have meant banning drones with critical equipment from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela and China (excluding Taiwan).

The bill also prevents state agencies from contracting goods or services from “foreign principal.” Foreign principal includes countries of concerns as well as other subdivisions, like political parties from those countries.

“When warnings are presented regarding (Chinese Communist Party) espionage using drone technology, we’re compelled to act,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins said in a statement.

He said the governor’s veto “ignores and minimizes the national security risk posed by our foreign adversaries.”

Kelly supports squeezing out countries of concern, but she said the bill is too broad. She said solutions to limit foreign interference are “underway and will address the underlying concerns of this bill. ”

The veto failed in the Senate 21-16.

Hair sugaring

Veto override not attempted. The bill is dead.

Kansas lawmakers wanted to remove licensing requirements for sugaring.

Sugaring removes body hair. It’s when someone mixes water, sugar and lemons to create a room-temperature paste. To start a hair sugaring business, someone must pay for and take thousands of hours to become a licensed cosmetologist. Sugaring is a very small part of that training.

Kelly vetoed the bill, saying deregulating this industry could lead to safety and sanitation concerns.

The bill passed 71-52 in the House and 38-1 in the Senate. The House was a dozen votes short of a veto-proof majority and lawmakers opted not to try and override the veto.

Historic horse racing

Veto override not attempted. The bill is dead.

Historic horse racing is an electronic gambling machine that replays old horse races. People can bet on the winners. Lawmakers want to change where the money from those machines goes.

The bill eliminates the funding that regulates historic horse racing machines and gives the tax generated from those machines to the Kansas Horse Breeding Development Fund and the Horse Fair Racing Benefit Fund.

Kelly said she supports the goal of the bill, but it would inadvertently raise taxes on a historic horse racing facility in Wichita. She vetoed it to prevent that from happening.

The bill has a veto-proof majority and Democratic support in both the House and Senate, yet the Legislature didn’t attempt to override it.