Kansas legislators repudiate governor by overriding tax veto
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators Tuesday night repudiated the tax-cutting experiment that brought Gov. Sam Brownback national attention, with even fellow Republicans voting to override his veto of plan reversing many of the income tax reductions he's championed in recent years as a way to fix the cash-strapped state's budget.
The state will increase its personal income tax rates and end an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. Legislators expect the changes to raise $1.2 billion in new revenue over two years to close projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019 and also provide additional funds for public schools.
The conservative Republican governor still touts the income tax cuts enacted in 2012 and 2013 as pro-growth policies. But voters soured last year on the governor's policies, ousting two dozen of his allies from the Legislature and giving more power to Democrats and moderate Republicans who then backed this year's tax increase. The Legislature's action leaves his main political legacy in tatters.
"He believes — still believes — in this, and that's OK. I don't," said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican who supported the first round of tax cuts in 2012 but voted to override the veto. "I've made many, many bad decisions in my business career, as many bad as good, but I've always backed up and mopped up my mess. That's what I'm doing now."
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