The Latest: Kansas legislative negotiators agree on tax hike
April 30, 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature reconvening to tackle thorny budget and tax issues (all times local):
6:33 p.m.
Kansas legislators have drafted a new plan to fix the state budget by increasing personal income taxes that is similar to one Republican Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed.
Negotiators for the state House and Senate agreed on the details Monday evening. They believe their plan would raise $979 million over two years.
The plan emerged from talks among top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature. It would boost income tax rates and return Kansas to having three income tax rates instead of the present two.
The top rate would be 5.45 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers.
Brownback vetoed a similar bill in February.
Kansas now has two tax brackets with a top rate of 4.6 percent. Brownback successfully pushed for massive income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013 but budget problems followed.
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4:48 p.m.
A top Kansas House Republican says lawmakers are working on an income tax increase to fix the state budget that would be similar to a plan vetoed by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback.
House Majority Leader Don Hineman of Dighton said Monday that the plan being drafted would return the state to having three personal income tax rates.
The state now has two rates with separate ones for lower- and upper-income earners. It eliminated a third rate for the wealthiest earners in 2012.
Brownback successfully pushed lawmakers for massive personal income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013, but budget problems followed.
He vetoed a bill in February that would have raised more than $1 billion over two years and returned the state to three personal income tax rates.
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1:35 p.m.
Kansas collected slightly more in taxes than it had expected in April.
The state Department of Revenue reported Monday that tax collections last month were $1.8 million more than anticipated.
The state collected about $639 million in taxes when it had anticipated about $637 million. The surplus for the month is 0.3 percent.
The report comes less than two weeks after state officials and university economists revised revenue projections through June 2019. The new forecast was a little more optimistic than the previous one issued in November.
Kansas has faced projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019. Lawmakers reconvened Monday after their annual spring break to finish work on closing the budget gaps. They are expected to increase income taxes.
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12:15 p.m.
A southeast Kansas insurance agent is the state Senate's newest member.
Republican Sen. Richard Hilderbrand of Baxter Springs was sworn in Monday. His wife, Marisa, held a Bible as the oath was administered by Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss.
The 48-year-old Hilderbrand replaced former GOP state Sen. Jake LaTurner of Pittsburg.
GOP Gov. Sam Brownback appointed LaTurner state treasurer last month to replace Republican Ron Estes after Estes won a special congressional election. The congressional seat was formerly held by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Republicans in the 13th Senate District picked Hilderbrand as the new senator Sunday. He'll have to run in a special election in 2018 to keep the seat for another two years.
Hilderbrand previously served seven years on the Cherokee County Commission.
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11:20 a.m.
Top Republicans are looking to jump start the Kansas Legislature's debate over raising income taxes to fix the state budget.
They see passing a tax bill as crucial to public school funding and other spending issues.
Lawmakers returned Monday from their annual spring break with the state facing projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019.
The Republican-controlled Legislature so far has focused on rolling back past income tax cuts championed by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback.
He vetoed an income-tax bill in February that would have raised more than $1 billion in new revenue over two years. Lawmakers have struggled since to find an alternative.
GOP leaders hoped House and Senate negotiators could get together as soon as Monday afternoon to work on a new tax plan.
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5:50 a.m.
Kansas legislators are returning from their annual spring break to fix the state budget and are waiting to hear whether tax collections met expectations in April.
The Senate was reconvening Monday morning and the House planned to gavel in Monday afternoon.
The state Department of Revenue is releasing a report Monday on tax collections in April. It comes less than two weeks after state officials revised revenue projections to make them a little more optimistic.
Kansas faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019. The state's budget woes developed after GOP lawmakers slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's urging.
Legislators have been focused on rolling back those past income tax cuts despite Brownback's resistance. He vetoed a tax bill in February.
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