Kansas Week 2 Recap: the flat tax, lobbyist spending, death penalty, anti-abortion bills, and more❗️
Video Script
Intro [1/15 - 1/20]
Hey I’m Davis Hammet with Loud Light! Here’s what happened in the 2nd week inside the Kansas Statehouse.
Wine & Dine… & Listen to Lobbyists
It came to light that this legislative session kicked off with House Majority Leader Chris Croft (R) telling Republican legislators that they need to do a better job listening to the lobbyists who spend over $500,000 a year wining and dining them. Croft told legislators that when receiving free meals from lobbyists they shouldn’t “just grab it and leave, because that kind of defeats the purpose.” And that legislators needed to be “talking about their issues and the problems that they have.” For the last 5 years Sen. Pres. Masterson (R) has received the golden fork award recognizing the legislator who lobbyists spent the most money buying meals and drinks for.
Flat Tax (HB2284)
In just two days, Republican legislators bundled tax cuts into a bill using a conference committee to block the public from testifying, kicked Democratic legislators out of negotiations, and then President Masterson (R) and Speaker Hawkins (R) declared an emergency allowing them to bypass the normal legislative process and immediately vote to pass the tax cuts.
The bill would cost the state twice as much as other tax cut proposals mainly because it includes a flat tax to lower the tax rate on wealthier Kansans. If signed into law, the bill is projected to collapse the state's finances within 5 years and put Kansas into a half billion dollar deficit by 2029. Gov. Kelly (D) is expected to stop the bill by vetoing it, and Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to override a veto because 2 Republicans and 1 Republican turned Independent Senator voted No. The 3 Senators defying Pres. Masterson have publicly opposed the flat tax preferring the Governor’s tax cut proposal that is less costly and more focused on providing tax relief to offset inflation for working families.
Kansas Supreme Court Ruling
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that a man on death row for murder will not get a new trial because he did not invoke his right to remain silent when he told police repeatedly to take him to jail. Meaning if you are a Kansan intending to invoke your right to remain silent you should be extremely explicit or just stay silent. The case also asked the Court to find the death penalty unconstitutional. While the Court did not strike down the death penalty in this case, Justice Stegall, a conservative Brownback appointee, wrote he was open to hearing arguments in future cases that the state’s use of police power to punish citizens by killing them may be unconstitutional.
Wrap Up
Right now Legislators are focused on introducing, discussing, and hearing testimony on bills. Dozens of bills were introduced this week including abortion restrictions, a constitutional amendment that would make guns and gun accessories a fundamental right, banning gender affirming care for minors and more.
Multiple election bills have hearings scheduled for next week that make it harder for Kansans to vote by mail and consolidate the power of political parties by making it more difficult for Kansans to run for office as an independent. Advocacy Days are starting to pop up in the Statehouse including this upcoming Tuesday for medical marijuana and Wednesday for workers rights.
Visit LoudLight.org to sign up for these videos to come to your email and follow us on social media to see highlights of what’s happening throughout the week. Stay tuned, stay engaged, and until next time, thank you so much Kansas!