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Monday, June 15, 2015
Thompson slams ‘borderline insanity’ in Topeka
Kansas cutting model tarnished by tax hike
By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
His eyes still bloodshot and bearing the shadow of a threeday stubble, Rep. Kent Thompson on Sunday afternoon was still numb from what he terms a debacle of a legislative session that wrapped up Friday afternoon. “It was borderline insanity,” Thompson said of the arm-twisting legislators faced during an all-night session Thursday that ultimately ended in approval of a massive sales tax increase. Thompson, who represents House District No. 9, clarified that at 4 a.m. Friday he voted against House Bill 2109 that enacted the sales taxes, but voted yes for a “trailer bill” that made changes to “the amount of damage” the final bill could do. Thompson said he worked to keep the Rural Opportunity Zones intact, protect deductions for non-profits, and prohibit any additional tax breaks for private schools. “I figured the sales tax bill would pass one way or another and I needed to do what I could to make it more palatable,” he said. “There was no getting around the sales tax,” Thompson said. “With Gov. Brownback, Americans for Prosperity and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce all pushing for it, it was going to happen.” House members passed the
By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature personal income tax cuts emerged mostly intact from a grueling legislative fight to close a budget deficit that arose after revenue failed to match the conservative governor’s predictions of an economic boom. Brownback and his GOP allies managed to avoid backtracking on past reductions on income tax rates. But they had to slow down future rate cuts with the proviso that if revenues grow they could be restored. And they agreed to a small tweak to business tax breaks that are a central plank of his strategy to spur growth. Instead, they raised the state’s sales tax to one of the highest rates in the nation and smokers will be paying 50 cents more for each pack of cigarettes. Republican legislators cobbled together a mix of tax policies to both balance the budget and attract just enough votes for passage, but it’s not yet
Rep. Kent Thompson at a meeting earlier this year. REGISTER FILE PHOTO
tax bill by a one-vote majority, 63-62. Of those, 17 were absent, and counted as a no vote. THE TENOR of the 2015 session went from bad to worse, Thompson said. “In November, revenue estimates came in below expec-
tations and we knew some adjustments would have to be made,” Thompson said, referring to a twice-a-year report. The news then was that Kansas faced an immediate $279 million shortfall. See INSANITY | Page A4
clear whether they’ve created long-term fiscal stability. Brownback’s allies engineered a more conservative Legislature in 2012 elections, ousting most of the moderate state senators who’d resisted his push to slash personal income taxes. Those political successes boomeranged this year, as Republicans, who dominate the Legislature, repeatedly said it was not in their DNA to raise taxes and disagreements among multiple GOP factions made the annual session the longest in state history, at 113 days. The Republican governor gained national attention for the state’s aggressive tax cuts and touted his experiment as a model for other states — and perhaps the federal government in Washington. Less than a year after Brownback was narrowly re-elected by assuring skeptical voters that economic growth would preserve funding for schools and government programs, his aides warned GOP lawmakers that draconian cuts would result if See MODEL | Page A4
Latest drug court graduates draw praise By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
Fall festival will sport new look, schedule By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Farm-City Days will have a new look this year. Iolan Emily Sigg was named the winner Thursday of the Farm-City Days logo contest. Her design was chosen from among seven as the celebration’s official logo, and will be used with banners, literature and other signs as the fall festival nears. Sigg, owner of Fifty 50, a clothing store on the Iola square that makes specialized T-shirts, was given $100 for the honor, which she immediately returned as a donation to the FarmCity Days Committee. Along with an almost completely new organizSee LOGO | Page A4
The Allen County drug court program continues to affirm its positive effect in the community. On Thursday afternoon, in front of a crowded courtroom, the program recognized four new graduates. Drug court was introduced to the 31st Judicial District nearly three years ago by former Allen County Sheriff Tom Williams and District Judge Daniel Creitz as a less punitive, less expensive, treatment-based alternative to incarceration for felonylevel drug offenders. “We have no idea how lucky we are that you offer this program in lieu of prison,” said one of Thursday’s graduates, a man in his early 40s, who addressed the judge from the podium before accepting his certificate of completion. “You know,” Creitz told the man, who had been devoted to methamphetamine, opiates and marijuana since the late-1980s, “when I sentenced you, I would have questioned whether you could do this. I had you in several hearings and your life had just turned upside down. And look where you are now.” During the course of the yearlong program participants are required to appear before the court for evaluation twice monthly. They must also make themselves
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 156
Allen County District Judge Daniel Creitz, center, and Troy Smith, left, who works in the 31st Judicial District, listen to comments from a drug court graduate during ceremonies Thursday. REGISTER/RICK DANLEY
available for random drug tests, treatment, therapy, probation meetings, and are expected to maintain full employment or else provide proof of academic study. A schedule of sanctions is in place for those who fail to comply. THE HOUR-LONG event was a largely joyous one. Creitz is a compassionate force in the room and regularly invites applause from the audience when the progress detailed by the offender merits it. Prior to the ceremony, current, non-graduating participants were compelled to appear before the judge, too. A few confessed to backsliding — one young woman, in an orange jumpsuit and shack-
les, entered the courtroom on the arm of the bailiff to be told by the judge that she’d been removed from the program, her probation revoked — but most were congratulated by the court for extending the length of their sobriety, and were advanced to the next stage in the four-phase program. One snag occasionally cited in reference to the program concerns the timing of the mandated court evaluation. A main requirement of drug court is that a participant hold down a fulltime job. Some observers, however, question whether the midday court appointments — which often requires an employee to request time off work — might not jeopardize the offender’s likely already tenu-
“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
—Michael Jordan, NBA Hall-of-Famer 75 Cents
ous job security. It’s a challenge not lost on the court, and one Creitz is willing to accommodate, to the extent feasible. “Now, I want to work this around your work schedule,” he told one young woman, to whom he assigned 24-hours in jail after she admitted to refusing a drug test. He repeatedly reminded participants to maintain a dialogue with the court. “I think that all just deals with communication,” he told one man, who had recently missed one of his appointments. “Just make the call — ‘I can’t be here. I’ve got an issue with a child’ or something like that. It’s not going to be a problem. We can reschedule it.” See COURT | Page A4
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