3-POINTERS THE KEY TO KANSAS’ OFFENSIVE SUCCESS. PAGE 1C TRUMP’S FIRST NEWS CONFERENCE SINCE ELECTION GETS HEATED.
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County shares its legislative wish list —
Tax lid changes, mental health funds included By Elvyn Jones ejones@ljworld.com
Peter Hancock/Journal-World Photo
BUDGET DIRECTOR SHAWN SULLIVAN OUTLINES GOV. SAM BROWNBACK’S BUDGET PLAN during a packed joint committee hearing of the House tax and budget committees Wednesday.
Budget plan would tap one-time sources LLC loophole would stay; critics call proposal ‘delusional’ By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Topeka — Gov. Sam Brownback offered his longawaited plan Wednesday for digging the state out of its budget hole, suggesting the state should borrow from its idle funds and use other onetime sources of money to get through the final two years of his administration — a plan that critics blasted as “delusional” and irrespon- Brownback sible. The plan also calls for raising some taxes, particularly “sin taxes” on cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol, but does not include repealing the so-called LLC loophole that
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diate $340 million revenue shortfall for the remaining six months of the current fiscal year. That means, in order to finish the year with any amount of ending balance in the general fund, they must cut $340 million in spending, or find that much in new revenue, or do a combination of both. Brownback’s plan depends largely on using a one-time source of money that has rarely, if ever, been used in Kansas, borrowing out of state idle funds accounts and paying it back over seven years. Brownback is asking to borrow $317 million in idle funds, typically fee-generated money held by various agencies and managed by the
The governor is delusional if he thinks somehow we’re going to raise all these taxes again on working people and not touch those 330,000 business owners.”
— Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita
exempts more than 330,000 farmers and business owners from state income taxes altogether. Republican leaders in the Legislature said it might form a “baseline” for the final budget that lawmakers pass, but Democrats called it “delusional” because they say it does not address the state’s long-term financial problems. “There are some avenues that we’re probably going to be able to use as a groundwork for the budget that we’re going to craft,” said Rep. Troy Waymaster, RBunker Hill, who chairs the
House budget committee. “There are some pieces that I just don’t think this body would be willing to entertain.” Rep. Tom Sawyer, DWichita, the ranking minority member on the House tax committee, was more blunt. “The governor is delusional if he thinks somehow we’re going to raise all these taxes again on working people and not touch those 330,000 business owners,” Sawyer said.
Current year’s budget Lawmakers opened the 2017 session facing an imme-
Statehouse Live
Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
What was interesting about the rally, at least from a tactical sense, was the bringing-together of so many interest
> COUNTY, 2A
Town Talk
> BUDGET, 2A
Diverse coalition rallies for ‘People’s Agenda’ Topeka — The Capitol rotunda in Topeka was packed and loud Wednesday as a diverse group of liberal and progressive organizations banded together to advance what they called a “Kansas People’s Agenda.” The list of causes includes, but is not limited to: environmental justice; health care access for all; LGBT rights; immigrant rights; “responsible” gun policy; and anti-corruption reform, just to name a few.
Douglas County government is asking the Kansas Legislature to be a partner in the county’s ongoing efforts to improve community mental health and to reform its criminal justice system. The requests are included in Douglas County’s 2017 legisCOUNTY lative report, COMMISSION which Douglas County com- Inside: missioners de- Gaughan veloped with chosen as input from commiscounty depart- sion’s chair. ment heads 2A and the county administrator. The report, which was written before Michelle Derusseau was sworn in Monday to the County Commission, makes a number of requests for increased state funding going toward such things as local health departments and the expansion of Medicaid. It also calls for the Legislature to forego meddling in local control matters like easement management.
groups that don’t always have a lot in common. The issues have been around the Statehouse for years and, in some cases, decades. And what typically happens in a conservative state like Kansas is that whenever a bill comes up dealing with only one of those issues — say, a bill scaling back clean air requirements on coal-fired Peter Hancock/Journal-World Photo power plants — only HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE RALLY IN THE STATEHOUSE the environmental ROTUNDA in support of a “Kansas People’s Agenda” advocates show up. calling for social and environmental justice, civil rights > COALITION, 2A and other progressive causes.
Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
City has state’s best sales tax growth
T
he sales tax numbers for 2016 are in, and they show Lawrence was perhaps the hottest retail market in the state. As we have been telling you all year, Lawrence’s monthly sales tax collections have been growing at a faster
> GROWTH, 3A
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