by Murrel Bland
There was a song first made popular in the 1960s by the British band Herman’s Hermits entitled “I’m Henry the eighth, I am.” Right after the first verse, the band exclaimed, “Second verse, same as the first.”
I couldn’t help but recall that phrase as I sat in the front row of a meeting room last Saturday morning at the Bonner Springs Library listening to Kansas legislators who commented about what has and hasn’t happened in Topeka this session. This was the third of three similar sessions that I have attended this year and the message was basically the same.
The Republicans (at least the ultra-conservative wing who control the Legislature) defend their tax policy, saying that it works. The Democrats criticize that policy saying it is inherently unfair, particularly to the middle class.
“Look at the low unemployment rate,” State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, R-5th Dist., said. “More people than ever are working today in Kansas.”
State Rep. Tom Burroughs,D-33rd Dist., the House minority leader, countered saying that Kansas has the highest sales tax in the nation and this hurts the poor the most.
Sen. Fitzgerald said that Kansas must cut expenses according to state law; the state continues to spend more than it takes in.
Rep. Burroughs said the reduction in state income tax, particularly for small businesses, has unfairly shifted the tax burden. In the past, Kansas has had a good balance among sales, property and income taxes—like a three-legged stool.
“That stool is broken,” Rep. Burroughs said.
Rep. Burroughs said that although this legislative session was the shortest in recent times, too much was left to the last minute with too little time to examine the details of the legislation. And the session may not be over.
The Legislature will officially close June 1. That is a ceremonial meeting when only leadership shows up. But that could be the opening of a special session to act on school finance, according to Rep. Burroughs.
The Kansas Supreme Court is scheduled to rule soon on the equity issue, to determine if the Legislature’s plan to distribute state funds is proper. Rep. Burroughs said he expects the court to not approve the Legislature’s plan; that would cause a special session.
Sen. Fitzgerald disagrees. He said that five of the Supreme Court justices are up for a retention vote this year and won’t risk a plan that raises taxes. The Legislature’s plan reassigns funds without increasing taxes.
Urban school districts, including Kansas City, Kan., have alleged that state funding for schools is not equitable and are involved in the court case.
About 40 persons attended the Bonner Springs legislative meeting, mostly older adults. The League of Women Voters of Johnson County and the NAACP of Kansas City, Kan., and Bonner Springs sponsored the meeting.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.
If we have jurists that are fearful of making a ruling based on retention, we have the wrong jurists. Fitzgerald is wrong to make that assertion.