Tag: Sen. David Haley

Legislature sends governor tax bill with $50 million for small businesses hurt by COVID-19

GOP senator punctuates support for reform with attack on governor

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The Legislature by a nearly unanimous margin voted Monday to send tax-reform legislation to Gov. Laura Kelly but not before a Senate Republican supporting the bill insisted the governor receive no credit for earmarking $50 million to reimburse small businesses that suffered in early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate Democrats leapt to the governor’s defense as the Senate voted 35-0 and the House moved 120-1 to complete their work on House Bill 2136 on the annual session’s final day.

A key provision in the bill earmarked federal relief dollars for property tax refunds to businesses forced to reduce occupancy or temporarily close in 2020 when coronavirus erupted. Without a vaccine to counter the virus, which has now contributed to the death of more than 1 million Americans, the Kelly administration and county officials issued emergency orders forbidding mass gatherings at stores not viewed as essential.

For-profit businesses with documented losses in 2020 and 2021 related to pandemic mandates would be eligible for up to $5,000 in property tax refunds. Nonprofits and online companies would be ineligible as would companies that accepted more than $150,000 in federal, state and local government aid during the pandemic.

Weskan Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Taxation Committee, said the retail storefront property tax relief bill delivered important amounts of compensation to businesses undercut by the government’s effort to stall COVID-19. Businesses that permanently closed could be eligible for assistance under the state initiative.

“We wanted to tailor this mostly to smaller businesses,” he said. “Not necessarily your large retail chain stores that predominantly did not have to shut down.”

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said he was proud to work with GOP Sen. Mark Steffen of Hutchinson on the original outline of the tax policy. Their motivation, Holland said, was to target aid to rural and urban businesses unable to compete with larger companies for federal Paycheck Protection Program funds and other opportunities to secure government subsidies during the pandemic.

“We had a concern back two years ago that there were certain small businesses, sole proprietorships or whatever, that didn’t have access to the PPP money and other things that other better-connected businesses did,” Holland said.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Republican from Parker and a candidate for the GOP nomination for state treasurer, said during remarks about merits of the bill that Gov. Kelly would try to claim credit for delivering property tax relief to Kansas businesses. It is a safe assumption Gov. Kelly would sign the bill, given the extraordinary bipartisan support.

In her speech, Tyson predicted three times the Democratic governor would try to grab the spotlight on tax relief. Gov. Kelly, a former state senator, is seeking a second term as governor in 2022.

“She’s going to take credit for giving property tax relief,” Tyson said. “Guys, don’t buy into that narrative. It is a false narrative.”

Tyson then turned to her complaints about the Kelly administration’s awarding of a contract to overhaul the computer system used by the Kansas Department of Labor’s to process unemployment claims. The labor department’s antiquated computer system, which nominally did the job during periods of low unemployment, was overwhelmed during the pandemic when more than 12% of Kansans lost jobs. The delivery of unemployment benefits was delayed for thousands of people.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, said the campaign-season monologue delivered by Tyson on the Senate floor was an example of what was wrong with politics.

“We must do better and it begins with not caring if you get the credit for something. The future of Kansas should be the driver — not credit,” Sykes said.

Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, said Gov. Kelly and many other U.S. governors responded to the pandemic by adopting masking, social distancing, testing and other measures to soften the blow of the virus until a vaccine could be produced and distributed. Limiting public gatherings, even at stores, was an important public health policy, he said.

“It was the responsible thing to do. It was hard to see these businesses closed. But, now, it is the responsible thing to do to support this legislation to offset as much as we can losses sustained by our small businesses,” Sen . Haley said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/23/legislature-sends-governor-tax-bill-with-50-million-for-small-businesses-hurt-by-covid-19/

Kansas Republican senators approve map to split KC metro, splinter Democratic vote

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas Republican senators over the course of a three-hour debate Friday countered criticisms of their plan for the state’s congressional district boundaries, passing the controversial “Ad Astra” map.

Opponents argued Republican leadership rushed the map and did not do enough to preserve the integrity of minority communities and other communities of interest, pointing to the decision to divide Wyandotte County along Interstate 70 and to move Lawrence into a rural district that stretches to the Colorado border. Democrats described the proposed map as an attempt to shift power in favor of one party by shattering the 3rd Congressional District.

Senate President Ty Masterson batted away those criticisms, arguing that his map maintained the same voting outcomes as previous elections and noting a desire to keep Johnson County together, as opposed to Wyandotte.

“We don’t draw the maps on voters. We draw the map on residents,” Masterson said, pushing back on the discussion of voting outcomes. “It’s a false assertion that this 3rd District is somehow given up or that anybody is trying to be taken out. It’s just simply false in the numbers.”

Stakeholders and concerned legislators have called into question the goal of redistricting amid strong pushback from the public. Republicans swatted away several alternative maps on the Senate floor, passing the bill mostly along party lines, 26 to 9.

Changes to congressional boundaries must occur following population changes in the four districts from 2010 to 2020. Masterson said the four members of the Kansas congressional delegation — Rep. Tracey Mann in the vast and rural 1st District, Rep. Jake LaTurner in the 2nd District, Rep. Sharice Davids in the Kansas City metro area 3rd District and Rep. Ron Estes in the Wichita area 4th District — would maintain their seats.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said the bill violated several redistricting guidelines agreed to by legislative leadership and showed little regard for the economic, cultural and historical ties of communities across the state.

“It’s never been about keeping our communities together,” Sykes said. “The majority party has used selective listening to justify a map that makes no sense for Kansas, unless you see congressional districts as a means to one party control rather than fundamental to the democratic representation.”

The Ad Astra map, unveiled Tuesday and approved by a Senate committee Thursday, is also under consideration in the House, where a committee vote could occur as soon as Monday.

Sykes proposed an amendment to replace the map with a version far more favorable to Democrats that preserved Wyandotte County and Lawrence but split part of Johnson County. Republicans balked at the idea and voted down the map.

Sen. David Haley represents part of Wyandotte County. He said even if Republicans push the map through, it will face a tough test in court.
“Ad Astra means, as we know in our motto, ‘to the stars,’” the Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat said. “The rest of that motto is per aspera (through difficulty) because it’s going to be difficult to make that map stick.”

Sen. Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican, said it was the best option available to Kansas.

“Many of the proposed maps have deviations and variances, which are questionable at the very best,” Wilborn said.

The bill now awaits action from the House. If approved, the map would go to the governor, who declined to say in a briefing with reporters Friday if she approved of the map passed by the Senate.

“I stand by my firm belief that when you’re doing redistricting, what’s important is to keep together communities of interest and ensure that you don’t disenfranchise blocs of voters,” the governor said.

Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat, took issue with many aspects of the map but was primarily frustrated with the process leading up to the debate on the Senate floor, which he said ran counter to the goal of unprecedented transparency.

Dating back to July, Corson said GOP leadership did not include the minority party in many conversations, noting that he found out from reporters about an early August redistricting listening tour. He said the notice of the upcoming town halls gave constituents a short turnaround time, and many of the sessions were during the workday.

Republican legislative leadership organized a later round of virtual listening sessions before critical census data became available to the public, Corson said.

“Redistricting really is all about math, and it’s all about the numbers,” Corson said, as he grilled Wilborn in a long line of questioning. “What we did by holding the redistricting town halls before we had the census data was, we deprived Kansans of understanding the basis for the entire redistricting process and how that math, as it kept being called in committee, would affect their community.”

Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat, said it felt like northeast Kansas was having its identity stripped away by the Ad Astra map. He moved to send the measure back to the committee for further consideration for further public input.

Wilborn was quick to dismiss the motion as unnecessary.

“As far as giving a lot of input, I’ve had a lot of input also through emails strongly supporting this map,” he said. “So, it’s just a matter of opinion and it matters where you live.”

Sen. Marci Francisco expressed disappointment that previous promises of opportunities for legislators’ input went unfulfilled.

“I was asked and pretty much told not to speak and at the same time told that there would be plenty of time during this session for legislators to have input,” Francisco said of an exchange during a redistricting town hall.

A rebuke of partisan politics

In defiance of efforts to skew maps for political gain, Sen. Dennis Pyle, a Hiawatha Republican, proposed three alternative maps to the Republican and Democrat options.

While Pyle acknowledged his proposals were likely to fail, he proposed each map to show the different approaches they could take to abide closer to the redistricting guidelines. He also chastised party leaders for drawing maps to benefit congressional representatives.

“I’m not here to draw a map for the incumbent congressman in Washington, D.C.,” Pyle said. “That sounds kind of swampish.”

Pyle’s first map preserved the integrity of all counties, and subsequent maps split Douglas County and Wyandotte County. Republican leaders opposed Pyle’s maps because committee members did not vet them before the senator introduced them on the floor.

Some Democrats voiced support for the ingenuity but chose not to back the alternate maps because they did not receive public input.

He also criticized the hypocrisy of legislators who criticize dividing counties they represent or that would benefit the party but support breaking up other communities. Pyle said one way or another, someone is likely to see their district disturbed.

For example, Pyle reminded his colleagues that a previous redistricting bill had seen his district cut in half.

“I didn’t appreciate it, and the people in that district didn’t appreciate it, but we draw maps up here and we can draw them, as you can see, pretty much any which way you want,” he said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/21/kansas-republican-senators-approve-map-to-split-kc-metro-splinter-democratic-vote/

From taxes to transgender athletes: What happened in the Kansas Legislature this year

Conservatives flexed the strength of their legislative supermajority, but they failed to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on some key issues.

by Abigail Censky and Stephen Koranda, KCUR and Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — After ousting moderates and electing more conservatives in the 2020 elections, Kansas Republicans road-tested their brawny supermajority at the end of the 2021 legislative session.

That political muscle allowed the conservatives who control the Legislature to override several of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes.

Senate President Ty Masterson pledged Republicans would go on a “veto-override-a-rama” after Kelly struck down multiple GOP priorities with her veto pen. They exercise the might of that supermajority on conservative bedrock issues like tax policy and Second Amendment rights.

Conservative wins

Tax cuts triumph

Republicans issued a decisive rebuke to Kelly when they overrode the governor’s veto of a tax-cutting bill.

Democrats cautioned they were heading back to the atrophied years of tax cuts that defined the era when Sam Brownback was governor.

“I worry that we always seem to flirt with the same problem that we had with the last recession in 2008 when we came back and gave tax cuts,” Sen. Tom Hawk, a Manhattan Democrat said, “and then our state did not recover as rapidly as those around us.”

But Sen. Caryn Tyson of Parker, Kansas, the Republican chair of the tax committee, said that was just “gloom and doom.”

“That’s money that’s going to come back into the Kansas economy,” Tyson said, “not be used to grow government.”

The tax cuts increase the standardized deduction for individuals and let some people itemize their deductions in Kansas — even if they don’t itemize on their federal income tax returns. It’s expected to cut state tax collections by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years.

Lower concealed carry age

Kansas law already allows most people over 21 to carry a concealed gun without a permit. This year, lawmakers reversed the governor’s veto of a bill letting 18- to 20-year-olds carry a concealed gun if they get a state permit.

Kelly said the lower age posed a safety issue, and she often cited the idea of how it might allow more guns on college campuses.

Republicans banded together to overturn her opposition. Some pointed out that 18-year-olds are adults and should have the right to carry a concealed weapon.

Others said it was already legal for 18-year-olds to carry a weapon openly, and the added requirements of getting a state permit were beneficial.

“This requires them … to get training,” Republican Rep. John Barker of Abilene, Kansas, said. “That’s a positive move.”

Tighter voting rules

Republicans pushed through tighter restrictions on voting.

The new law includes provisions that make it a misdemeanor to return more than 10 advance ballots on behalf of other voters, and makes impersonating an election official a felony.

Republican Rep. Blaine Finch of Ottawa said the law change was needed to build confidence in free and fair elections.

“Our county clerks, election officials and secretary of state’s office, they do an amazing job, and we must support them by plugging gaps and closing loopholes and making our laws stronger,” he said.

The new law mimics a swath of voting restriction bills passed in other state legislatures. It passed narrowly — squeaking out of both chambers with only one more vote than what’s necessary to override the governor’s veto.

Overland Park Democratic Rep. Brett Parker said Republicans bypassed the standard rigor of the legislative process in ways that make it harder for people to vote.

“This is not what we got elected to do,” he said. “We should be making it easier for people to legitimately vote.”

Conservative losses

Ban on transgender athletes fails

The supermajority faltered on another bill that would have banned transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports.

Senate President Ty Masterson of Andover, Kansas, defended the ban. Republicans said the ban would protect female sports from unfair competition.

Any discrimination, Masterson said, is “against that little girl or that college woman. That is the discrimination.”

Similar bills have been introduced in 33 other states, crafted from model legislation drafted by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. The bills triumphed in states like Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and South Dakota.

But in Kansas, even some Republicans blanched at legislating a ban that they argued would fly in the face of limited government and individual rights.

Sen. John Doll, a Republican and former teacher from Garden City, said the Kansas State High School Activities Association policy already is in place against unfair competition.

“This is nothing but piling on,” he said.

The bill, deemed bullying by Democrats, was killed in the end by Kansas City, Kansas, Democratic Sen. David Haley, who cast the deciding vote after a parliamentary pause.

He said it was “probably one of the most difficult votes I’ve had to take.”

School vouchers flunk out

Republicans backed off the idea of creating a system that would let thousands of struggling students attend private schools using state tax dollars.

To give the idea a better chance, lawmakers tied the controversial voucher program to billions of dollars in state public school funding. But there was enough opposition that the entire bill ultimately failed.

During the final week of the session, lawmakers hashed out a compromise that included the school funding and some policy changes Republicans wanted. It would set limits on remote learning and expand a tax credit for low-income scholarships to private schools.

The plan also included provisions aimed at measuring how students are performing, including guidelines for schools to monitor student improvement and report cards determining how well the state is doing educating kids in the foster care system.

Democrats including Rep. Valdenia Winn of Kansas City, Kansas, were willing to support those, and the bill ultimately passed with big bipartisan majorities. It continues the state on a funding track that ended a years-long lawsuit over school spending.

“The policy pieces are acceptable because they’re about accountability,” Winn said on the House floor.

No tax cuts for gyms

Another critical school funding bill was delayed after last-minute changes drew opposition.

The bill would reauthorize a statewide property tax that helps fund education. But more controversial provisions were added, including a program that would give property tax rebates to businesses that were forced to close or scale back operations during the pandemic because of government orders.

In the late hours of Friday night, a conference committee added an even more divisive idea by including a property tax exemption for private health clubs. The reasoning was that private health clubs face competition from government community centers and nonprofit health clubs like the YMCA.

It was a priority of an advocacy group, which includes Wichita-based Genesis Health Clubs owner Rodney Steven.

Opponents said groups like the YMCA offer community service programs that private health clubs do not.

Republican Sen. Mark Steffen, from Hutchinson, said lawmakers need to explore whether government operations and nonprofit groups compete with private businesses, but not with tax breaks for private gyms.

“There’s no question we’ve got a problem here,” Steffen said on the Senate floor. “Health clubs are just a symptom of the problem.”

After the measure failed, a conference committee removed the tax break for gyms and the pandemic property tax refunds.

Instead, the bill would commission a state study on government and nonprofit groups competing with private businesses.

A draw on marijuana

Historic medical marijuana legislation passed in the House but was never put up for a vote in the Senate.

The plan was tailor-made to garner support from the Legislature’s most conservative members. For instance, it came with rules that most patients need to have a six-month relationship with their doctor before receiving a medical marijuana recommendation, marijuana couldn’t be sold in forms that can be smoked or vaped and an option for counties to opt-out of growing and dispensing.

In the House, there was a split among Republicans. Some conservatives, like Rep. Brett Fairchild of St. John, argued legalization for medicinal use was a consistent small government position.

“We take that limited government position when it comes to guns, when it comes to taxes,” he said. Fairchild argued that same standard should apply to medical marijuana “if it’s prescribed by their doctors and it’s something they really need.”

Others like Rep. Pat Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican, contended legalizing medical marijuana would be a gateway to legalizing recreational marijuana and “death blow” to his town.

“This bill is setting us on the path toward recreational marijuana,” he said. “If you don’t believe that then I would ask, why are we selling it in dispensaries instead of pharmacies? Why are we growing it in buildings instead of farms? Why are we dispensing it in any other form other than pill form?”

The measure passed 79-42 in the House. Masterson said the Senate hadn’t had enough time to thoroughly examine the legislation to warrant a vote. However, the bill which passed with bipartisan support will be ready for the 2022 session.

Abigail Censky is the political reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @AbigailCensky or email her at abigailcensky (at) kcur (dot) org.
Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter and news editor for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Koranda or email him at stephenkoranda (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2021-05-09/from-taxes-to-banning-transgender-athletes-7-things-kansas-lawmakers-did-and-didnt-do