Category: Kansas state government
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Eric Payne, Joseph Scapa address county Republicans
Last night’s meeting of the Sedgwick County Republican Party featured speeches by two candidates for the Republican party nomination for the Kansas House of Representatives from the 87th district. Democrat Raj Goyle is the incumbent, and he is not seeking re-election. Eric Payne (campaign website) and Joseph Scapa (campaign website not available) each spoke for…
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Meeting to support Kansas medical marijuana legislation
Representative Gail Finney, a Democrat who represents parts of east and northeast Wichita, has introduce a bill that would all the use of medical marijuana in Kansas. On Friday there will be a “call to action meeting” in Wichita regarding this bill.
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Kansas historic preservation tax credits audit reveals inefficiency, data problems
Yesterday the Kansas legislative Post Audit Committee received an audit recently completed by the Legislative Division of Post Audit. The audit, titled Kansas Tax Revenues, Part I: Reviewing Tax Credits, revealed that the historic preservation tax credit is not efficient. Further, the Department Revenue is not accurately tracking the cost of the program.
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Kansas advocates for disabled face well-funded challenger
Friday’s press event held by ACT (Advocates in Communities Team) of South Central Kansas provided an opportunity to learn about disabled Kansans and their families, and the challenges they face from reduced spending by the state. The stories told at the event and in supplementary materials are compelling. If there is a role for government-provided…
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Wichita-area legislators to meet with public
The South-central Kansas legislative delegation will meet with citizens on Saturday March 6 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. The location is the Hughes Metropolitan Center at Wichita State University. There will be a presentation on the Kansas budget and written questions from the audience. Representative Steve Brunk is chair of the delegation.
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Ad spotlights rise in Kansas taxes, spending
A second ad from the Kansas Policy Institute illustrates the rapid rise in Kansas general fund revenues and spending in recent years. Click on Money Management 102 to view.
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Kansas historic preservation tax credits should be eliminated
It’s time to recognize historic buildings for what they are: a premium feature or amenity whose extra cost should be born solely by those who chose to own them or rent them. Supporters of historic buildings tell us that renovating them is more expensive than building new. Likewise, building a home with granite kitchen counter…
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Insurance commissioner candidate to speak in Wichita
At the Wichita Pachyderm Club this Friday, candidate for the Republican party nomination for Kansas Insurance Commissioner David Powell speak to members and guests.
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State budget ‘gap’ is all about perspective
When businesses or individuals talk about cutting their expenses, it means they are going to spend less money that they did in the past. But when governments talk about budget cuts they often have a different perspective: they are spending less than they had hoped to but not necessarily less than the year before. For…
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Goal of Kansas tax reform is economic growth
Dr. Art Hall, who is Director of the Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas has proposed a radical change and simplification to the Kansas tax system. Besides simplification of the way the state collects taxes, the major goal of the proposal is to encourage economic growth in Kansas.
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Kansas model budget released
The Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity has released its model Kansas budget for fiscal year 2011. Titled Commonsense Budget Proposal, it contains “a roadmap for legislators seeking to make Kansas government more efficient — and less costly — without turning to Kansas taxpayers,” according to AFP Kansas state director Derrick Sontag.
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Kansas bill would forbid taxpayer-funded pleas for tax increases
A bill just introduced in the Kansas Legislature by Representative Joe Patton, a Topeka Republican, would bar taxpayer-funded lobbying for tax increases. The bill is House Bill 2622, captioned “an act concerning the use of public funds for lobbying.” The bill is very short, the important part being: “No taxpayer funds shall be used for…