Results for: Laura Kelly

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced a special legislative session beginning June 18th to address tax cuts. The move follows the Democratic governor’s veto of three Republican tax cut plans this year, leading to a high-stakes election-year battle with the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature. Kelly emphasized her commitment to collaborating with the Legislature on responsible and sustainable tax cuts that maintain Kansas’ fiscal stability. Key issues include eliminating state income taxes on retirees’ Social Security benefits, reducing school property taxes, and eliminating the sales tax on groceries ahead of its scheduled expiration.

Kansas remains one of a handful of states that have not legalized medical marijuana or expanded Medicaid, despite efforts to change these laws. On Friday, Republican state senators blocked a push to force debates on both issues before the Legislature’s adjournment next week. Supporters of each measure did not garner enough votes to advance the bills out of committee. Kansas voters cannot put proposed laws on the ballot statewide, which has allowed similar measures to pass in other states.

Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a broad tax cut package for the second time in three months, citing concerns about its long-term financial impact on the state. The vetoed bill, which enjoyed bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled Legislature, included income, sales, and property tax cuts worth $1.5 billion over the next three years. Kelly said that the bill was “too expensive” and would jeopardize the state’s future fiscal stability. She also expressed concerns that the plan’s move to two personal income tax rates would benefit the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Republicans criticized Kelly’s veto, arguing that Kansas needs and deserves tax relief, and that the state has sufficient surplus funds to cover the cost of the cuts. Kelly proposed a new tax cut plan worth roughly $1.3 billion over the next three years, but the Kansas House’s top Republican dismissed it as “not serious” about tax relief.