Monday, February 27, Representative Steve Alford and Kansas Senator John Doll visited Stevens County to speak with residents during a Legislative Update, co-sponsored by the Hugoton Area Chamber of Commerce, Stevens County Economic Development and Stevens County Farm Bureau Association.
Quite a few people were in attendance as the Update began at 6:30 p.m. Senator John Doll was first to speak, addressing the recent tax bill vetoed by Governor Sam Brownback. He reported the Senate was only three votes short – with 24 of a needed 27 – of overriding the veto, and they are pursuing those three votes actively. Senator Doll serves on ten committees including the standing committees of education, transportation, ways and means and ethics, in addition to several others.
Doll started off by going over his perception of “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the proposed tax bill. The good: it re-established three tiers, didn’t cut education and balanced the budget. The bad: the state’s school funding is in danger of being ruled unconstitutional; if the tax bill is passed, the courts may give the state a couple more years to remedy that. Senator Doll was adamant that, of the two pools available to move money for schools, the Tobacco Settlement Fund – used for the Children’s Initiative Fund – must be left alone, leaving only one source – the $360 million+ unclaimed property fund – to use for school funding. “There’s nothing more important than youth and education…that’s so important, and we need to leave that alone.” The ugly: Governor Brownback vetoed the tax bill, and he will continue to veto any tax bill proposed as he continues his plan for economic recovery in Kansas. After the override was unsuccessful, senators worked a few changes into the bill, including one affecting the tax increase upon its passage, not retroactively from January 1, 2017. That change should result in two more votes – the third will be very difficult to obtain.
