Wichitopekington

UPDATE 2: TOPEKA – The House pushed off a final decision on a bill that would have eliminated several sales tax exemptions, but not before eviscerating the measure.

Debate on the bill was postponed until May 3, which is during the veto session, on a vote of 64-57.

That motion was the focus of more debate than any other action on the measure.

In a series of four amendments, the House eviscerated a bill that would have eliminated sales tax exemptions on residential utilities and religious organizations, among other things.

All of the amendments passed without any “no” votes.

The only sales tax exemption the bill now eliminates is one on coin-operated laundries.

House Bill 2549 as it came out of committee would have added about $170 million to state coffers. The biggest gain would have come from eliminating a 1970s-era sales tax exemption on residential utilities, which would have netted a little under $140 million.

Rep. Jeff King, R-Independence, vice-chair of the House Taxation Committee, called the tax a 5.3 percent tax increase on all Kansans and highly regressive.

The House’s first action was to reinstate the sales tax exemption status for religious organizations. The amendment passed, 119-0.

“There is a strong consensus that we should not balance the budget of Kansas on the back of the poor,” King said, noting that donations for churches were down.

The House then eliminated a tax on lottery tickets, which would have cost the state funds becuase it would have disqualified Kansas from some of the multistate games that are now available.

At 10:30 today, Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, will announce his pick to serve as Secretary of State for the rest of the year.

The announcement will be made in the governor’s ceremonial office, but those interested can listen in live online. Audio from the event will be broadcast at: http://governor.ks.gov/media-room/listen-in-live.

Earlier from the AP:

TOPEKA, Kan. – Gov. Mark Parkinson has scheduled a news conference to name a new secretary of state to replace Republican Ron Thornburgh.

Parkinson’s office said the new secretary will be named at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Thornburgh, a four-term Republican, resigned Feb. 15 to become a senior vice president for Olathe-based NIC Inc., which builds and manages government Web sites.

Assistant Secretary of State Janet Chubb has been in charge of the office since Thornburgh’s resignation.

The Kansas Constitution requires the governor to replace a statewide elected official to finish an unexpired term. Kansans will elect a new secretary of state in November.

Parkinson, a Democrat, isn’t bound by Thornburgh’s party affiliation and could name a Democrat to fill the vacancy. The appointment doesn’t require legislative approval.