TOPEKA, Kan. — The 23-17 vote late Thursday night by which the Kansas Senate ap-proved a bill increasing the state’s sales tax to generate $314 million for the next state budget.
A “yes” vote was to pass the bill. A “no” vote was against the bill.
Of the 31 Republicans, 15 voted “yes” and 16 voted “no.”
Of the 9 Democrats, 8 voted “yes” and one voted “no.”
See how they voted. Read More
TOPEKA — The Senate has approved a three-year, 1-cent increase in the state sales tax to help close a budget gap.
The tax would increase to 6.3 percent from 5.3 percent. After three years, the increase would scale back from 6.3 percent to 5.7 percent with money from remaining increase going to the state highway fund to pay for road projects.
The tax still must be approved by the House.
The Senate vote was 23-17.
Earlier, the Senate rejected a smaller part of its tax package, the elimination of a business tax deduction worth about $17 million.
Not much got done today in the Kansas House, which started, and then delayed, another debate on another budget proposal.
This proposal comes from Democrats and moderate Republicans, who united earlier in the week to defeat a plan supported by conservative Republicans.
The debate started in earnest at about 3 p.m. Soon, House Appropriations Chairman Kevin Yoder, an Overland Park Republican, and Rep. Bill Feuerborn, a Garnett Democrat and the lead author of the proposal, began a spirited back-and-forth about the details of the proposal.
And then at 5 p.m. the House adjourned until 9 a.m. Friday without casting a vote. Some lawmakers wanted to attend the funeral of a lawmaker’s mother tonight.
The debate will continue Friday.
Rep. Delia Garcia, D-Wichita
Three-term State Rep. Delia Garcia has filed for re-election to her seat, which represents most of downtown and a stretch of central-north Wichita. (See district map PDF.)
The Democrat, who owns and operates Connie’s Mexico Cafe on North Broadway, highlighted her Hispanic heritage by filing for the seat on Cinco de Mayo. In a news release, she noted that she is the only Latina in the state legislature. (Though there are Hispanic men who have been elected to House seats .)
Garcia recently supported the statewide smoking ban. She voted against an attempt to override Gov. Mark Parkinson’s veto of a bill rewriting state laws on late-term abortions.
Garcia serves on the House Committees on Commerce and Labor, Elections, and Veterans, Military and Homeland Security. She is also the Ranking Democrat on the House Local Government Committee.
Delia was elected in 2005 at age 27, making her the youngest woman House member at the time.
Starting Friday, as many as 10 bus routes will change for about a week because of Wichita River Festival events and construction projects, the city announced this afternoon.
To learn more about the extensive changes, check the bulletin boards in the downtown transit center, call the transit information line at 316-265-7221 or check the city’s transit web site.
Assisted-opening knife
TOPEKA — The state House gave final approval today to a bill legalizing pocket knives that can be opened with one hand.
Switchblade knife
The law would still ban switchblades — spring-loaded knives that open at the press of a button — but allow spring-assisted knives that can be opened one-handed by a stud attached to the blade.
Lawmakers who supported the bill said the knives are already widely available and used for hunting, fishing and farm and construction work, unlike switchblades which are more associated with stabbings and street mayhem. Read More
TOPEKA — It will cost Kansans $15 more to violate traffic laws under a bill approved today by the state House of Representatives.
Senate Substitute for House Bill No. 2226 will bump up fines for dozens of infractions ranging from moving violations such as speeding and improper turns, to equipment violations such as defective mufflers and unauthorized lights on church buses.
Slightly less than two-thirds of the money will go to the state general fund.
The remaining money will be divided between corrections and law-enforcement programs as follows: Read More
A lot of other Kansans these days are going to KansasCash.com and finding out that the state is holding money in their name.
Maybe it was an old apartment deposit, and the landlord didn’t have a forwarding addess. Or someone made a utility payment unnecessarily, and the utility didn’t know where to send the refund.
It happens.
These days, state Treasurer Dennis McKinney reports, the state is holding $200 million in unclaimed property. Read More