2019 Legislative Update 8

It was a pleasure to visit with students from Schlagel High School who were at the Capitol for “Kick Butts Day” to talk with lawmakers about smart tobacco policies and to advocate for tobacco prevention. They were very well informed and talked about education and access being key to prevention. Appreciate Rebecca Garza from Healthy Communities Wyandotte bringing this group of young people by to visit with me.

Governor Laura Kelly held a news conference on Thursday with business leaders and kicked off a seminar on the economic benefit of Medicaid expansion. “Carolyn Watley, an executive with the Kansas City Chamber, said expansion would add 600 jobs in her region and bring in tax revenue and economic benefits that would total $126 million in Johnson and Wyandotte counties." Medicaid expansion is an important issue in our community and in our State and I remain hopeful that we will be able to move this issue forward this session.

If you are interested in advocating for Medicaid expansion, a “Rally at the Capitol - Expand KanCare Now! is planned for March 19th at 2:00 pm. Additionally, a meeting “Time to Act! Medicaid Expansion in Kansas” is scheduled for March 19th at 5:30 pm at Tapatio Mexican Grill, 151 S. 18th Street, KCK. Both of these events are hosted by Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a statewide coalition focused on increasing access to healthcare through expansion of KanCare. Additional information about medicaid expansion is available at: http://ExpandKanCare.com

It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I value and appreciate your input on issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 452-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-7430 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. You can also e-mail me at pam.curtis@house.ks.gov.

Senate Bill 22 made its way to the House floor this week. As previously described, Senate Bill 22 is a repeat of the failed Brownback tax experiment. It is a massive tax giveaway to giant, multi-national corporations, at the expense of working Kansans. It will cost Kansans a minimum of $207 million in the first year alone and will fester to over $493 million over the next three years. That is half a billion dollars and could be far more if corporations exploit it. We should wait until at least April for the Consensus Revenue Estimates to come out before we make any significant changes to our tax code.

In the House Taxation Committee, two amendments were added as an attempt to dress up this monstrosity of a bill. The first addition is an internet and digital goods sales tax. The digital goods provision was removed. Internet sales tax warrants valid discussion on its own, not latched onto a bad bill. The second amendment is a 1% food sales tax reduction, which was added as a thinly veiled attempt to make it more difficult for the Governor to veto the bill. Kansans need thorough discussion and meaningful change, not a political ploy.

On the House floor, amendments were attempted and struck down that further showed the true colors behind this bad bill. Democratic representatives posed amendments to reinstate working class deductions, eliminate the corporate tax handout, and substantially increase the food sales tax cut. This shows that many of our Republican colleagues are not really interested in addressing the needs of working Kansans.

Overall, Senate Bill 22 is a disastrous return to the failed Brownback tax plan that bankrupted Kansas. The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk.

This week, the House worked several bills on the floor. All of these bills passed through the chamber. They are as follows:

HB 2160: Provides sales tax authority for Wabaunsee county.

SB 22: Kansas itemized deductions, election, providing for deferred foreign income, global intangible low-taxed income, business interest, capital contributions and FDIC premiums income tax modifications; sales and compensating use tax, imposition of tax, nexus, remote sellers, marketplace facilitators, rate of tax on food and food ingredients.

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