Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
In 2012, Kansas lawmakers cut income taxes in a bigger, faster, more dramatic way than any other state had done. And revenue from tax collections dropped like a rock, causing Kansas to enter a multi-year period of serious financial trouble.
Persistent budget problems that followed a now-abandoned tax-slashing experiment in Kansas helped kill new cuts this year that were meant to return an unexpected "windfall" to the state from changes in federal tax laws. Top Republicans pushed Friday - the last day of the GOP-controlled Legislature's annual session - for passage of a bill that would save taxpayers an estimated $78 million during the state's next budget year, which begins July 1. It was a response to changes in federal tax laws that will force some individuals and corporations to pay more to the state because the state's tax code is tied to the federal one.
The 2018 Legislature put another finishing touch on the session early Friday by sending Gov. Jeff Colyer a bill advocates believe affirmed in state law the right of foster care and adoption placement organizations to make decisions about children based on sincerely held religious beliefs.  Critics of the legislation argued the religious-freedom legislation would set a dangerous precedent that amounted to state-sponsored discrimination. The Senate voted 24-15 -- shortly before 2 a.m. -- for the bill designed as legal shield for faith-based agencies that receive state tax dollars despite declining to place children with same-sex couples or other family groups in conflict with a church's teaching.
Hottie Lucy has been a leader the "body acceptance" movement across the globe and today she inspires just a bit more link searching on the trending topic. A couple of examples for Tuesday: Closer to home, we're sharing more than a handful of local news items for the midday.
Kansas state Rep. Joe Seiwert, left, R-Pretty Prairie, confers with House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., right, R-Olathe, as Ryckman's chief of staff, Paje Resner, center, watches, Friday, April 27, 2018, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Lawmakers are considering budget measures and tax cuts.
Kansas state Rep. Joe Seiwert, left, R-Pretty Prairie, confers with House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., right, R-Olathe, as Ryckman's chief of staff, Paje Resner, center, watches, Friday, April 27, 2018, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Lawmakers are considering budget measures and tax cuts.
Larry Campell, left, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer's budget director, confers with J.G. Scott, center, the Legislature's top fiscal analyst, and Raney Gilliland, right, the director of the Legislature's research staff, before the release of a new fiscal forecast, Friday, April 20, 2018, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The new forecast boosts projected tax collections through June 2019 by a total of $540 million less Larry Campell, left, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer's budget director, confers with J.G. Scott, center, the Legislature's top fiscal analyst, and Raney Gilliland, right, the director of the Legislature's research ... more TOPEKA, Kan.
Early this past Sunday morning, at the last minute, Kansas legislators passed a school funding bill of more than $500 million. The Supreme Court must still rule on its constitutionality, but the frantic maneuvering of last week allows Kansans to understand a lot about state politics as we head toward the end of the session and the 2018 elections.
Kansas officials have discovered an error in a public school funding bill lawmakers approved that lowers the size of its spending increase by at least $80 million, potentially complicating the state's efforts to satisfy a court mandate. Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer still plans to sign the bill and will work with the GOP-controlled Legislature to fix the flaw, spokesman Kendall Marr said Tuesday.
Legislators face a Kansas Supreme Court mandate ... . Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, left, R-Overland Park, state Sen. Rick Wilborn, center, R-McPherson, and Sen. Bud Estes, R-Dodge City, confer during a break in the Senate's session, Saturday, April 7, 2018, at the Stat... .
Top Kansas Republican lawmakers moved Saturday to break their impasse over how much to increase spending on the state's public schools, feeling growing pressure to pass a plan that would satisfy a court mandate. The state House approved a bill that would phase in a $534 million increase in education funding over five years.
Two top Republican legislators in Kansas on Wednesday dropped a demand that lawmakers move to curb judges' power before increasing spending on public schools, allowing work to move forward on satisfying a court mandate on education funding. Senate President Susan Wagle and Majority Leader Jim Denning had said Tuesday that their chamber would not debate school funding until the GOP-controlled Legislature approved a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to limit the courts' power to decide education spending issues.
Two top Republicans issued an ultimatum Tuesday that Kansas legislators act to curb the power of judges before they will allow them to vote on increasing public school funding to satisfy a demand from the state Supreme Court. The House had passed a bill, 71-53, that would phase in roughly a $520 million increase in education funding over five years.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the names "Isaac" and "Emily" have been etched over a petroglyph Kanopolis Lake. The damage to the petroglyph is irreversible.
Four of the Kansas candidates on stage at Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro: Alex Cline , Ethan Randleas, Tyler Ruzich and Dominic Scavuzzo. Four of the Kansas candidates on stage at Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro: Alex Cline , Ethan Randleas, Tyler Ruzich and Dominic Scavuzzo.
A candidate for Kansas' Second District U.S. House seat received backlash on social media Thursday for a firearm giveaway his campaign announced earlier this week before a gunman fired on a Florida high school. Tyler Tannahill, a Leavenworth Republican and Marine Corps veteran running to replace outgoing Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins, announced his campaign would give away an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle on his website and Facebook before, according to the Associated Press, Nikolas Cruz allegedly killed 17 people at a Florida high school using the same type of gun.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback gives his final State of the State address Tuesday night on the floor of the Kansas House. While giving his final State of the State address Tuesday night, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says his administration, without raising taxes, is putting a proposal together to comply with the Kansas Supreme Court's decree that the state give an addition $600 million to school finance.
When President Donald Trump met with six Republican senators last week to talk about trade, the lawmakers issued a stark warning: Implementing an unrestrained "America First" agenda - such as withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement - would endanger stock prices that have soared since his election. Just steps from the Oval Office, the president listened as GOP Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Pat Roberts of Kansas depicted the potential fallout if Trump follows through on his threats to quit NAFTA.