TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Latest on the debate in Kansas over raising income taxes to balance the state budget (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
Kansas legislators are not sure what path they will take to balance the state budget after failing to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing income taxes.
Brownback vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have raised more than $1 billion over two years.
The House voted to override his action on an 85-40 vote. But the vote in the Senate at 24-16 was three votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary.
Some supporters of the bill said it’s now up to Brownback and his allies to come up with a new plan.
But Democratic Rep. Tom Sawyer of Wichita said he would like to keep passing bills similar to the one Brownback vetoed until lawmakers are willing to override the governor.
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4:15 p.m.
Kansas legislators have failed to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill that would have increased income taxes to help balance the state budget.
The state Senate voted 24-16 Wednesday to overturn the veto. But supporters were three votes short of the two-thirds majority of 27 votes needed in the 40-member chamber.
The Senate’s action came after the House voted 85-40 to override the veto. Supporters there had one vote more than necessary.
The bill would have raised more than $1 billion over two years by rolling back personal income tax cuts Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013. Lawmakers will have to draft a new budget-balancing plan.
The state faces projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.
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3:10 p.m.
The Kansas Senate is debating whether to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing income taxes to help balance the budget.
Senators expected to vote Wednesday afternoon. Supporters of the bill would need a two-thirds majority of 27 votes in the 40-member chamber.
The debate came only hours after the House voted 85-40 to override the governor’s Wednesday morning veto.
The bill would have rolled back key income tax cuts championed by Brownback in 2012 and 2013. The bill would have raised more than $1 billion over two years.
The state faces projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.
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1 p.m.
A majority of the Republicans in the Kansas House voted to override GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing income taxes to help balance the state budget.
The vote Wednesday in the House was 85-40.
Forty-five of the chamber’s 85 Republicans supported overriding the veto. They included seven GOP members who had voted against the bill when lawmakers passed it last week.
But freshman Republican Reps. Abraham Rafie of Overland Park and Adam Smith of Weskan voted against overriding the veto after supporting the bill last week.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. of Olathe voted against an override, while Majority Leader Don Hineman of Dighton voted yes.
All 40 Democrats voted to override Brownback’s veto. Four Democrats had voted against the bill last week.
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11:40 a.m.
Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning says the chamber will vote by Thursday on overriding Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing income taxes to help balance the state budget.
The House voted Wednesday to override the veto on an 85-40 vote.
The bill would roll back key income tax cuts championed by Brownback in 2012 and 2013. The bill would raise more than $1 billion over two years.
The state faces projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.
When the Senate approved the bill last week, the vote was 22-18, leaving supporters five votes short of the 27 needed for a two-thirds majority to override a veto.
But supporters also had been short in the House and picked up nine votes for the bill.
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10:35 a.m.
The Kansas House has voted to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing personal income taxes to help balance the state budget.
The vote Wednesday was 85-40. That’s one vote more than the two-thirds majority necessary in the 125-member House.
The House’s action clears the way for an attempt to override in the Senate.
The bill would raise more than $1 billion over two years starting in July. It would increase income tax rates and end an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since GOP lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging. The bill would reverse key Brownback tax policies.
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10 a.m.
The Kansas House is debating overriding Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill increasing income taxes to help balance the budget.
Supporters of the bill needed a two-thirds majority to prevail Wednesday. That’s 84 votes in the 125-member House.
If the House overrode the veto, the Senate could take up the effort.
The bill would have raised more than $1 billion over two years starting in July. It would have increase income tax rates and ended an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since GOP lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging. The bill would have reversed key Brownback tax policies.
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9:35 a.m.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he’d consider capping a personal income tax exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
But Brownback told reporters Wednesday that he wants to preserve the core of the exemption to help small businesses.
The Republican governor made his comments after vetoing a bill that would have increased income taxes to help balance the state budget. The measure would have raised more than $1 billion over two years.
The bill would have ended the exemption for farmers and business owners enacted in 2012. Brownback has championed the policy as pro-growth.
The governor said lawmakers could restore income taxes on the profits of farmers and business owners above $150,000.
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8:45 a.m.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has fulfilled his promise to veto a bill that would have increase personal income taxes to help balance the budget.
Brownback acted Wednesday during a Statehouse news conference. He had pledged to veto the measure during a Tuesday night banquet of the supportive Kansas Chamber of Commerce.
The bill would have raised more than $1 billion over two years starting in July. It would have increase income tax rates and ended an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since GOP lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging.
The House expected to consider overriding the veto almost immediately. But the bill did not pass with the two-thirds majorities required.
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12:10 a.m.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to make good on a pledge to veto a bill increasing personal income taxes as a budget fix.
Brownback has a Statehouse news conference scheduled Wednesday morning to act. He told a Kansas Chamber of Commerce banquet Tuesday night that he would veto the measure.
It would raise more than $1 billion over two years, starting in July. It would also roll back key tax policies Brownback has championed by raising income tax rates and ending an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since GOP lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging.
The bill passed with bipartisan majorities but not by the two-thirds margins necessary to override a veto.
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