Kansas gov. vetoes tax bills, calls for special session

“Kansans need responsible, comprehensive tax relief. As I said in my last veto statement of the Legislature’s nearly identical tax bill, ‘I cannot sign into law a bill that jeopardizes our state’s future fiscal stability.”

I have given the Legislature several roadmaps to fiscally responsible tax cuts since January. Instead, they played political games with reckless tax policies, and I vetoed them. I said irresponsible tax policies would lead to a special session.

So here we are. While I applaud the spirit of bipartisanship, this tax cut package, passed at the 11^th hour of the last day of the Legislative session, misses the mark. Its proposed cuts and the excessive spending by the Legislature endanger all the progress we’ve made in restoring services for Kansans, funding our public schools, and investing in our infrastructure.

Additionally, to favor a specific business, a tax abatement scheme was floated to put taxpayer dollars into that business’ pocket at the expense of local government services. That’s wrong. Taxpayer dollars should not be diverted to political donors under the guise of tax cuts.

Kansans expect us to map a responsible future because we have come a long way, together. Our financial ratings have been upgraded. We have paid down debt. We paid $224 million for new projects in cash, saving Kansans $90 million in interest that would have otherwise accumulated through bonds. Education is being funded. We went from zero to a reasonable rainy-day fund for the inevitable emergencies we will face. Kansas is being noticed for its sense of responsibility. Don’t toss all that.

The lack of a fiscally responsible tax cut bill jeopardizes other tax policy passed before adjournment, such as legislation to support Kansas’ film and digital media industry. The Legislature cannot overpromise tax cuts without considering the overall cost to the state for future years. We cannot start with our expenses and then look at our income. Families and businesses do not budget like that; neither should Kansas.”

Gov. Laura Kelly veto statement for House Substitute for Senate Bill 37, House Bill 2096 and House Bill 2097

“This could have been avoided but sadly, here we are again. It’s disappointing to see Governor Kelly turn her back on a fourth attempt at compromise and veto yet another sustainable, bipartisan tax relief package, this time with a reduced fiscal note of only $3 million over her agreed number. Her games, unfortunately, come at the expense of Kansas taxpayers with an $84,000-a-day special session and further delay of much-needed tax relief, despite the state’s ample surplus and positive financial outlook.

The legislature has worked together in a bipartisan manner and jumped through multiple hoops in hopes of hitting her ever-moving targets and our focus remains solidly on returning excess taxpayer dollars to Kansans regardless of the unreasonable challenges posed by the Governor. It seems her laser focus has shifted solely to wasting your money on a needless and spiteful special session.”

House Speaker Daniel Hawkins