Kansas House Republicans fail to override governor's veto on massive tax reform bill – Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — The Republican-led Kansas House failed Tuesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly ‘s veto of a tax reform bill anchored by implementation of a single, flat state income tax rate of 5.25% in addition to elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and creation of a tax exemption for all Social Security income.

The GOP holds supermajorities in the House and Senate, but there was skepticism that both chambers could muster two-thirds majorities necessary to rebuke Kelly given opposition among conservative and moderate Republicans to parts of the bill favoring the state’s most wealthy. During the past several weeks, House Speaker Dan Hawkins indicated he had the votes for an override but was concerned about passage in the Kansas Senate.

Rep. Adam Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Taxation Committee, pleaded with House members to repel Kelly’s veto. He said House Bill 2284 wasn’t perfect, but it would deliver tax relief the state treasury could afford. At the outset of his speech in favor of an override, he quoted Rolling Stones musician Mick Jagger.

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find you get what you need,” Smith said. “Kansans need tax relief. The perfect bill doesn’t exist. It impacts everybody different. The perfect tax relief bill looks different if you are from Kansas City versus Dodge City. It looks differently if you own your home or rent your home.”

But his reference to rock ‘n’ roll and the personal ramifications of state law tax fell on deaf ears. The final vote in the House was 81-42, which was three votes shy of the necessary margin to override Kelly.

Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, said cost of the tax reform bill approved by simple majorities of the House and Senate in January could reach $600 million annually when fully implemented. He said the tax reduction plan didn’t do enough for the middle class in Kansas. He said much of the benefit was woven into the flat tax piece, but the bill would provide a married couple earning $42,500 to $75,500 per year an income tax reduction of only 75 cents.

“Most of it goes to the top end,” Sawyer said. “We’ve got to do better for those middle class taxpayers.”

Under the bill, the state’s 2% sales tax on groceries would be eliminated April 1. Without action, that tax would evaporate Jan. 1, 2025. Other provisions would reduce state property taxes tied to funding of public schools, exempt from state income tax all Social Security income and allow an increase in standard deductions on state tax returns.

Kelly previously said she supported responsible state tax cuts, but refused to sign into law a “reckless” flat tax that would send the state treasury into a financial spiral similar to the debacle that followed Gov. Sam Brownback’s enactment in 2012 of a massive state income tax cut. State revenue crashed and prompted state tax hikes before much of Brownback’s tax agenda was repealed with bipartisan support in 2017.

“This flat tax experiment would overwhelmingly benefit the super wealthy, and I’m not going to put our public schools, roads and stable economy at risk just to give a break to those at the very top,” Kelly said.