Capitol Beats: ‘The way it was butchered, it was a terrible piece of legislation’
Check this spot on Sundays for a few quick hits about what’s driving the debate in the Legislature.
Say what?
“The way it was butchered, it was a terrible piece of legislation. But it wasn’t Sam Brownback’s fault. And it wasn’t conservative Republicans’ fault. It was the damn moderates’ and the Democrats’ fault.”
— Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, Senate Tax chair, talking about whether blame for the 2012 tax bill should be placed on Gov. Sam Brownback, who signed it, or former Senate President Steve Morris and moderate Republicans, who removed provisions that would have offset income tax cuts by closing exemptions.
“Just because you live in a minority community, or low income, it doesn’t mean you’re packing illegal guns and it doesn’t mean you’re a criminal. So I invited him to come to my house for dinner so he would see I live in a nice home, nice neighborhood, and I can cook, too.”
— Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, one of two African-Americans in the Kansas Senate, discussing an exchange with Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, during a hearing on a gun bill last week. Knox jokingly told Faust-Goudeau that he would need a gun if he came to her neighborhood. He apologized for the remark and Faust-Goudeau invited him for dinner.
$183 million
That’s the projected amount of revenue for the state if lawmakers move forward with a proposal to eliminate a sales tax exemption on utilities for residential and agricultural properties. It’s one of several ideas being offered as a way to raise revenue and help fix the state’s deficit.
Trending
The Kansas Senate voted 31-9 last week to restrict an abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation, which the bill refers to as “dismemberment abortion.” Sen. Garrett Love, R-Montezuma, who carried the bill, described the procedure in graphic detail on the Senate floor and called it barbaric.
Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, accused Love of trying to score political points by using shocking language that will later be used on political mailers.
News ahead
The Kansas House is expected to debate a bill that would make death the only way for a candidate to exit a race after the primary. The bill, pushed by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, is a direct response to Democrat Chad Taylor’s decision to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate last year. Kobach unsuccessfully tried to keep Taylor on the ballot. His bill would require that candidates remain on the ballot unless they died by a Sept. 1 deadline.
Bryan Lowry
For more legislative news, go to www.kansas.com/politics and follow @BryanLowry3 on Twitter.
This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Capitol Beats: ‘The way it was butchered, it was a terrible piece of legislation’."