Five burning questions still to be answered by the Kansas Legislature

Here are five things that remain to be settled in the second half of the Kansas legislative session.

1. What tax increases will be part of the final budget fix?

The governor proposed increasing taxes by more than $200 million to help fill the state’s $600 million budget hole. But some of his proposals – especially his idea to increase the tax on each pack of cigarettes by $1.50 – have proven unpopular and gained little traction. Lawmakers have offered alternatives that range from eliminating the sales tax exemption on utilities for residential and agricultural properties to hiking taxes on gasoline and recalculating property tax for farmland.

The Legislature exempted tax bills from a rule that restricts the bundling of bills, a practice in which legislation that might not pass on its own is inserted into bills that must pass. Expect lawmakers to debate a massively complex tax bill at the end of the year.

2. When will a school finance bill emerge, and what will it look like?

Gov. Sam Brownback made an ambitious proposal to repeal the state’s school finance formula and replace it temporarily with block grants while lawmakers develop a new formula. No bill has come to the surface yet. Rep. Ron Ryckman Jr., R-Olathe, and Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover, have been working on a proposal, but it’s been a slow process. A hearing on the bill was canceled last week.

Brownback suggested that if lawmakers tinker with certain areas of the school funding formula to find cost savings, they could rescind the automatic cuts he announced in February that go into effect March 7. That seems unlikely at this point.

3. Will the religious freedom bill resurface?

Before the session began, several conservative lawmakers expressed an interest in reviving the religious freedom bill that they say is needed to protect religious Kansans with traditional views of marriage. The version of the bill that caused international controversy last year would have enabled public and private workers to refuse to serve same-sex couples based on religious views of marriage.

The bill passed the House but was killed in part because of a backlash from the business community. Arkansas passed a similar bill that is set to take effect later this year.

4. Does Brownback’s Supreme Court selection change have the votes to pass the House?

The governor called on lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment to change the selection of Supreme Court justices by either moving to direct elections or to a federal model, in which governor’s appointments would be confirmed by the Senate. If the Legislature passes either measure, it would go to the citizens of Kansas for a vote.

The question is whether the measures can pass the House with the required two-thirds majority after failed attempts in the past. U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Dodge City, has made phone calls asking lawmakers to support them.

5. Will lawmakers make it harder to get divorced?

Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Wichita, chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, held two days of informational hearings about divorce. He said the purpose was to determine whether the state had an interest in preventing divorce, which he said leads to increased poverty. Ideas offered at the hearings from groups such as the Kansas Family Policy Council include lengthening the waiting period for couples to get a divorce and providing or mandating couples counseling before a marriage ends. No bill has been introduced yet.

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Five burning questions still to be answered by the Kansas Legislature."