Brownback fought spending cuts, Republican senators say

Republican lawmakers, angered by Gov. Sam Brownback’s attacks this week on the Legislature for “unnecessarily” increasing spending, say he scuttled an earlier attempt to cut the budget.

Brownback urged senators to vote against a package of tax increases and budget reductions in February, Republican senators say. The package would have reduced education spending by about $150 million.

Senate leadership scheduled a debate on the package, but canceled it at the last minute after it became clear they didn’t have the votes to pass it. Republican leaders now say that happened after Brownback asked senators to oppose the bill.

“We had the votes, we gathered up the votes to pass that, and then the governor called in my Republican members and asked them to vote against it,” Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, said.

Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine, R-Emporia, said Brownback argued cuts to education would be ill-advised.

“In meetings with him, he indicated he didn’t support cuts to K-12 or higher ed,” Longbine said.

Asked whether Brownback had urged senators to oppose the package, a spokeswoman for the governor referred to a Feb. 6 statement where he opposed a tax plan put forward by Senate Republicans. But the publicly released plan at that time – and the statement – dealt only with taxes, not budget cuts.

Ultimately, lawmakers didn’t reduce education spending – or make any significant budget cuts. After the Kansas Supreme Court in March found funding for K-12 education inadequate, the Legislature approved additional money for schools.

Lawmakers in June passed a bill over Brownback’s veto that essentially rolls back much of his 2012 tax cuts. It raises personal income tax rates, restores a third tax bracket and eliminates an exemption for certain kinds of business income. Over time, it will also restore several tax credits and deductions, including for child care and medical expenses.

The tax increases are projected to raise about $1.2 billion over two years. Taxpayers still will pay less than they did before the 2012 tax cuts.

Senators spoke this week about Brownback’s involvement in tax and budget discussions after he issued a statement Monday, the final ceremonial day of the legislative session, criticizing the Legislature. The statement said the session marked a “drastic departure from fiscal restraint.”

It also said the budget paid for a “legislative wish list.”

Brownback differentiated between education spending and other spending in the statement, however. He said lawmakers chose to spend more than $200 million in new spending “on top of increased funding for schools.”

But he has not provided details on what spending he views as unnecessary. He also did not exercise his authority to line-item veto spending amounts within the budget, which he signed last weekend.

The tensions between Brownback and Republican lawmakers came to a head Friday during a meeting of the State Finance Council, a group made up of the governor and legislative leaders.

“I think these statements that have been coming out of the governor’s office are extremely inappropriate and do not reflect the work of the Legislature,” Wagle said.

Lawmakers also expressed displeasure with an op-ed released by Revenue Secretary Sam Williams earlier in the week. The article said lawmakers had raised taxes by $1.2 billion, but didn’t specify that is the amount expected to be raised over two years.

“This tax increase is the largest in state history, and it pays for the largest budget in state history. Almost every taxpayer in our state will see their paycheck decrease after July 1,” Williams wrote.

The article also predicted lawmakers will look to raise taxes again unless cuts are made.

“I didn’t think his op-ed was helpful to the process of moving Kansas forward. I think we need to get past third-grade rhetoric,” Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, said after the meeting.

Brownback, who participated via phone, said it had been a difficult couple of years for the Kansas economy. He said a number of states had experienced budget difficulties.

Speaking to the budget, he said there are good things in it. He mentioned the “state employee piece,” a reference to pay raises for state workers – the first statutory raise in years.

“There are others that I think we’re putting things in places that I think when you’re in a tight budget situation you probably wouldn’t do,” Brownback said.

Melika Willoughby, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in an email after the meeting that the Legislature failed to adopt the recommendations of an efficiency study that lawmakers received last year.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Brownback fought spending cuts, Republican senators say."