Kansas Chamber of Commerce releases list of ‘pro-jobs’ legislators

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce spent most of the legislative session fighting a tax increase. But this week, it hailed many lawmakers who voted for the tax increase when it released its annual list of “Distinguished Pro-Jobs Legislators.”

The 95-person list, exclusively Republican, includes many lawmakers from south-central Kansas.

Wichita lawmakers on the list included Senate President Susan Wagle; Sens. Les Donovan, Mike Petersen and Michael O’Donnell; Reps. Steve Brunk, Mark Kahrs, Joseph Scapa, Gene Suellentrop, John Whitmer, Mario Goico, Les Osterman, Dennis Hedke, Dan Hawkins and Mark Hutton.

With the exception of Kahrs, each of those lawmakers voted for at least one of two bills that made up the Legislature’s nearly $400 million tax package.

The chamber also gave the distinction to Rep. Blake Carpenter, R-Derby, the freshman lawmaker from the Wichita suburbs who cast the deciding vote for the tax plan in the House, and Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover, who oversaw budget negotiations for the Senate.

The chamber repeatedly told lawmakers to cut spending instead of raising taxes.

However, Republican lawmakers who voted against the tax increase, such as Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, were not included in the “pro-jobs” list. No Democrats made the list.

The chamber did not endorse the final tax plan but did give preference to it over alternatives, which would have eliminated an income tax break for business owners. The final plan, which went into effect this month, raised the sales tax from 6.15 percent to 6.5 percent but kept the income tax break intact.

Emily Mitchell, the chamber’s spokeswoman, said the list identifies lawmakers who voted with the chamber on at least 80 percent of “the wide range of business issues identified by the Kansas Chamber as important to ensuring the state’s economic health.”

The chamber also played an active role in a successful effort to repeal the state’s school finance formula and its renewable energy standards.

“This session the Legislature tackled many tough issues and progress was made in many areas, making Kansas one of the most economically competitive states in the region. … The business community thanks these individuals for working to promote a healthy business climate and create jobs in Kansas,” said Kansas Chamber President and CEO Mike O’Neal in a news release.

During the first four months of the legislative session, O’Neal and the chamber’s other lobbyists spent more than $15,400 treating lawmakers to meals and drinks, according to records from the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.

Records for the final two months of the record 114-day session will become available in September.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Kansas Chamber of Commerce releases list of ‘pro-jobs’ legislators."