No blaming Democrats for 2015 session

Republican state leaders including Gov. Sam Brownback have lashed out at Democrats for being part of the reason the legislative session stretched to a record 113 days and ended with a historic tax hike. But Democrats are just 22 percent of the Legislature – with eight Senate seats and 28 House seats. The only time Democrats controlled both chambers at once was in 1913-14, when they held 21 seats in the Senate and 72 in the House (two Socialists were among the 125 representatives back then). Democrats’ only other House majorities were in 1977-78 and 1991-92. And many lawmakers recall how Brownback, in his first session, said he wanted the budget to pass with no Democratic votes. – Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published June 19, 2015 at 7:06 PM.