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The Kansas Constitutional

Gov. Kelly's veto of tax plan receives bipartisan backlash

Gov. Laura Kelly (D)

Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bipartisan Senate Substitute for House Bill 2036, a bill that received bipartisan support in the Kansas Senate 24-9 and had unanimous support in the House 119-0. She also vetoed another bipartisan bill—House Bill 2098, which was voted 34-1 in the Senate and 102-17 in the House.

Both bills, which concerned Kansas taxes, did a number of things that were heavily supported by both Democrats and Republicans in order to provide the people of Kansas tax relief.

In a press release from the Office of the Governor, Gov. Kelly called the tax bills “unsustainable” and announced her own alternative tax cut package.

“Kansans need meaningful sales, property, and income tax relief. However, we must ensure that the plan is affordable for the long term,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “We must be mindful of the fiscal mistakes of the previous administration and ensure we can provide tax relief while continuing the progress we have made as a state.” 

According to the press release, “Governor Kelly’s plan is $433 million per year, which also accounts for the contents of House Bill 2098 and Senate Bill 96.”

The press release also stated that Gov. Kelly’s plan would be “considerably less costly than what the Legislature sent to her desk, which was $520 million when considering all tax bills being proposed.” It further noted that the bills sent to Gov. Kelly’s desk did not include child care tax credit, something that was stated to be “vital to Kansas families.”

“The governor’s plan reduces the overall costs of these proposals by nearly $90 million per year while ensuring all taxpayers are provided meaningful and comprehensive tax relief,” the press release states.

Gov. Kelly’s alternative tax plan was stated to do the following:

  • Accelerates the elimination of the state’s sales tax on groceries to July 1; 

  • Keeps the current three tax brackets in place, but lowers each of the tax rates;

  • Increases the standard deduction, personal exemption, and child care tax credit for dependent care expenses; 

  • Immediately eliminates state taxes on all Social Security income; and 

  • Cuts property taxes for Kansans by exempting the first $125,000 of all homes from the statewide property tax levy. 

Gov. Kelly further gave the following reason for her veto of S Sub for HB 2036:

“While I appreciate the bipartisan effort that went into this tax cut package and support many of the provisions included, I cannot sign into law a bill that jeopardizes our state’s future fiscal stability.   

“I have said repeatedly that I will do everything in my power to prevent our state from the fiscal mismanagement of the previous administration. Since becoming governor, my administration has been laser-focused on getting us back on track, so we don’t go back to the days of four-day school weeks, crumbling roads and bridges, and crippling debt. This bill is too expensive and risks reversing the progress we’ve made. 

“When working on any fiscal package, including tax cuts, legislators must consider the legislation’s affordability beyond their next election. The total fiscal impact of tax relief should stay within the tax plan I released with this veto. I encourage legislators to send me a tax package that gives Kansans the relief they desperately need while not putting the state on the path to bankruptcy.”

For HB 2098, she provided the following for her reason to veto the bill:

“The intent of House Bill 2098 is on the right track to provide Kansans with sales tax relief.

“However, the impact these tax cuts would have on the State General Fund cannot be realized without knowing the total cost of all tax bills, including a fair, sustainable, and fiscally responsible tax relief package.”   

People across the political spectrum disagreed with Gov. Kelly’s decision to veto the bills, specifically HB 2036.

“Kansans are rightfully frustrated by the governor’s decision to yet again veto sustainable property, income, and sales tax relief primarily geared to help those with lower incomes,” Sen. President Ty Masterson (R-Butler and Sedgwick Counties) said in a Facebook post. “Over the course of her tenure, the governor has rejected over 75 tax cuts, preferring to keep record surpluses in government coffers rather than returning it to the people. HB 2036 earned bi-partisan support in the Senate and unanimous support in the House, so we will work to override her veto and encourage our colleagues to ignore the governor’s my-way-or-the-highway stance and stand in support of Kansas taxpayers.”

Republicans in the House also provided statements on these vetoes, claiming that the bills are sustainable, and that Gov. Kelly has no interest in bipartisan tax relief.

“We all saw unanimous support for this tax relief bill in the House. We all saw the bipartisan majority support for this bill in the Senate. And we’ve all seen the revenue estimates that say this plan is sustainable. One by one we’ve overcome Governor Kelly’s objections to delivering your money back to you in the form of property, income, Social Security, and sales tax relief. And every time, the Governor moves the goalposts and vetoes the bill,” Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins said. “At this point, there are two more things that deep down we all know to be true—Kansans need and deserve tax relief and Governor Kelly isn’t serious when she says she wants to provide it. As your elected representatives, we’re going to work to override her veto and get your money back to you.”

Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft (R-Overland Park) called the veto “politically-motivated”.

“Knowing that we have a healthy fiscal outlook, with economic conditions continually putting more pressure on hardworking Kansans, this politically-motivated veto serves as a slap in the face to every single person in this state. This tax plan passed unanimously in the House and with a wide bipartisan majority in the Senate. Governor Kelly is choosing to stand in the way of a strong plan that sustainably provides the relief that people want and desperately need,” said Rep. Croft. “It’s not time to play politics with people’s money—it’s time for relief that will uplift Kansas families and retirees.”

Kansas House Speaker Pro Tempore Blake Carpenter (R-Sedgwick County) called Gov. Kelly “out of touch” in a statement on her veto.

“I am deeply disappointed in the Governor’s decision to play politics with Kansans’ hard-earned money by vetoing a bipartisan tax relief bill,” Rep. Carpenter said. “Just like Joe Biden, she is out of touch and chooses to tax and spend instead of letting Kansans keep more of what they earn, but the Kansas Legislature is committed to overriding this veto to eliminate the social security tax, and provide much needed relief by reducing property and income taxes.”

Others in the Kansas Legislature took to social media to state their displeasure in Gov. Kelly’s veto:

Joel Mathis, a regular Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle Opinion correspondent from Lawrence wrote an opinion piece in the Kansas City Star, seeming to worry about what this may mean for Kansas Democrats. He noted what House Minority Leader Vic Miller (D-Topeka) said after Gov. Kelly’s veto.

“I want to back the governor,” Miller told The Star’s Jonathan Shorman. “The governor deserves all the credit for us being in this situation in terms of having money available to refund the people. So I respect her position. I just don’t know I want to gamble the way she is—and maybe it’s not gambling, maybe she’s got some arrangement with Republican leadership. But I’m not aware of any of those kinds of details.”

Others outside of the Kansas Legislature who are politically active in Kansas also spoke out against Gov. Kelly’s veto.

“This is silly. It’s clear that the Governor has no interest in real tax relief for Kansans or putting the state in a more competitive position for future investment,” Kansas Chamber President and CEO Alan Cobb said in a statement. “We call on both Republicans and Democrats to override the veto and put an end to the fiscal mismanagement that allows the state to continue to collect billions in excess tax revenue that only drives up government spending. It is fiscally irresponsible of Governor Kelly not to support and allow this sensible and affordable tax relief to become law.”

Americans For Prosperity—Kansas (AFP-KS), a conservative-Libertarian political advocacy group, condemned the veto of HB 2036 “as a political stunt at the expense of taxpayers.”

AFP-KS State Director Elizabeth Patton issued the following statement:

“Governor Kelly has turned her back on her constituents who put her in office and even those in her party who widely supported this tax compromise bill as a smart step forward in returning our budget surplus to Kansans.

“Again, Governor Kelly has played politics with the click of her veto pen, throwing opportunities to put money back into the pockets of every Kansan at the wayside. Our state’s economic stability projected positive revenue report provided a perfect backdrop to implement these sensible tax cuts. AFP-KS urges the legislature to override the Governor’s disappointing veto to ensure that these tax cuts can become law.”

Free-market economist Michael Austin made multiple tweets in regards to Gov. Kelly’s vetoes:

To override the vetoes, the House will need 84 votes in favor of the bills and the Senate will need 27 votes in favor.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to share and subscribe. You can also help support independent journalism in Kansas by buying me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/kscon.

Ian Brannan

Ian Brannan is an independent journalist who founded The Kansas Constitutional in April 2022. His work focuses on issues including abortion, Convention of States, drug policy, education, gun policy, LGBT issues, media, and more.

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