Kansas House fails to override Kelly flat tax veto after Republicans break with leaders

The Kansas House rejected an attempt to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a $1.6 billion tax cut centered on a flat income tax rate, a stunning failure for Republican leaders who spent weeks counting votes.

The 81-42 vote, which fell 3 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to advance the override, sends GOP lawmakers back to square one in their standoff with Kelly over taxes.

Heading into Tuesday’s vote, supporters of the override had expected to have sufficient votes to override Kelly but four Republican lawmakers changed their votes killing the tax policy before it reached the Senate.

The defeat marked a major blow to Republicans who had hoped if they could advance the override to the Senate, they could flip a Democratic senator and defeat Kelly. The House vote demonstrated a frustration among rank-and-file Republicans with the GOP leadership’s insistence that a flat income tax be included in this year’s tax cuts.

Rep Trevor Jacobs, a Fort Scott Republican, changed his vote from yes to no, citing concerns about how little the bill did for middle-income Kansans.

“This is not the last train out,” he said, urging a new attempt at tax cuts.

Now, GOP leaders will have to decide their next move as Kelly is all but certain to reject any additional attempt at a flat tax, which Republicans have deemed a must have for any tax policy.

Kelly has promised to call the Legislature back to Topeka for a special session if they do not approve tax cuts she deems acceptable by the end of the Legislative session in May.

Rep. Randy Garber, a Sabetha Republican, cited Kelly’s threat of a special session while explaining his no vote calling the GOP bill a “path to failure.”

In a statement following the vote Kelly urged lawmakers to move forward with a tax plan she proposed at the beginning of the legislative session.

“I urge legislators to work together to cut taxes in a way that continues our economic growth and maintains our solid fiscal foundation while benefiting all Kansans, not just those at the top,” Kelly said.

The policy, which Kelly vetoed last month, would have imposed the flat income tax alongside several policies Kelly included in her own tax package – the elimination of the food sales tax on April 1, the elimination of income tax on Social Security and a $100,000 exemption on state property taxes.

Kelly rejected the policy, arguing the flat tax would have wrecked the state’s budget while disproportionately benefiting Kansas’ wealthiest residents over the middle class.

The governor’s Democratic allies in the House echoed that reasoning when they voted to sustain Kelly’s veto. Four Republicans joined Democrats voting to sustain Kelly’s veto. one Democrat, Kansas City, Kansas, Rep. Marvin Robinson, voted to override.

“We can’t afford to break the budget and particularly without relief to those middle income taxpayers,” Rep. Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said while warning lawmakers would have to come back in the future and raise taxes if they passed the plan.

Republican lawmakers have focused on parts of the policy that benefit Kansas’ lowest earners, arguing the flat tax could draw more people and businesses to the state. The bill would fully exempt all income at or below $6,150 for individuals and $12,300 for married couples.

“I hear talk about helping the poor. Here it is,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, a Bonner Springs Republican.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republican and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, insisted the price tag on the policy was sustainable and responsible.

“This isn’t going back to the tax plan that was passed by the Legislature in 2012 that was way too quick, way too much and way too fast,” he said referencing the tax cuts under former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.