TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax-cutting experiment faced an uncertain fate Tuesday as fellow Republicans who control the Kansas Legislature sought to round up enough votes to override his veto of a plan that would essentially reverse the income tax reductions he championed last year.
Brownback vetoed of a bipartisan plan to increase income taxes to fix the cash-strapped state’s budget and comply with a court mandate on funding public schools.
Brownback rejected a bill that would raise $1.2 billion over two years, acting Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers approved the measure early Tuesday morning. Legislators expected to attempt an override, with the Senate voting first, possibly as early as Tuesday night.
The bill would increase income tax rates and end an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners, repealing or rolling back past income come tax cuts that Brownback had billed as pro-growth policies. Voters soured last year on the governor’s cuts, ousting two dozen of his allies from the Legislature and giving more power to Democrats and moderate Republicans who then backed the tax plan.
Supporters of the tax bill were short in both chambers of the thirds majorities they would need to override a veto, but several lawmakers said Tuesday that the chances of repudiating Brownback are good because the Legislature’s annual session is dragging out. They were meeting Tuesday for the 109th day of what was supposed to be a 100-day session, making this year’s one of the longest in state history.