Republican lawmakers in the Kansas Statehouse are gearing up to try overriding Governor Laura Kelly’s latest veto.
On Friday, the governor vetoed House Bill 2284, the Republican tax reduction plan. Kelly says the plan, what she calls a flat tax, would “overwhelmingly” benefit the rich while doing “next to nothing” for middle-class residents.
Republicans say their plan is designed to both reduce taxes and simplify the tax code. It uses a 5.25 percent rate on income taxes above the first $6,150 for single residents or $12,300 for married couples.
The Republican plan passed both chambers with large but not veto-proof majorities. It also competes with the governor’s plan, which has several similar components like eliminating state taxes on Social Security and exempting the first $100,000 in state property taxes. Both also adjust standard deductions, but by different amounts.
The word “reckless” came up from both sides after the governor’s decision. Governor Kelly says the Republican plan would “takes us back to Brownback,” referencing former governor Sam Brownback’s tax cut plan that was eventually reversed by Republican lawmakers before he took a position in then-president Donald Trump’s administration. While Republican leadership didn’t use that adjective for the governor’s action — instead saying she “has abandoned the middle” and chose “political wins over increasing Kansans’ paychecks” — the Kansas Chamber called the veto “ironic and reckless.”
The Kansas House will be where the override effort begins after the veto message is officially printed. The House has 30 days to vote. If successful, the clock restarts for a Senate vote. Both chambers need at least a two-thirds vote for the override to happen. Tax Committee chairs in both chambers will decide how to proceed if the override push fails.
