Kansas legislative – Kansas lawmakers have resisted public disclosure for years, from blocking names of bill sponsors to refusing to reveal committee voting. The secrecy sits alongside the collapse of Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax-cut experiment, and comes as national Republicans move
Kansas has turned governing into a long-running test of how much the public gets to see, even as the state’s political dominance has helped keep scrutiny limited. In recent years, the GOP has effectively ruled the roost, giving Kansas what amounts to a single-party government.
That closed-door culture has endured through the political wreckage of Gov.. Sam Brownback’s “red-state model. ” a plan built around slashing taxes in the hope of triggering massive economic growth and higher revenues from lower rates.. The experiment crashed and burned as revenues fell dramatically.. Brownback then persuaded fellow party members to cut education and other spending in an effort to keep up with the shortfall. but the cuts were not enough.
Brownback’s tax cuts were eventually erased in a veto-proof vote. after moderate Republicans teamed up with Democrats to stanch the flow of red ink.. Despite that failure inside Kansas. national Republicans have been pursuing a similar tax idea: cutting taxes on income earned through “pass-through entities” like limited liability corporations.. The Kansas experience. however. is central to the warning embedded in that push. since the state’s prior experience showed that the approach can produce greater-than-expected revenue losses as wealthy individuals restructure their income to benefit from lower rates.
The tension in Kansas is that legislators appear willing to acknowledge some revenue lessons while refusing to correct the political problems that helped create the situation—especially when it comes to transparency.. In an editorial published yesterday. the Kansas City Star described an “abysmal record of secrecy” and refusal to provide important information to the public.. It pointed to the Kansas legislature’s refusal to list the names of the individuals who sponsor legislation. a decision that makes it difficult for constituents to track whether elected representatives are pushing bills against their beliefs or their economic interests.
The editorial also said the Republican-controlled state house recently voted down an attempt to force the disclosure of legislation’s authors. It added that the state legislature routinely refuses to disclose who voted for legislation within its different committees.
One editorial thread runs through the facts presented: Brownback’s tax-cut promises were reversed only after revenues fell and lawmakers faced a veto-proof vote. while on transparency the same kind of political control has kept information blocked even as specific disclosure attempts were voted down—suggesting power has protected both fiscal decisions and legislative secrecy from prompt course-corrections.
National Republicans. the piece notes. have not achieved that same level of anonymity yet. but it argues that their enthusiasm for anonymous donors makes it likely they would support giving legislators anonymity in bill authorship.. The editorial also frames Kansas secrecy as something some local Republicans already seem motivated to preserve. naming Kris Kobach as an example.. Kobach is Kansas’ secretary of state. and the piece says he has long been documented to have associations with prominent white nationalists. including those who believe the U.S.. will descend into violent anarchy if too many non-white people live in the country.
This month. the editorial says Kobach was revealed to have invited Marcus Epstein. a prominent white nationalist. to a private fund-raising event.. For residents left outside the process. the message is stark: Kansas can prove willing to rewrite its tax course. but still keep the public largely in the dark about who is pushing the bills that shape their lives.
Kansas GOP secrecy legislature bill sponsors committee votes pass-through entities Brownback red-state model veto-proof vote Kris Kobach Marcus Epstein