Kansas lawmakers mix up stew of tax hikes, school aid cuts

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican legislators in Kansas on Tuesday cooked up an unappetizing budget-balancing stew of personal income tax increases and education spending cuts, defying GOP Gov. Sam Brownback on taxes and past court rulings on education funding.

The state Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee endorsed a bill that would boost income taxes to raise $660 million over two years. It would backtrack on past cuts in rates and end an exemption for farmers and business owners that Brownback has championed. The committee advanced it on a voice vote.

Within two hours, the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 9-4 to endorse a bill that would reduce aid to public schools by $128 million by June 30, or $279 per student. The measure also would trim spending on the state's higher education system by nearly $23 million.

The Republican-controlled Senate expects to debate both bills Thursday after GOP leaders drew up the measures to start the debate over balancing the budget. Kansas faces a projected shortfall of about $320 million its current budget that must be closed before July 1 and total gaps of nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.

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