KLA: Taxes, immigration highlight upcoming legislative schedule

With only three weeks remaining before first adjournment, state legislators are expected to pick up the pace this week. Debate and attention should focus on income tax reform, immigration, the state’s 2013 fiscal year budget and numerous other bills still alive and moving through the legislative process.

The House is expected to consider a bill (SB 177) today that would reduce the state individual income tax rates and assign any future state general fund growth above 2% from the previous year to additional income tax reductions. Members of the Senate Tax Committee are scheduled to take action on Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax reform proposal (SB 339), which would lower income tax rates, reduce the tax brackets from three to two and eliminate most state income tax deductions and credits. In addition, SB 339 would eliminate the Kansas individual income tax on non-wage business income for LLCs, subchapter S corporations and sole proprietorships. If SB 339 makes it out of the Senate Tax Committee, it likely will have several amendments designed to attract support from the full Senate.

KLA and the business coalition are anticipating the House Federal and State Affairs Committee will try to pass an immigration bill in the next few weeks. This committee has conducted hearings on bills that would force Kansas employers to use the federal E-verify system and require local law enforcement officials to check resident status when there is a reasonable suspicion that an individual is undocumented. KLA and the coalition are opposed to the E-verify and law enforcement proposals, but are backing HB 2712 and SB 399, which would allow the state to support work authorization for undocumented persons who have resided in Kansas for at least five years.

KLA is monitoring a number of other bills on behalf of the state’s livestock industry.

Corporate farm law – The Senate Agriculture Committee passed a bill last week that would change the Kansas corporate farming statute to allow the board of county commissioners to approve the establishment of corporate swine production facilities. HB 2502 would retain the protest petition allowing county residents to trigger a public vote to reject the county commissioners’ decision. The bill has passed the House and awaits action by the full Senate. KLA supports HB 2502.

For more information visit www.kla.org.

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