Latest news with #KevinHardy
Gulf Today
05-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
New tax cuts mostly favour the rich across states
Kevin Hardy, Tribune News Service Missouri Republicans may take their tax-cutting efforts to new heights this year as lawmakers consider exempting profits from the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate from state income taxes. Part of a broader push to eliminate the state income tax altogether, legislation making its way through the Capitol would provide an unprecedented benefit to the wealthy by excluding capital gains, the long-term earnings from the sale of assets. If approved, tax experts say, the legislation would mark the first time a state with an income tax has eliminated capital gains tax. The Republican sponsors say the move would make the state more attractive for businesses and families. 'This bill is intended to energise Missouri's economy,' Republican Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins said upon introducing the measure. But state Democrats — and even some of their GOP colleagues — have criticized the measure as being overly favorable to the wealthy. Most states' tax systems already put a higher tax burden on lower-income households. That trend only accelerated in this year's legislative sessions, worrying advocates who want to see the rich pay a larger share. 'It is so egregious in just how grossly concentrated the benefits of the (Missouri) proposal would go to the richest people in the state and shift the state's tax system to really privilege the owners of wealth over people who are earning a regular paycheck,' said David Cooper, an analyst at the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute. The institute advocates for progressive state taxes — those that put the proportionately largest tax burdens on the highest earners. While Cooper advises against eliminating state income taxes, he said the Missouri move would be more harmful than eliminating the income tax outright. 'If you're wiping away the income tax altogether, there's at least some tax benefit going to lower-earning folks who are still paying income taxes,' he said. 'If you're just eliminating capital gains income taxes, you are just giving away money to the wealthiest people in the state, period.' Some Democratic-led states, including Maryland and Washington, have moved to increase taxes on the wealthy this year. But several states — including Kansas, Kentucky and Mississippi — have made more regressive tax changes. Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, noted that states still prioritise progressive spending through social service programs aiding the most vulnerable residents. He said states compete against each other for business and residents in much more immediate ways than the federal government competes against other nations. 'So states are very focused on the competitive advantages associated with a pro-growth tax regime,' he said, 'and that has led to less of an emphasis in many states on achieving progressivity through the tax code.' 'Generational change' to taxes While several states have enacted high-profile tax cuts this year, the momentum is actually slowing, Walczak said. With booming economies and an influx of federal cash in recent years, conservative and liberal states alike passed significant tax cuts. Of the 43 states that have some sort of income tax, 28 have made rate reductions since 2021, Walczak said. 'In many states, lawmakers simply accomplished much of what they had set out to do,' he said. Economic uncertainty and the prospect of reduced federal aid also have made many lawmakers more cautious this legislative season, he said. But lawmakers in several states — including Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia — have continued their march to eliminate state income taxes. 'Taxing people's wages is bad because it undermines liberty,' Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers, a Republican, said this month in support of a proposed income tax cut, the Oklahoma Voice reported. 'It undermines people's freedoms. If government controls income, then it controls your life.' This session, Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill cutting the state income tax rate from 4% to 3.5%. Republican lawmakers have been slashing rates for years with the ultimate aim of eliminating the income tax altogether, despite concerns that more reliance on sales tax would disproportionately burden the poor. To partially offset the income tax reduction, the legislature expanded sales taxes to more services in 2018. And Republican lawmakers in Kansas overrode a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to move away from the state's graduated income tax toward a flat tax of 4% that will mostly benefit the highest earners. Last month, Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation granting another cut in the state income tax. Officials there aim to phase out the income tax altogether over the coming years with gradual rate reductions, which Reeves characterized as'a generational change' for the state. The Mississippi law also reduces the sales tax on groceries and increases the gas tax. Though the governor is already celebrating the end of state income tax, the law provides for incremental reductions in the coming years only if the state hits certain revenue targets. Republican state Rep. Trey Lamar, a legislative sponsor, said income taxes disincentivize work — a particular problem for the state with the nation's lowest workforce participation rate. 'A tax on work is a tax on productivity,' he said. The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says the law will make the state's tax system more inequitable. Its analysis found that when fully implemented, the top 1% of households, who have average annual incomes of $1.4 million, will receive an average cut of $41,420, or roughly 3% of their annual income. But the bottom 20% of earners, who have average annual incomes of $13,400, would realize a tax cut of just $42 per year. Lamar noted the legislation did not increase sales taxes across the board. With average sales tax burdens already lower than neighboring states like Alabama, he said the income tax elimination will only help Mississippi workers. 'We need more people working,' he said. 'So if helping the working man is somehow seen as regressive, then I'd have to say I don't fully understand that.' Walczak, of the Tax Foundation, said the state can afford the initial rate reduction. But it's unclear whether state revenues will hit the targets needed — and whether lawmakers will reassess the aim of eliminating income taxes. As one of the nation's poorest states, Mississippi is heavily reliant on federal funding and would be particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn. 'There's not a guarantee that the state could afford that in the future, and Mississippi does not have a large budget to begin with, so that would be harder than in most other states if the economy slid,' he said. 'It does require a willingness on lawmakers' parts to be honest with themselves if the economy changes and decide whether a pause might be necessary.' Economic uncertainty and slowing revenues have put many states into budget holes this year, forcing lawmakers to consider spending cuts or tax increases. To close budget gaps, some conservative and liberal states have considered new or higher taxes on marijuana, tobacco and soda. But some liberal-led states are looking to taxes more focused on the wealthy. In Rhode Island, Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee has proposed a 10% tax on digital advertising revenue. In Washington state, lawmakers approved raising capital gains taxes and business taxes to close a looming deficit, though it's unclear whether Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has voiced skepticism, will sign off on those measures. Maryland lawmakers, facing a $3 billion deficit, recently approved$1.6 billion in new taxes and fees. That includes two new high-income tax brackets and a new 3% sales tax on information technology and data services. Moves like those that ask more of the wealthy could make some state tax systems more progressive, said Aidan Davis, the state policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But most state tax proposals approved this year have primarily benefited the highest earners. Missouri Republicans may take their tax-cutting efforts to new heights this year as lawmakers consider exempting profits from the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate from state income taxes. Part of a broader push to eliminate the state income tax altogether, legislation making its way through the Capitol would provide an unprecedented benefit to the wealthy by excluding capital gains, the long-term earnings from the sale of assets. If approved, tax experts say, the legislation would mark the first time a state with an income tax has eliminated capital gains tax. The Republican sponsors say the move would make the state more attractive for businesses and families. 'This bill is intended to energise Missouri's economy,' Republican Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins said upon introducing the measure. But state Democrats — and even some of their GOP colleagues — have criticized the measure as being overly favorable to the wealthy. Most states' tax systems already put a higher tax burden on lower-income households. That trend only accelerated in this year's legislative sessions, worrying advocates who want to see the rich pay a larger share. 'It is so egregious in just how grossly concentrated the benefits of the (Missouri) proposal would go to the richest people in the state and shift the state's tax system to really privilege the owners of wealth over people who are earning a regular paycheck,' said David Cooper, an analyst at the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute. The institute advocates for progressive state taxes — those that put the proportionately largest tax burdens on the highest earners. While Cooper advises against eliminating state income taxes, he said the Missouri move would be more harmful than eliminating the income tax outright. 'If you're wiping away the income tax altogether, there's at least some tax benefit going to lower-earning folks who are still paying income taxes,' he said. 'If you're just eliminating capital gains income taxes, you are just giving away money to the wealthiest people in the state, period.' Some Democratic-led states, including Maryland and Washington, have moved to increase taxes on the wealthy this year. But several states — including Kansas, Kentucky and Mississippi — have made more regressive tax changes. Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, noted that states still prioritise progressive spending through social service programs aiding the most vulnerable residents. He said states compete against each other for business and residents in much more immediate ways than the federal government competes against other nations. 'So states are very focused on the competitive advantages associated with a pro-growth tax regime,' he said, 'and that has led to less of an emphasis in many states on achieving progressivity through the tax code.' 'Generational change' to taxes While several states have enacted high-profile tax cuts this year, the momentum is actually slowing, Walczak said. With booming economies and an influx of federal cash in recent years, conservative and liberal states alike passed significant tax cuts. Of the 43 states that have some sort of income tax, 28 have made rate reductions since 2021, Walczak said. 'In many states, lawmakers simply accomplished much of what they had set out to do,' he said. Economic uncertainty and the prospect of reduced federal aid also have made many lawmakers more cautious this legislative season, he said. But lawmakers in several states — including Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia — have continued their march to eliminate state income taxes. 'Taxing people's wages is bad because it undermines liberty,' Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers, a Republican, said this month in support of a proposed income tax cut, the Oklahoma Voice reported. 'It undermines people's freedoms. If government controls income, then it controls your life.' This session, Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill cutting the state income tax rate from 4% to 3.5%. Republican lawmakers have been slashing rates for years with the ultimate aim of eliminating the income tax altogether, despite concerns that more reliance on sales tax would disproportionately burden the poor. To partially offset the income tax reduction, the legislature expanded sales taxes to more services in 2018. And Republican lawmakers in Kansas overrode a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to move away from the state's graduated income tax toward a flat tax of 4% that will mostly benefit the highest earners. Last month, Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation granting another cut in the state income tax. Officials there aim to phase out the income tax altogether over the coming years with gradual rate reductions, which Reeves characterized as'a generational change' for the state. The Mississippi law also reduces the sales tax on groceries and increases the gas tax. Though the governor is already celebrating the end of state income tax, the law provides for incremental reductions in the coming years only if the state hits certain revenue targets. Republican state Rep. Trey Lamar, a legislative sponsor, said income taxes disincentivize work — a particular problem for the state with the nation's lowest workforce participation rate. 'A tax on work is a tax on productivity,' he said. The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says the law will make the state's tax system more inequitable. Its analysis found that when fully implemented, the top 1% of households, who have average annual incomes of $1.4 million, will receive an average cut of $41,420, or roughly 3% of their annual income. But the bottom 20% of earners, who have average annual incomes of $13,400, would realize a tax cut of just $42 per year. Lamar noted the legislation did not increase sales taxes across the board. With average sales tax burdens already lower than neighboring states like Alabama, he said the income tax elimination will only help Mississippi workers. 'We need more people working,' he said. 'So if helping the working man is somehow seen as regressive, then I'd have to say I don't fully understand that.' Walczak, of the Tax Foundation, said the state can afford the initial rate reduction. But it's unclear whether state revenues will hit the targets needed — and whether lawmakers will reassess the aim of eliminating income taxes. As one of the nation's poorest states, Mississippi is heavily reliant on federal funding and would be particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn. 'There's not a guarantee that the state could afford that in the future, and Mississippi does not have a large budget to begin with, so that would be harder than in most other states if the economy slid,' he said. 'It does require a willingness on lawmakers' parts to be honest with themselves if the economy changes and decide whether a pause might be necessary.' Economic uncertainty and slowing revenues have put many states into budget holes this year, forcing lawmakers to consider spending cuts or tax increases. To close budget gaps, some conservative and liberal states have considered new or higher taxes on marijuana, tobacco and soda. But some liberal-led states are looking to taxes more focused on the wealthy. In Rhode Island, Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee has proposed a 10% tax on digital advertising revenue. In Washington state, lawmakers approved raising capital gains taxes and business taxes to close a looming deficit, though it's unclear whether Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has voiced skepticism, will sign off on those measures. Maryland lawmakers, facing a $3 billion deficit, recently approved$1.6 billion in new taxes and fees. That includes two new high-income tax brackets and a new 3% sales tax on information technology and data services. Moves like those that ask more of the wealthy could make some state tax systems more progressive, said Aidan Davis, the state policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But most state tax proposals approved this year have primarily benefited the highest earners. x
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas water task force to gauge current and future supply, modernize policy
A dog keeps watch over an irrigated field in southwest Kansas, where farmers are facing increased pressure from state lawmakers to preserve groundwater in the quickly depleting Ogallala Aquifer. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline) TOPEKA — A water task force meant to ensure the 'precious resource is available for generations to come' received its first members this week. The 16-member panel of Republican and Democratic legislators, state officials and a handful of appointees from both parties will craft policy changes in an effort to evaluate Kansas' current and future water supply, funding efforts for water projects and potential impacts on the state's economy. Republicans announced their appointments Wednesday, which included an official from utility company Evergy, an environmental consultant and the manager of a public groundwater management district in northwest Kansas. Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican said these members are experts in the field with intricate understandings of water issues. 'Water is the essence of life, the foundation upon which Kansas thrives — sustaining our fields, fueling our communities, and nourishing our future — and truly runs through every decision we make, from agriculture to economic development,' Masterson said. The task force was born out of House Bill 2172, which passed the Senate in March with unanimous bipartisan support and the House with eight Republicans voting against it. The bill had no opponents in committee hearings. The task force's water policy recommendations will begin with a preliminary report due by the end of January and end with a final report that must be submitted to the governor and the Legislature by the end of January 2027. Within the next two months, the task force members must appoint people to a subgroup that would be responsible for modernizing the State Water Resources Planning Act. The subgroup's members must be attorneys, engineers, hydrologists, natural resource planners or others with experience with Kansas water issues, according to the legislation. First passed in 1963 and revamped in the 1980s, the State Water Resources Planning Act and the State Water Plan guide Kansas water management, conservation and development efforts. With drought becoming increasingly apparent in western and central Kansas, including the depletion of the High Plains Aquifer, the task force will address the state's current and future water needs. A focus on agriculture and industry is especially important, said House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican. 'To say water is vital to Kansas agriculture, business, and communities would be an understatement, and the input from this Task Force will be key to ensuring this precious resource is available for generations to come,' he said in a Thursday news release. Gov. Laura Kelly, in her own news release distributed upon signing the task force bill into law in April, said the task force enables lawmakers to evaluate risks to Kansas' water quality and quantity through a funded, bipartisan group. 'Developing a comprehensive, long-term, and sustainable water program is long overdue and a significant step forward in ensuring Kansas' water supply is preserved for generations to come,' she said. Republican leadership's appointees included three Republican legislators; Jared Morrison, director of Evergy's water and waste programs; Kansas Chamber board chair Karma Mason; and Shannon Kenyon, the manager of Groundwater Management District No. 4 in northwest Kansas. Democratic leadership on Tuesday appointed Josh Svaty, a former state legislator and former state agriculture secretary, and Heidi Mehl, the Kansas director of water and agriculture for the Nature Conservancy, an international environmental organization. The task force also will include three nonvoting members from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Water Office and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Journalist Kevin Hardy on how Trump cuts are proving damaging to small farms, food banks and schools
Journalist Kevin Hardy (Courtesy photo) Recent federal government budget and staffing cuts imposed by the Trump administration and Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency are having devastating impacts in dozens of areas, but one that's received less attention than it probably deserves is agriculture. As journalist Kevin Hardy of the national news outlet Stateline reported recently, the administration has yanked funding for programs that allowed schools and food banks to buy fresh products from small farms. Originally funded under the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's local food programs aided some of the nation's most disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including newcomers and small farmers and those who have faced racial discrimination, while channeling fresh food and produce to schools and food banks. Now the programs are gone and as Hardy told NC Newsline when we caught up with him earlier this week, the damage being inflicted is widespread and deep. Click here to listen to the full interview with Stateline journalist Kevin Hardy.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill ending subminimum wages for disabled workers falters in Senate — and other labor news
Nicholas Costanzo, 31, rings up a customer at the Golden Scoop, an ice cream and coffee shop in Overland Park, Kan. Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline. Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Bill to end subminimum wages falters; Republican bill would let workers send union dues to anyone; Hennepin Healthcare resident physicians move to unionize; U.S. Senate confirms Trump's labor secretary; and fired NLRB member returns to work. A bill backed by Gov. Tim Walz to phase out subminimum wages for disabled workers by 2028 barely made it out of the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday, signaling it's unlikely to make it to the governor's desk this year. Under a federal program known as 14(c) created in the New Deal of the 1930s for disabled soldiers, certain employers can pay less than minimum wages to disabled workers based on their productivity, usually for repetitive tasks like shredding documents or stuffing greeting cards in plastic sleeves in sheltered work environments. Most of these employers are organizations that also provide disability services and supervision. Opponents of the program, including disability rights groups, argue the practice is demeaning and exploitative while often trapping disabled people in menial jobs. 'Subminimum wage is an antiquated system that has continued to survive due to so many ideas that simply aren't true, the worst of which is that people aren't capable of more,' Jillian Nelson, policy director at the Autism Society of Minnesota, told the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday. But supporters of the program, including many parents of severely disabled workers, say their children truly aren't capable of landing a job in the mainstream workforce. If they were, they would already be working for higher wages. They argue eliminating the subminimum wage will shutter work programs for disabled people, depriving their children of a meaningful experience and the opportunity to earn any wages. James Clapper told the Senate Labor Committee his son, Bob, has made incredible strides in his skills and productivity in the 17 years he's worked under the 14(c) provision, and his hourly wage has increased accordingly from about $2.35 to a little over $9. 'He does require close supervision and has very limited language skills so probably has reached his potential,' Clapper said. 'If 14(c) is eliminated in Minnesota, he will not likely make it to competitive integrated employment and may end up in just life enrichment and volunteer work only, which is unacceptable.' At least 16 states have already eliminated the subminimum wage, while the Biden administration proposed phasing out issuing 14(c) licenses. Minnesota has been moving toward eliminating the program as well, with a state Task Force to Eliminate Subminimum Wages recommending the Legislature end the practice by Aug. 1, 2025. The number of people paid a subminimum wage has been on the decline in recent years — now just over 3,000 workers in Minnesota — in large part because of a concerted effort to move disabled people into mainstream jobs. Some employment service providers like Richfield-based Lifeworks have voluntarily exited the 14(c) program and instead focus on supporting disabled workers in finding and maintaining jobs in the mainstream workforce. Keeri Tramm, director of disability initiatives at LifeWorks, told lawmakers that after the organization made the transition in 2017, some workers moved to competitive employment while others chose to retire or pursue non-work activities. Just one person opted to continue with subminimum wages through a different provider, Tramm said. Last year, the organization helped more than 500 people find or maintain work, with new hires earning on average more than $15 an hour. Yet Republicans and some Democrats remained skeptical that the 14(c) program should be eliminated altogether if it means ending work opportunities for the most severely disabled. 'I want to make sure that these folks have an option to get in the door to employment,' said Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, before voting with Republicans on an amendment that would have effectively killed the proposal. The bill (SF2149), authored by Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, was sent to the health and human services committee without a recommendation for its passage. Five Minnesota House Republicans introduced a bill to let union members send their dues to any 'national, state or local organization of their choice.' It's a unique variation on so-called right to work laws, enacted in 26 other states, that make paying union fees optional. In Minnesota, private sector workers covered by union labor agreements must at least pay 'fair share fees' to support the cost of the union's collective bargaining. The bill (HF2240) is certain to fail in an evenly divided House and Democratic-controlled Senate but nevertheless sends a message about Republicans' priorities should they win control of state government. Republicans have enjoyed a growing base of support among working-class voters even while sticking to a traditionally conservative policy agenda on unions, the minimum wage and worker safety laws. Labor leaders say the bill is an attempt to hurt unions by siphoning away funds they use to negotiate contracts, challenge unfair labor practices, organize new workers and lobby for worker-friendly legislation. 'What it comes down to is they want less power for unions,' said Brad Lehto, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO. Proponents of right to work say requiring workers to pay any fees as a condition of employment at a unionized job infringes on workers' freedoms and forces them to bankroll political activities they may not agree with. The bill's lead author, Rep. Ben Bakeberg, a Republican school administrator from Jordan, was not available for comment. The bill includes public sector workers, although it would have no meaningful effect on them. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public employees could not be required to pay union fees because it infringed on their right to free speech. Since then, public sector unions have seen a significant drop in membership, though not as much as expected and they continue to be an influential force. About one-third of public-sector workers are union members nationally, about five times as high as the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public sector unions have also seen a surge in new members since the Trump administration launched an unprecedented assault on the size of the federal workforce, with the American Federation of Government Employees growing to a record size. A majority of the more than 200 resident physicians at Hennepin Healthcare announced their intent to unionize on Wednesday, joining a wave of organizing campaigns by doctors and advanced health care providers across the country. Hennepin Healthcare resident physicians say they earn low wages while being pushed to the breaking point during long days treating some of the state's sickest and poorest residents at the major Level I trauma center in downtown Minneapolis. Resident physicians work under the supervision of attending physicians for several years after medical school, often putting in grueling 80-hour weeks. With a starting salary of around $67,000, residents complain they earn around the Minneapolis minimum wage of $15.97 an hour. Attending physicians are not unionized at Hennepin Healthcare, and it's still rare for doctors — traditionally the most privileged and valued of hospital staff — to pursue collective bargaining to improve their wages and conditions. But the consolidation of health care is making doctors increasingly feel more like workers on assembly lines than masters of their own practices. The petition will be reviewed by the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, which oversees public sector unions. If the agency verifies that a majority of the bargaining unit has signed in support of unionizing, then the union will be certified without holding another election. President Trump's Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer won Senate confirmation on Monday by picking up 17 Democratic votes including from Sen. Amy Klobuchar which more than offset the three Republicans who rejected her nomination. Chavez-DeRemer, a one-term Oregon congresswoman, hopes to bridge the divide between Republicans' growing working-class base and the party's traditional pro-business agenda. The daughter of a Teamster, Chavez-DeRemer had the backing of Teamster President Sean O'Brien, who has curried favor with Trump by speaking at the Republican National Convention and declining to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election. Chavez-DeRemeber was a rare Republican co-author of the labor-backed Protecting the Right to Organize Act — PRO Act — which would weaken red states' 'right-to-work' laws. Those laws bar unions from charging fees to non-members who are covered by their collective bargaining agreements. The bill would also add penalties for employers that violate labor law and make it easier for workers to unionize. But during her Senate confirmation hearing, Chavez DeRemer walked back her support for the bill while not fully disavowing it, which did not seem to satisfy ardent supporters or opponents of the bill. Chavez-DeRemer takes the helm of the agency that investigates labor abuses and worker injuries — with the directive to carry-out massive layoffs as the president and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency purge the government of tens of thousands of workers. National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox returned to work on Monday to cheers from supporters after a federal judge ruled that she was illegally fired by Trump, writing that 'an American president is not a king.' The firing paralyzed the board, which oversees union elections and unfair labor practice complaints, because its remaining two members were not enough for a quorum to issue decisions. 'If we can't function … there are people who are waiting every day for our decision,' she told supporters, according to HuffPost. 'So for every day that a decision is not issued, we are really not doing our jobs.' NLRB members are supposed to be shielded from presidential removal, except for neglect or malfeasance. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling in a case that could greatly expand presidential power if it goes before the conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas House bill would add $20M for State Water Plan projects
A dog keeps watch over an irrigated field in southwest Kansas, where farmers are facing increased pressure from state lawmakers to preserve groundwater in the quickly depleting Ogallala Aquifer. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline) TOPEKA — A House bill would allocate an additional $20 million annually to the Kansas Water Plan fund to support projects for cities across the state. House Bill 2113 builds upon new funding from the 2023 session with House Bill 2302. It would increase the current annual allocation of $35 million to $55 million for the Kansas Water Plan, and from that amount an additional $2 million to the Technical Assistance Grant Fund and $6 million to the Water Projects Grants Fund. The money would come from the State General Fund. The House passed the bill 106-15 on Feb. 20. The Senate Agriculture and National Resources Committee heard the bill Monday. 'House Bill 2302 made a huge difference. This bill basically builds off of house bill 2302,' said Wendi Stark, a legislative liaison with the League of Kansas Municipalities, during Monday's hearing. 'It's helping to address our immediate needs.' In millions of dollars In the past two years, Kansas communities have requested more than $600 million for water needs with almost 600 applications. Stark said that of the 219 municipalities who applied in 2024 or 2025, 45.7% were from towns with a population of fewer than 500 people. Current funding allowed for just 11% of requested funding to be approved. The Ogallala Aquifer, the water source much of western Kansas relies on, is drying fast. The Kansas Geological Survey found that parts of western Kansas have 25 years of water left. Sen. Ron Ryckman Sr., a Republican from Meade, said his southwest Kansas district is 'always hurtin' for water.' Rep. Jim Minnix, a Republican from Scott City, introduced the bill and testified at the Senate hearing. He said he gets questions about where the money is going, since the state can't 'make' any water. 'It's a finite resource. What we're trying to do is save it for future generations,' Minnix said. When Gov. Laura Kelly took office in 2019, the state had not funded the water plan for a decade. Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed concerns over the state's water supply issues — Kelly's proposed budget includes another $30 million per year for the water plan, while the Republican-crafted House budget would give $11.7 million to water projects. Dozens of individuals testified in support of the legislation in both the Senate and House, with no opposition or neutral testimony. At the House Water Committee hearing on Feb. 11, the public works director for the city of Edgerton, Dan Merkh, said the city had applied and been rejected for both the technical assistance and water project grants. 'Cities across Kansas face many unfunded state and federal mandates,' Merkh wrote in testimony for the House hearing. 'The Technical Assistance (Grants) Fund and Water Project (Grants Fund) help cities like Edgerton address a variety of needs, from emergency connections to water-quality related problems to mitigating the risk of a sanitary sewer overflow.' Hardy Howard, the city administrator for WaKeeney, said 'it seems deeply obvious' that the water infrastructure around the state needs to be replaced. He said the city needs to replace an aging pipeline, which is the city's only way to get water distributed from the wells. Howard said there have been multiple breaks. 'HB 2113 supports a small increase in funding to assist communities with these critical needs,' Howard said.
