January 10, 2024 | Posted in News
HEAD BACK TO TOPEKA TOMORROW TO START THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. LIKE MISSOURI WILL LIKELY SEE A FOCUS ON TAXES, SPENDING, EDUCATION. UNLIKE MISSOURI, THERE’S A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR TO GO ALONG WITH REPUBLICAN SUPERMAJORITIES IN BOTH CHAMBERS, WHICH STAR REPRESENTATIVE DAN HAWKINS LEADS THE CHARGE IN THE HOUSE BACK AS SPEAKER, JOINS US AHEAD OF A BUSY WEEK. THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. DAY BEFORE THE SESSION STARTS, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE DYNAMIC, THE POWER DYNAMIC HERE IN TOPEKA. AS WE SAID, DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE OVER IN MISSOURI. HOW DO YOU FIND COMMON GROUND WITH DEMOCRATS AND GET THINGS DONE THIS SESSION? YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY I THINK IF YOU LOOKED AT KANSAS IN THE LEGISLATURE AND HOW WE WORK, WE’RE PRETTY CONSISTENT ABOUT WORKING ACROSS THE AISLE. THERE’S BIG ISSUES THAT DIVIDE US, BUT PROBABLY 90% OF THE ISSUES WE WORK TOGETHER VERY, VERY WELL. WE GET A LOT DONE. AND IT’S JUST THOSE FEW BIG ONES THAT THERE’S A LOT OF DIVISION ON, AND WE WORK THROUGH THOSE AND STILL GET THINGS DONE, YOU KNOW, AND DEMOCRATS DO WANT TAX CUTS AS REPUBLICANS DO. JUST DEPENDS ON THE WAY YOU GO ABOUT IT. BECAUSE I KNOW THE FLAT TAX THAT YOU WANTED LAST YEAR FAILED. YOU’RE BRINGING THAT BACK. THIS YEAR. WE WILL. AND WHAT WAS INTERESTING ABOUT THAT WAS WHEN OUR FLAT TAX CAME OUT IN THE HOUSE, CAME OUT AT 5.25. WE ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT 15 OR SO DEMOCRATS THAT VOTED FOR IT. SO WE HAD A REALLY A GOOD BIPARTISAN BILL. THEN THROUGH CONFERENCE IT CHANGED, DROPPED IT TO 5.15, CAME BACK, AND THEY ALL KIND OF PEELED OFF, WHICH THE GOVERNOR, I THINK PROBABLY HAD SOME HELP IN THAT. WE’RE GOING TO BRING BACK THE FLAT TAX. THAT’S PROBABLY OUR BIGGEST PRIORITY. I CALL IT A SINGLE RATE TAX. IT’S REALLY NOT A FLAT TAX, BUT A SINGLE RATE TAX. UM, IF IT’S AT 5.25, I’D ACTUALLY BE PRETTY HAPPY. 5.25%. YEAH. 5.25, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR. UM, THAT MIGHT BRING SOME OF THOSE FOLKS BACK ON FROM THE DEMOCRAT SIDE. SO WE’LL SEE HOW THAT GOES. GOVERNOR SAID THAT IT’S A NON-ISSUE RIGHT NOW, THAT SHE’S WORRIED THAT IT BENEFITS THE WEALTHIEST KANSANS. WELL, AND I DON’T I DON’T AGREE WITH HER LITERALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT HOW THAT IS BUILT, THE BOTTOM WE EXEMPT THE FIRST 10,000 WHICH THAT IS 100% TAX CUT FOR THEM. RIGHT NOW THEY’RE PAYING $310 A YEAR IN TAXES. THAT WILL BE ZERO FOR THEM. UM, THERE’S A FIVE, TWO AND THEN A57. IF WE BRING GET DOWN AROUND THAT FIVE, TWO, FIVE, THAT’S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A PROBABLY A PRETTY SWEET SPOT. SHE MAY HAVE A HARD TIME VETOING THAT ONE. OKAY. WELL LET’S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT SHE WE KNOW SHE’S GOING TO BRING BACK TO THE TABLE, WHICH IS MEDICAID EXPANSION. SHE’S BEEN TALKING TO YOU AND REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP ABOUT COMPROMISES HERE. WILL WE SEE MEDICAID EXPANSION IN KANSAS THIS YEAR? NO. WHY? NO. WELL, UH, FOR ONE, THERE’S A LOT OF GOOD REASONS. NOT TO DO IT. THE GOVERNOR HAS BEEN PUSHING IT. SHE’S BEEN ALL OVER THE STATE. UH, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, IT’S IT’S REALLY NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO. DO PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE HOW MUCH THAT’S GOING TO DISPLACE PEOPLE. IT’S LITERALLY GOING TO. SO SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THAT MEDICAID WAS MADE TO HELP A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION. AND ACTUALLY, THERE’S 13 POPULATIONS IN THE NORMAL. ONE WOULD BE THE, UH, PHYSICALLY DISABLED. THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED, UM, AND THEN ELDERLY, UM, WHICH WOMEN, PREGNANT, PREGNANT WOMEN AND WOMEN IN FOR A YEAR AFTER THEIR PREGNANCY? UM, THOSE ARE WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE. THIS IS A BRAND NEW POPULATION, A BRAND NEW POPULATION OF ABLE BODIED ADULTS 19 TO 64. THAT ARE ABLE TO WORK. AND IF THEY WORK, THEY CAN LITERALLY BE ON THE ACA FOR LITTLE OR NO MONEY. AND SO REALLY, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE SCARCE RESOURCES AND PUT IT REALLY ACTUALLY TAKE IT AWAY FROM FOLKS? UH, THE MEDICAID WAS MEANT FOR AND GIVE IT TO FOLKS WHO, IF THEY’LL JUST GO TO WORK, THEY’LL GET HEALTH CARE AND THEY HAVE OPTIONS. NOW, MANY PEOPLE ON MEDICAID DON’T HAVE THOSE OPTIONS. THAT’S RIGHT. DO YOU THINK THAT ANY SORT OF COMPROMISE COULD HAPPEN? YOU SEE I DON’T SEE IT. OKAY. YEAH. AND I DON’T REALLY LIKE HER. HER WORK REQUIREMENT. IT’S NOT A WORK REQUIREMENT. PUTTING THAT WORK REQUIREMENT IN THERE WAS HER WAY OF KIND OF PLAYING POLITICS. IT REALLY KIND OF PLAYING. IT WAS REALLY A LOT OF PLAYING POLITICS AND NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY VERY GENEROUS ON HER SIDE. WE’LL SEE A LOT OF POLITICS, I’M SURE, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR AND EVERYBODY’S RUNNING FOR REELECTION OR NEW OFFICE. SPEAKER DAN HAWKINS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, CODY. THANKS. KMBC NINE NEWS IS FOLLOWING STATE LAWMAKER