Government

Gun rights advocates in Kansas want lawmakers to counter any moves by the federal government to restrict access to firearms.

Advocates traveled to Topeka Tuesday to hear the House and Federal State Affairs Committee consider a bill that aims to protect gun rights in Kansas.  

There was a setback for the University of Kansas Medical Center in state budget discussions Monday.

A Senate committee voted to cut out $10 million that would help pay for a new health education building.

Republican Senator Tom Arpke from Salina originally proposed the cut. Arpke pointed to the tuition increases at KU compared to other universities in the state

“Looking at the overall performance at the Regents universities, it seems to me that the University of Kansas was being... a little fiscally irresponsible,” he said.

The Kansas Senate could vote on Gov. Sam Brownback's tax proposal this week, but it is unclear if the provision that cuts income tax rates can pass the House.

To balance the budget, the bill would eliminate some income tax deductions and keep the sales tax elevated. But Speaker Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, says House members are cool to keeping the sales tax.

“Of course we’re a long way from the finish, and the finish changes a lot of thinking, but right now I don’t see a lot of appetite out here to retain the sales tax,” he says.

On Friday, Republican leaders in the Kansas House there's little support in their chamber for Gov. Sam Brownback's proposal to raise additional sales tax revenue.

House Speaker Ray Merrick of Stilwell and Majority Leader Jene Vickrey of Louisberg said the measure proposed by Gov. Brownback does not seem viable.

Brownback wants to cancel a decrease in the sales tax scheduled for July. The 6.3% tax is set to drop to 5.7%. The governor would use that added revenue to stabilize the state budget, so that he could eliminate individual income taxes over the next four years.