Government

A Senate Committee has delayed work on Gov. Sam Brownback's tax proposal. A printing mix-up meant the scheduled debate was left off the official Senate calendar for Tuesday, and the committee's chairman says he didn't want to work on the tax plan without letting the public know about it.

The committee was scheduled to debate the bill and offer amendments, also called "working" the bill.

Senate Tax Committee chairman Les Donovan says they’ll benefit from the extra time to prepare.

A Kansas Senate committee has delayed debate on Governor Sam Brownback's tax proposal. A mistake at the Statehouse printing office meant the scheduled debate was left off the official Senate calendar for Tuesday.

Senator Les Donovan, a Republican from Wichita, said he didn't want to work on the tax plan without letting the public know about it. Donovan added, though, that senators could use some more time to prepare for the debate.

Lawmakers are considering a change to the Kansas Constitution in response to lawsuits over school funding.

About eight years ago, a lawsuit ended with an agreement to increase spending on students. But lawmakers cut back when the economy slowed, which rekindled the legal battle. 

Now, some Legislators are proposing a constitutional amendment that would give them the power to determine what is a suitable level of funding.

Some lawmakers are questioning the number of constitutional amendments proposed this year. At least a half dozen amendments have been filed.

They range from proposals to change the way judges are selected to putting term limits on lawmakers. The costs for publishing and public votes on the amendments could run into millions of dollars. 

The top Democrat in the Kansas House, Paul Davis from Lawrence, says lawmakers should only consider amending the Constitution in rare circumstances when there's a great public need.