News & Issues
Health groups support cigarette tax increase for Kansas
A coalition of health organizations is supporting Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s call for a big increase in the state’s cigarette tax. Brownback is proposing to raise the tax by $1.50 per pack, increasing it from 79 cents to $2.29. The governor wants to use the approximately $81 million in additional revenue to close a gaping hole in the fiscal 2016 budget.
Brownback budget includes Medicaid changes, tobacco tax increase
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration outlined a sweeping budget plan Friday that includes changes to Medicaid and increases in the state’s tobacco and alcohol taxes.
Budget Director Shawn Sullivan said closing a $650 million budget gap will require new tax revenue and slowed expenses in the state’s “three major cost drivers”: public schools, public employee pensions and Medicaid.
Brownback’s SOS address outlines vision for Kansas
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback delivered his state of the state address Thursday night in advance of the State of the Union address Tuesday night. News reviewers Mary Sanchez, Eric Wesson, Steve Vockrodt and Dave Helling dissect Brownback’s proposed changes for the state of Kansas. Also this week: Senator Claire McCaskill’s announcement she will not run for governor in Missouri in 2016; the fuss surrounding Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder and his successful amendment to a congressional bill; remembering minister and civil rights activist Nelson “Fuzzy” Thompson; and the absence of women in statewide office in Kansas.
Kansas Teachers Respond to State of the State
When school let out in Johnson County on Thursday, fifth grade teacher Barbara Casey hopped in the car with a fellow teacher and two parents to drive to Topeka, Kansas for Gov. Brownback’s State of the State address. “The main reason I came up there was not for myself,” Casey said. “It was really for…
Twins Peak At Saint Luke’s East Hospital
When Jennifer Vaughn delivered identical twin girls at Saint Luke’s East Hospital last week, she and her husband were not that surprised – and it wasn’t just because of the sonograms or because she had dreamt of having twins even before the ultrasounds.