Kansas legislators have failed to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of a bill that would have increased income taxes to help balance the state budget.
Senate votes 24-16 to override veto. Vote fails. Veto sustained. #ksleg
— The Kansas Chamber (@KansasChamber) February 22, 2017
The state Senate voted 24-16 Wednesday to overturn the veto. But supporters were three votes short of the two-thirds majority of 27 votes needed in the 40-member chamber.
The Senate's action came after the House voted 85-40 to override the veto. Supporters there had one vote more than necessary.
The bill would have raised more than $1 billion over two years by rolling back personal income tax cuts Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013. Lawmakers will have to draft a new budget-balancing plan.
“If we are not able to override the veto then yes we will be back at ground zero and from my own personal perspective I will be more dug in in my position, we will see, problem being that we may be here till June, July who knows how long,” Senator Barbara Bollier told 41 Action News before the veto failed.
The state faces projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.
“A lot of times when people don’t vote on this the next thing that comes is a lot worse and so I think that’s a lot of the reason they had the override. In previous years they said no to the first option, not to the second option by the time they got to the third option it was their last option and it was a really bad option they got trapped on that,” said Representative Tom Cox.
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