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Governor Sam Brownback said that he would sign the Kansas constitutional carry bill on Thursday, 2 April, 2015, and he did exactly what he said he would do.  The bill restores Kansas to very close to the legal status that the entire country was in regarding the carrying of weapons, when the second amendment was ratified. Governor Brownback complimented gun owners.  He said that they have shown them selves to be responsible.  From ksnt.com: Supporters of the bill said gun owners have shown they can be trusted to carry concealed. Brownback said gun owners have shown they are responsible....

Today, April 2, 2015, Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas will sign SB 45, also known as the constitutional carry bill, into law.  The law will go into effect upon publication in the Kansas Register.  The bill restores second amendment rights in Kansas close to what they were when the Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Kansas House Committee on Federal and State affairs passed SB 45, the constitutional carry bill on the 18th of March, 2015. The bill was supported by the Kansas State Rifle Association, The National Rifle Association, and The National Association for...

Tax Policy: Liberals threw every punch they had at ,, Sam Brownback last fall, .. Guess who's still standing. From the New York Times to the Kansas City Star, Brownback's agenda was denounced as a failure and a warning to others .. when you try to ride the Laffer Curve and cut taxes. Here's what you won't read today: The tax cut is working. ...job growth in Kansas tied with Utah as the fastest in the nation in February. Brownback cut the highest income-tax rate from 6.4% to 4.8% with the goal of eventually eliminating the state income tax entirely....

Tax Policy: Liberals threw every punch they had at Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback last fall, hoping to unseat the Republican for the sin of cutting tax rates to stimulate job growth and economic revival. Guess who's still standing. From the New York Times to the Kansas City Star, Brownback's agenda was denounced as a failure and a warning to others of what happens when you try to ride the Laffer Curve and cut taxes. Here's what you won't read today: The tax cut is working. Labor Department data show job growth in Kansas tied with Utah as the fastest in...

Topeka — Gov. Sam Brownback suggested Wednesday that he might consider proposals to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, provided the Legislature can identify a way to pay for it. "I’ve been pushing that anything we do on Medicaid expansion has to be 100-percent paid for," Brownback said during impromptu remarks to the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents, who met at the Statehouse on Wednesday. Under the federal health law, also known as Obamacare, states are allowed to expand their Medicaid programs to cover all individuals in households with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level. That's...

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed an executive order Tuesday rescinding a protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender state workers put into place eight years ago by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius’ executive order in 2007 said state workers could not be discriminated against, fired or harassed because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Brownback, a Republican, issued an additional executive order affirming that state employees could not be discriminated against because of their race, religion, gender, age or country of national origin. “This Executive Order ensures that state employees enjoy the same civil rights as all Kansans without creating...

Taxes on a pack of cigarettes would nearly triple from 79 cents a pack to $2.29 per pack. And taxes on liquor would rise to 12 percent from 8 percent.

Kansas would nearly triple its cigarette tax, raise taxes on alcohol and slow down promised income tax cuts to balance its budget under proposals Republican Gov. Sam Brownback outlined Friday. Brownback presented detailed recommendations to the GOP-dominated Legislature for eliminating projected shortfalls totaling more than $710 million in the current budget and for the fiscal year beginning July 1. He also presented a spending blueprint for the fiscal year beginning in July 2016 designed to leave the state with some cash reserves. The state’s budget problems arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback's...

WICHITA, Kan. (AP)-- A federal grand jury is looking into loans made to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign and has ordered the state’s ethics chief to testify next week as part of its investigation, according to a subpoena obtained by The Associated Press.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will roll out “responsible” tax plans that protect against revenue gaps. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Arizona’s new Republican governor are delaying big dreams of nixing the income tax as they face budget shortfalls. And Missouri Republicans, once jealous of their neighbor Kansas’ massive cuts, are thankful they trimmed less. Call it the Brownback effect. Story Continued Below . . Republicans once idolized Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as a tax cutting superstar — now he’s a lesson in what not to do. “It’s a cautionary tale on a national scale … Many of us felt that...

State revenue forecasters said Monday that the state can expect hundreds of millions of budget dollars less than previously thought to fund schools, social programs and highway projects. The consensus revenue estimating group lowered the official projections it made in April by $205 million. If accurate, the revised forecast means that Gov. Sam Brownback and legislators will have to raise taxes or make deep cuts in spending during the remaining seven months of the budget year to avoid a $278 million deficit. Additional cuts will be necessary to prevent a $435 million deficit in the next budget year, the analysts...

1:30AM -- I think it was contemplating the fact that both Sam Brownback and Paul LePage both may have survived as governors that was the last straw for me tonight. Brownback has wrecked his state. Even Kansas Republicans believe that. LePage is a local embarrassment who became a national embarrassment in the final days before the election. Even Maine Republicans believe that. But Brownback will go back to wrecking his state, and LePage will go back to embarrassing his because of an attitude that Republicans, and the conservative movement that has powered the party, have cultivated carefully over the last...

The Kansas governor’s race was a nailbiter all night, with Republican incumbent Sam Brownback neck and neck with his Democrat challenger Paul Davis right up until Davis conceded around midnight EST. Looking at recent media coverage leading up to the election, though, you never would’ve known that #KSgov was a race to watch, especially since so many talking heads heralded it as a referendum on conservative policies. Left and right wing outlets began writing Brownback off for his aggressive tax policies weeks and even months ago, with many calling his predicted loss a mandate for moderation. With 100% of precincts...

Wow! Now THIS wasn't supposed to happen, looks like there are VERY VERY few bright spots for the Democrats tonight. Sooooooooooo bad that even Rachel Maddow has to admit its a WAVE election.

Brownback wins; Paul Davis concedes.

I'm not a fan of Governor Sam Brownback, but four more years of Brownback is preferable to four years of someone who is as out of touch with reality as Paul Davis is Davis talks about Brownback's cuts in education spending, but seems totally unaware of the fact those cuts have been restored. He pledges to restore the cuts that have already been restored. He and his supporters don't understand economics. They talk about Kansas job creation rate as if that was the most important measure of the state's economy. Kansas unemployment is only 4.8% which many economists consider within...

November 1, 2014 Kansas Republicans Take Strong Lead in Early Voting Ky Sisson 10/30/2014 8:00:00 PM - Ky Sisson It was a sad day last night in Kansas when the Kansas City Royals lost the World Series in Game 7. Today, the GOP in "The Sunflower State" have something to celebrate as early voting results show positive turnout from Republicans.  Of the 153,436 early votes cast so far this election 82,739 or 54% were cast by Republicans. In comparison only 47,468, or 31% were cast by Democrats. The remaining votes were cast by unaffiliated or libertarian voters. The blood red state of...

This week the AFL-CIO threw its considerable weight behind Democrat-turned-independent Greg Orman in his bid for U.S. Senate in Kansas. This came on the heels of a debate that was all about defining who Greg Orman really is: ... The AFL-CIO won't run TV ads for Orman, spokesman Jeff Hauser said, but his campaign will now be incorporated into the union's extensive ground game there. The AFL-CIO had previously endorsed Kansas's Democratic Party's gubernatorial nominee, Paul Davis, who is locked into one of the country's most competitive gubernatorial contests with incumbent Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. During Wednesday's debate, incumbent Sen....

Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis said Tuesday that the list of top Republicans in the state has increased from 100 to 500 members. Davis made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday, accompanied by the leaders of the group of Republicans who support Davis and oppose Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, according to the Lawrence Journal-World. The conference was to highlight the support Davis has begun to receive from 180 ex lawmakers and 360 educators, community leaders, and business leaders who are part of the group, Republicans for Kansas Values. As TPM previously noted, in July the more...

In the race for U.S. Senate in Kansas, independent candidate and businessman Greg Orman leads Republican incumbent Pat Roberts by 10 points among likely voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. Orman’s lead is bolstered by better than a two-to-one lead among independents likely to vote. Voters’ impressions of incumbent Republican Roberts is upside down with nearly half of likely voters viewing him negatively. In contrast, Orman is more positively viewed by likely voters and has lower negatives. Turning to the contest for governor in Kansas, the Republican incumbent, Sam Brownback, faces a tough challenge from...