May 9, 2025
The President and his administration are moving at an epic pace. This rapid implementation has reversed damaging actions by the previous administration and put our nation on a path to protect our borders, to cut wasteful spending (fraud and abuse), and to cut taxes.
President Trump and congress made considerable tax cuts in 2017 that will end this year. The cuts can be extended if legislation is passed, you may have heard the President talk about a “big, beautiful bill”. If the tax cuts are not extended it will be a major tax increase on over 80% of U.S. taxpayers. It will also be a major state income tax increase on Kansans. The federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is the baseline for filing your state income taxes so if it increases your state income taxes increase. It’s a heavy lift for Congress to pass legislation so the 2017 tax cuts do not sunset, especially since they are attempting to pass more cuts like exempting Social Security, tips, and overtime from federal income taxes. “It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the tax rates.”–John F. Kennedy
Kansas Supreme Court justices are currently selected by a nominating commission (made up mainly of lawyers) that submit three names to the Governor, and the Governor picks one of the three to be a justice. The reason this process was put into effect for selecting state supreme court justices is that the powers that be felt that Kansas voters were not smart enough to select their supreme court justices and that it had to be handled by professional lawyers. This process has failed Kansans. You may have heard, the U.S. supreme court has allegedly overturned more Kansas Supreme Court rulings than any other state per capita.
This could change because on the August 4, 2026, ballot Kansas voters will have an option to keep the current process or change it to electing state supreme court justices. Why would Kansas consider changing the selection process of justices? To increase transparency and public trust. It has been argued that judicial activism is a “threat to democratic principles and the rule of law… by allowing unelected judges to make decisions that should be left to the people or their elected representatives.” U.S. Justice Scalia warned that judges who interpret the Constitution as a “living document” have crossed a line to effectively become policymakers. He also compared this “approach to the situation in the 1930’s Germany, where judges began interpreting laws to reflect the ‘spirit of the age,’ leading to disastrous consequences.”
For example, in the case Kansas versus Garcia, illegal immigrants who committed identity theft, the Kansas Supreme Court majority ruled that it was a federal issue, and the state didn’t have authority to prosecute even though identity theft is against Kansas law and the illegals used stolen identities on state and federal forms. Thankfully, this ruling was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Scalia wrote in response to the Kansas Supreme Court ruling that, “This interpretation is flatly contrary to standard English usage.”
Currently, there is a retention vote for justices on a six-year schedule. You vote yes or no on each justice – to retain or not. Some say that is an election of sorts. However, common sense tells us two or more candidates running for the position educating voters is more transparent and provides an opportunity to get to know the candidates. With the current retention vote, it is very difficult to be an informed voter. A super majority of legislators supported putting this change on the August 4, 2026, ballot and voters will get to have their voices heard.
Interim Committees are approved by the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC), which is made up of eight legislators that are in House and Senate leadership. They approved several interim committees that will meet to take a deeper look at topics before the next session. A special interim committee on tax will meet and cover several topics. The House Tax Chairman and I requested a deeper dive on property valuations. The more I research that system and attempt to navigate it, the more convinced I am the system is broken. This is not just a Kansas issue; many states have the same problems. It will take innovative thinking to bring more accuracy and transparency to property taxes.
There will also be interim committees on KPERS, housing, crypto currency, campaign contributions/transparency (hopefully a look at stopping dark money) and several other topics.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your 12th District State Senator.
Caryn
