Lawmakers worked well past midnight Friday to pass the faith-based adoption bill that has stirred so much controversy this session.
The adoption bill capped a big day at the Legislature that saw lawmakers pass a $17 billion budget and the Senate pass a tax bill that’s intended to return a revenue windfall because of a change in the federal tax code.
So let’s go around the horn and look at what you missed overnight.
Adoption
One of the most watched pieces of legislation made it through the process just before 2 this morning when the Senate passed a bill intended to ensure that faith-based adoption providers will be allowed to operate within their religious faith.
Critics assailed the bill as legislative-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT parents, saying the bill would allow adoption and foster care organizations contracting with the state to refuse placements with gay and lesbian couples based on religious grounds.
Let’s start with a summary of the bill and this morning’s 24-15 vote in the Senate and the razor-thin 63-58 vote late Thursday night in the House.
The House vote flipped from March 29 when the chamber elected to send the bill to a conference committee on a 64-58 vote.
Now onto the coverage. This piece from the Wichita Eagle and coverage from The Associated Press of adoption legislation in Oklahoma and Kansas. There’s also these dispatches from the Topeka Capital-Journal and Kansas News Service.
Within minutes of the bill passing in the Senate, Gov. Jeff Colyer issued this statement about the bill: “Catholic Charities and other adoption agencies are key to the fabric of our communities. I look forward to signing this bill because it increases the opportunities for needy children to find loving homes.
Budget
Amid hot debates over taxes and adoption, the Legislature passed a budget for fiscal year 2019 that begins July 1. The budget adds money for state employee raises, higher education and a statewide school safety plan.
Here’s coverage from The Associated Press, the Wichita Eagle, Lawrence Journal-World and Kansas New Service. Kansas News Service also provided some unique coverage of the battle between lawmakers and the Colyer Administration over the governor’s efforts to restrict eligibility for Medicaid. An interesting piece from Jim McLean.
Tax leftovers
With the major tax legislation out of the way, House-Senate tax negotiators worked deep into the night discussing a couple other economic development initiatives that the Legislature is expected to take up today.
Among the issues is sales tax revenue – or STAR – bonds that are used to help finance projects that draw tourism such as Kansas Speedway.
Lawmakers are now looking at legislation that would cap the amount of state sales tax that can go toward a project.
Under a proposal discussed early Friday morning, local governments could only put 85 percent of the state’s 6.5 percent sales tax toward a project. They can now access all of the state sales tax.
Lawmakers are also looking at a proposal that would provide income tax credits for investors creating jobs in rural areas of the state in a program known at the statehouse as the Ad Astra Rural Jobs Act.
They are also considering a plan to extend the carry forward period to 25 years for the High Performance Incentive Program, which offers a 10 percent income tax credit for eligible capital investments exceeding $50,000.
