Kansas lawmakers slashed taxes for tycoons and bigwigs. Now the budget won’t balance. Whoops!

Over the past five years, Kansas legislators have handed out billions of dollars in tax cuts. Now they face an impending budget crunch. (Photo by Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

The Kansas Legislature is in the midst of making a historic mistake, one whose potential danger is only surpassed by its stupidity.

Elected lawmakers have handed out repeated, enormous tax cuts to giant corporations and the richest among us. Now the state faces an impending — and entirely predictable — budget catastrophe. In the final days of the 2026 session, cries of angst echoed along the marble hallways.

“We’re deficit spending in this budget, in the red by $700 million last I looked,” said Sen. Joe Claeys, R-Wichita, in the midst of a diatribe against public media.

“Look at the numbers and realize the spending in the state of Kansas over the last six years, and even before that, is ridiculous,” said Sen. Virgil Peck, R-Havana, a prominent fiscal hawk. “We cannot continue spending like this.”

Excuse me while I roll my eyes and stifle a snort. What could have possibly caused this situation?

Many subjects in government can be difficult to explain or understand. As someone who has written and edited pieces about state legislatures for the past quarter century, I’ve wrangled my share of perplexing policy. But comprehending why Kansas experienced budgetary catastrophe under former Gov. Sam Brownback shouldn’t stump anyone.

The 2012 tax “experiment” cut too much, too fast. Lawmakers didn’t adjust spending levels to match the decreased revenue. The entire state suffered, and a new crop of legislators were elected in 2016 with the express goal of reversing the damage.

Lawmakers repealed much of the experiment in 2017, and Gov. Laura Kelly’s election in 2018 enhanced fiscal stability. An experienced technocrat, Kelly painstakingly rebuilt state government.

But within a few years, legislators wanted to cut taxes again. The COVID-19 pandemic swelled state coffers across the nation, as the U.S. Congress rushed out federal funds. Sure, Kansas could have used those funds responsibly and budgeted for a rainy day. But where’s the fun in that?

In 2021, lawmakers overrode Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 50, which cost $300 million over three years and slashed taxes for multinational corporations.

In 2022, the Legislature passed and Kelly signed House Bill 2239, which bundled provisions from 29 different tax proposals. It cost $91 million for the first year alone, and even more for subsequent years.

In 2024, lawmakers and the governor compromised on a tax-cut package squashing the state’s three tax brackets into a mere two. Senate Bill 1 was projected to cost $5 billion over five years.

Finally, the 2025 session saw the emergence of a flat tax bill that passed over Kelly’s objections and promised to eventually level a flat 4% individual and corporate income tax. According to Kelly, Senate Bill 269 would cost up to $1.3 billion annually.

After multiple rounds of slashing revenue, no wonder Kansas officials now wonder about their next steps.

By next summer, the state will have blown through $1.1 billion in reserves over three years. We have about $2 billion in a rainy day fund at present.

Analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that Kansas was among the top five state cutting millionaires’ taxes last year. Once the law was fully implemented, the average tax savings for the Kochs among us would be $51,260 per person. Kansas joined such illustrious peers as Ohio (only a $19,010 cut) and Mississippi (a whopping $140,580). The two other state included were Missouri and Oklahoma.

This situation is a choice. It is not an accident. It is not a trick. It is not an unforeseen sequence of legislative tomfoolery leading to a shocking result. Lawmakers knew the risks and the history.

Republicans suggest things will be different this time around. Leaders called for spending restraint this session, but they steered clear of declaring an emergency. They have elections to run this fall.

This year’s budget “helps chart a better future for Kansas,” said Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republican.

“We can go home and tell our constituents that we are providing stability for Kansas,” said Sen. Chase Blasi, R-Wichita.

The infamous tax “experiment” received national publicity. Brownback was more than happy to take credit for those 2012 and 2013 bills. That meant that when things went wrong, voters knew who to blame.

What’s happening now is gradual, an accumulation of sins against the people of Kansas, committed by lawmakers greedy for public approval. So far, they have escaped judgment for their actions. We’ll see how long that lasts, especially when the time comes for draconian cuts to public schools.

Waymaster has already said his party plans to target K-12 education. You cannot hope to close budget holes without reducing spending on teachers, students and programs to educate the next generation.

Simultaneously, shadowy conservative interests advocate a constitutional amendment that would shred the Kansas Supreme Court. Right now, justices are appointed and then face public retention votes. Hardcore right-wingers want direct election of justices so they can buy the court. Then, they believe, the new justices will allow bans on abortion and school funding cuts.

“The solution in Kansas is that Supreme Court election,” Senate president (and gubernatorial candidate) Ty Masterson told activists in Marion. “But you can’t go out there and say it because they’ll say that if you elect your Supreme Court, you won’t have any right to abortion anymore.”

He added: “If we elect our Supreme Court, they won’t force you to spend money on schools.”

Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud, Ty!

The Kansas Supreme Court was one of the few obstacles standing in the way of lawmakers who wanted to proverbially drown government in the bathtub. Change its composition, and lawmakers can dodge the consequences of their disastrous tax cuts.

The rest of us, on the other hand, will pay an all-too-real price: the future of Kansas.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.