Today we’re publishing the candidates’ responses to item #2:

Inflation is currently at its highest level in four decades, sending prices for everything from food to gas to medicine sharply higher over the past several months. Can the state legislature do anything to address inflation here in Kansas? What policies should it enact?

Kansas House District 16

Linda Featherston (incumbent Democrat)

Although most issues associated with inflation are at the federal/global level, we did have the opportunity to help Kansans during the 2022 session through HB 2487. This bill would have completely eliminated the state sales tax on food on July 1, 2022. Instead of putting the people first, extremist leadership decided to play political games and both delay the start and then phase it in over three years. The consumer price index was at 8.5% in July 2022, and I certainly think a 6.5% reduction in the food sales tax would have made a good dent in that. Not only would this have helped Kansas families, it also would have helped restaurants throughout Kansas and grocery stores near the Missouri border. To be abundantly clear, this elimination would have been paid for by the budget surplus, with no raise of other taxes or cuts to services.

Another thing the legislature could have done was pass Medicaid expansion. In addition to bringing our tax dollars back to Kansas, Medicaid expansion would lower the cost of healthcare. Without expansion, working Kansans who do not have access to affordable care often delay seeking treatment until the situation is dire. This not only decreases the chance of a positive outcome, it drives up the cost considerably. This cost is then born by other healthcare consumers and tax payers. The argument that we can’t expand due to concerns that the federal government will one day pull its funding is ill informed and illogical. Every bill we have seen regarding Medicaid expansion in Kansas has come with the caveat that if the federal government pulls its funding, Kansas will exit the program. Furthermore, the federal government pulling its funding would require a good portion of the 38 states that have expanded to reject the federal money they are already receiving.

I don’t like playing political games in the first place, and I certainly don’t like playing them with constituents’ money. It is time to set political games aside for the benefit of Kansans.

Ed Roitz (Republican)

Kansas House District 20

Carrie Rahfaldt (Republican)

I have three growing boys and it’s hard keeping up with them even under normal circumstances, but with rising inflation, it’s getting harder and harder. I understand first hand, as a mom and a business owner, how this economy is impacting the prices of just about everything. That’s why I’m committed to standing up to the Topeka insiders to deliver real solutions for our community such as taking swift action to bring our cost of living down; rooting out fraud, inefficiency, and overspending that makes inflation worse; and increasing healthcare choices to improve access and lower prices.

Mari-Lynn Poskin (incumbent Democrat)

Inflation is a complex, global issue ignited by a supply chain that experienced pandemic-induced disruptions and changing consumer habits. While still painful for Kansas families, it is worth noting that Forbes found that the US is faring in the middle range of global economies, ranking 20th out of 44. This quote is also noteworthy:

“Hooper (Chief Global Market Strategist at Invesco) also reminds us that some things are beyond the Federal Reserve’s control. “The Fed can only control demand,” she notes. “It cannot control Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; it cannot control supply chains in China.””

This leads to the discussion of what the Kansas legislature can/cannot do to address inflation at the state level. I believe we can and are shoring up the midwest supply chain in fabulous fashion due to the Framework For Growth, and we can pursue tax policy that reduces the sting of higher prices, particularly for food and housing, and puts money back in Kansans’ pockets.

We had a golden opportunity to help Kansas families’ budgets by cutting the state food sales tax from 6.5%  to zero in January of 2022. We had a bipartisan bill, HB 2487, which I co-sponsored, to do just that. Instead, political interests won out and the Republicans agreed to continue collecting the second highest food sales tax in the nation on the highest food prices in history, for an entire year, to bolster their gubernatorial candidate. They are playing political football with Kansans’ grocery bills.

I won’t play politics with your money.

We need to take that tax down to zero, when we return in January. We also need to lower our property taxes by funding the AVTRF (Ad Valorem Tax Relief Fund) which is required by KS statute, but has not been funded for decades. As well, I’ve asked the Interim Tax Committee to look at making our Homestead, SAFESR, and DSV Exemptions more equitable for Johnson County by using median county values instead of a statewide cap.

As the ranking member of the Transportation and Public Safety Budget committee, I am a leadership voice for infrastructure in Johnson County. We are using our Kansas strengths, our geographical middle of the country location, excellent schools, strong infrastructure and educated workforce to bring advanced manufacturing, distribution and logistics here to Kansas, as a solution to the supply chain issues, which will lower the costs of goods.

Kansas House District 27

Christi Pribula (Democrat)

Rising costs have been painful across the board and managing the trajectory of inflation should be handled at the Federal level. There are certainly measures the Kansas Legislature can and should implement to ease the tax burden during this time of rising costs. The Legislature should immediately end the grocery tax completely and stop playing partisan games with our tax money. The Legislature should also look at ending the sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers, as well as eliminating the sales tax on over-the-counter drugs.

Kansas should also be funding the Local Ad Valorum Relief Tax Fund (LAVRTF) as required by Kansas law, which returns a portion of our taxes to our local communities to lower property taxes. This has not been funded in years, pushing our tax burdens even higher. Not only that, but the Kansas House Democrat caucus has introduced the Miller-Amyx Property Tax Plan to responsibly reduce property taxes. The Kansas Legislature should also look carefully at the personal property tax we pay on cars as decreasing or eliminating that tax could have a meaningful impact on the most residents.

The bottom line is Kansas has rebounded economically under Governor Kelly’s leadership and we have surpassed $14 billion dollars in new private sector investment during the Kelly Administration. Under her leadership, Kansas taxpayers have saved $750 million in interest payments by retiring debt and paying cash for projects – available because of the surplus in the Kansas budget. The fiscal responsibility that has been utilized in the Kansas budget has opened the door to reducing taxes sustainably, expanding Medicaid and fully funding special education. Utilizing the Kansas surplus to make meaningful change and simultaneously relieving the tax burden of Kansas taxpayers in a sustainable manner is the right thing to do.

Sean Tarwater (incumbent Republican)

Did not respond.

Kansas House District 28

Carl Turner (incumbent Republican)

There are things we can do to ease the burden here in Kansas such as reducing or repealing
taxes on retirement income and basic necessities, sales tax holidays on items like school
supplies, eliminate special exemptions to broaden the tax base and lower the rate / burden for
all.

Ace Allen (Democrat)

Yes. The causes of inflation are multifactorial, and include: the instability of fuel supplies in the wake of our principled support of democracy in Ukraine; the aftermath of years of federal financial buttressing of businesses and people smacked by Covid; the throttling of the labor market as immigration is restricted. The state of Kansas cannot address these causes, but it can ameliorate the effects by reducing people’s expenses. Here’s how: immediate elimination of the sales tax on food and other essential personal items (diapers, feminine hygiene products, etc.); reducing the residential property tax assessment rates; reviving the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund (boring but important!) that redirects already-earmarked state monies to municipalities to offset local property taxes; reducing or eliminating state taxes on social security income. It is important to note that the GOP has controlled both chambers of the legislature for almost 30 years, has had the unilateral power to reduce property tax burdens, and has chosen not to. The GOP also refused to authorize immediate rescinding of the regressive sales tax on food. Finally, due to the extraordinary turnaround in the state’s balance sheet since Gov. Kelly entered office, Kansas has more than enough reserves to fund these tax relief strategies.

Kansas House District 29

David Soffer (Republican)

Inflation is deeply hurting Kansans all across our State, including the 29th District. Kansas must act in order to rectify some of the poor decisions being made by Washington DC, so Kansans do not have to dig out of a deeper hole. We can do that by using some of our surplus to get money back to the taxpayer responsibly via tax cuts that make sense. Two tax issues that immediately come to mind are property tax relief and speeding up the food sales tax cut to hit a rate of 0, next year. It is critical that the legislature get to work immediately in making sure not only are we providing necessary tax relief, but also helping our small businesses who are struggling to keep up with rising costs, supply chain issues and workforce shortages. Kansans can act and it must with respect to inflation.

Heather Meyer (incumbent Democrat)

While it can be difficult for State governments to address inflation directly, I wholly believe that the State Legislature can take a unique role in reducing the impact of inflation by immediately ending the food sales tax, increasing tax credits for our hardworking families, working with the federal government to reduce the cost of prescription medications, and fully funding the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund (LAVTRF) so that families have more money to offset the rising cost of food, gas, and housing.

Last session, GOP leadership chose to stair-step the elimination of the Food Sales tax for political reasons, in spite of the State’s budget surplus. Additionally, under decades of Republican leadership, the State has neglected to allocate your tax dollars back to the LAVTRF since 2001. Because of that, taxpayers have missed out on over $45 million a year in tax relief for the last two decades.

That is unacceptable.

Furthermore, there are a myriad of tax credits that we can explore so that we can save your family money, and I will commit to working across the aisle to find ways to accomplish that goal.

As your Representatives, it is our duty to be good stewards of your tax dollars, and we must do all we can to address the high cost of living by returning your hard earned money back to your family, completely eliminating the food sales tax, and exploring other avenues for relief, in order to reduce the overall impact of inflation.

Kansas House district 48

Dan Osman (incumbent Democrat)

Yes, our state can address inflation. Let’s start with what I worked on this session. First, we reduced the grocery sales tax. My original plan was to completely eliminate it in 2022, saving you almost $500 this year alone!

Food state sales taxes are at a record 6.5% which is the second highest in the country. This bill was co-sponsored by 43 members of the legislature and yet Republican leadership refused to allow it to be heard on the House floor. Instead, we passed one that rolls out over a three-year period. Good, but not good enough to those who need relief today.

I also voted to cut homeowner’s property taxes, income taxes, and we created a new property tax exemption for veterans and seniors.

In 2023, the grocery sales tax should immediately be taken to 0%. We should also eliminate sales tax on over-the-counter medication. I will work with my fellow legislators to ensure those bills are filed.

Democrats have also put together a three-part plan to further reduce your residential property taxes, which I will be co-sponsoring. This plan brings in state level dollars to offset county costs so your property taxes remain low.

Terry Frederick (Republican)

Kansas House District 8

Pam Shernuk (Democrat)

The trajectory of inflation needs to be addressed on a national stage, but the state CAN provide relief to consumers and homeowners in the meantime by: 1) immediately eliminating the state sales tax on food, feminine hygiene products and diapers, 2) eliminating the state income tax on all social security income, 3) providing tax credits to higher education students, and 4) providing property tax relief to homeowners by reinstating and funding the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund (LAVTRF) and offering a Kansas Constitutional Amendment to reduce the assessment level of residential property from 11.5% to 9%.

Chris Croft (incumbent Republican)

Inflation is breaking the budgets of every Kansas family and forcing them to live life in an entirely different way due to the budgetary decisions they are forced to make. This is entirely unacceptable and must be fixed. Washington’s unbridled spending and reckless policies have triggered this mess but in Topeka we can help provide immediate solutions through fiscally responsible middle class tax relief that will help stabilize our economy and bring down inflation.

Tomorrow we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to item #3:

In August, Kansas voters rejected the “Value Them Both” amendment that would have eliminated the right to an abortion from the state constitution. Are you comfortable with the current state of abortion access in Kansas? Would you like to see more restrictions on abortion in the state? Would you like to see access to abortion expanded? Please explain your position on abortion.