Tax cuts pushed by GOP leaders and the governor advance, but a tough vote is ahead

By JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor in Kansas are close to winning final legislative approval for a compromise plan to cut the state’s taxes. But the last vote the measure faced Thursday involved a large and bipartisan group of critics. The state Senate voted 38-1 to approve the plan, which would reduce income, sales and property taxes by a total of $1.4 billion over the next three years. Gov. Laura Kelly and the GOP-controlled Legislature’s top Republicans brokered a deal Wednesday after the GOP leaders gave up on  moving Kansas to a single-rate personal income tax that Kelly strongly opposed. But opposition was much fiercer in the state House.