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The attitude that Kansas Government needs more money to cover "short" falls. Kansas Government has a spending problem not an income problem. The money belongs to Kansas Families not Government. I intend to make the hard choice to vote no to spending increases.

 What, if any, changes would you propose in the “Gut and Go” process and the identification of bill sponsors? Would you keep the system as is? Why?

I have been listening and researching the Gut and Go process. This is not necessarily a Transparency issue as much as it is a procedural / rules issue. When bills both houses have to be melted together during the final hours of a session, then they are looking for a way to play by the Rules that each house created at the beginning of the session. Then it begins to be a way to follow their own rules, which looks to the public and to the Legislative person that spent a lot of time getting a bill though committee as a ugly procedure. Could this be fixed, yes, but the Leaders of both houses need to agree how to merged bills into a new compromise bill without using a tool like "Gut and Go".

Also there are several bills that come out of the committees that are never voted on because the Leadership of both houses keep them "below" the line.

I agree that all bills should have a sponsor or sponsors, not just a committee.

Why would you make these changes or keep the current system?

The three "legs" of Kansas income are Property Taxes, Sales Taxes, and Income Taxes, so we must look at all 3, not 2.

Property Taxes are tied to mill levies and appraisal values. Schools, counties, Cities, townships have mill levies that have a "cap' on their increases, This creates an artificial bottleneck on revenue. Unelected County appraisers have continued to increase values based on their computer generated values. These values have increased at rates of 20 to 50% in the last 3 years in many counties, this is above the rate of inflation in the state. This is increase in taxes is causing  the Kansas Farmer, Business person, and Kansas Families a financial burden that is not acceptable.

Sales Tax - We are not taxing fairly the possible sales in Kansas. We have to many special interest exceptions, that are getting advantages that could be going to lower income citizens. Lets tax fairly and then end the sales tax on groceries and we will have a better plan for Kansas Families.

Income Taxes - We tax people, places and things that create income. This is a brake on individual freedom and Entrepreneurship. There are states that have no income tax, we should not penalize people's incentive to work. The less income tax, the better. If we are going to have an income tax, lets make it easy enough for a 6th graders to do. Your federal tax is so much, your state tax is a percentage of our federal tax. done. Sorry no itemized deductions, no credits, no bird check offs.

Kansas has the best system of verifying the honesty of our Vote and I support the Secretary of State office and the local county Election officials in continuing to verify voters at all elections. 

Here is a biased question, hopefully answered.

With cuts in state budgets, how do you plan to maintain adequate and equitable access to mental health services for economically vulnerable populations?

Our economically vulnerable citizens need access to mental health services in addition to physical health services in a larger percentage than any other Kansas families. This need can be meet by more institutions than just Government money. Kansas has the greatest charities, non-profits and giving families in the US. Professional Mental Health people have the training, experience and understanding of this group of people, but caring for families in distress must be a community effort with  a family systems approach, where these families can be helped in a way to move generation after generation out of lifestyles that are affecting schools, the legal system and society as a whole.

Poverty is not the problem, self worth and family unity are the problems.

What, if any, changes would you propose to current laws?

I am a pro-second Amendment person. Guns do not create violence, bad people with weapons create violence.