Lawrence Journal-World 01-24-13

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Plan would end home property tax deduction By John Hanna Associated Press

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wants to eliminate two popular state income tax deductions for homeowners, and even some of his conservative Republi-

can allies in the Legislature said Wednesday they were surprised to learn he’s targeting both. Legislators in both parties said they weren’t previously aware that Brownback seeks to end an income tax deduction claimed by Kansans for

the property taxes they pay on their homes. He also proposes ending the deduction for the interest paid on home mortgages. Each tax break is claimed by more than 300,000 taxpayers. The two proposals are part of Brownback’s broader

plan to keep the state budget stable after aggressive income tax cuts last year while allowing Kansas to reduce individual income tax rates further. He wants to keep the state’s sales tax at its current rate, rather than allowing it to drop in July as scheduled

by law, but his plan also includes a second round of reductions in income tax rates and provisions for automatic income tax cuts in future years. Legislators saw more Please see PLAN, page 4A Brownback

Business interests hope bill puts end to unions

Squeaky clean

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Measure would limit ability to partake in politics, violate rights, opponents say By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

BEN MOREY OF HAWKWASH cleans the glass at 3 Spoons Yogurt, 732 Massachusetts St. Morey made his way around several downtown businesses Wednesday.

Much colder

Court mixes up ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ repeatedly the two words are often confused because of similar spelling and pronunciation, but that Kansas politicians have dis- “affect� is typically a verb that agreed about whether a state “denotes having an effect or court in Topeka was correct influence,� while “effect� is a when it declared that noun denoting an influcurrent funding for pubence or result that one lic schools is unconstithing has on another. tutional. But there is no The court’s opinion condoubt that the court’s tained at least 19 instances opinion in Gannon v. where the words are used Kansas earlier this month COURTS either improperly or in repeatedly mixed up the ways where the meaning is words “effect� and “affect.� unclear. It’s not an uncommon misOn page 108 of the decitake. The Merriam-Webster sion, for instance, the judges online dictionary notes that wrote: “The staff and program

By Peter Hancock

phancock@ljworld.com

High: 28

Low: 20

Today’s forecast, page 8A

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QUOTABLE

I just reacted, and I thought I should just choke this kid out.� — Nicholas Ayre, who helped a Lawrence police officer subdue a suspect in a crime Saturday. Page 5A

INDEX Business 4A Classified 4B-8B Comics 7A Deaths 2A Events listings 8A, 2B Home & Garden 5A Horoscope 7B Movies 4A Opinion 6A Puzzles 7B Sports 1B-3B Television 8A, 2B, 7B Vol.155/No.24 16 pages

cuts occasioned by reductions to the (base state aid per pupil) look to have effected all school districts.� And on page 86 they wrote: “What the affect of this represented philosophical change in the (local option budget) is, what changes to state supplemental aid payments mean ... all need to be considered.� Such errors have the potential to affect the public’s willingness to accept the ruling — but it is unclear whether they will have an effect on the Kansas Legislature’s view of the decision.

TOPEKA — Business interests on Wednesday called for the eradication of public employee unions as they pushed for passage of a bill that unions said would limit their ability to participate in politics. “I need this bill passed so we can get rid of public sector unions,� Eric Stafford, senior director of government affairs for the Kansas Chamber of Com- LEGISLATURE merce, told the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee. But representatives of the Kansas National Education Association and other employee groups said their ability to collect funds on a voluntary basis to participate in the political process was a constitutional right. “Denying teachers the right to payroll deduction is simply not fair,� said Anna Moon Bradley, a teacher in the Marais des Cygnes school district. “It denies us the freedom to chose how our paychecks are spent, and frankly, ultimately denies us our freedom of speech.� Former state Rep. Ann Mah, Please see UNIONS, page 2A

SCHOOLS

District schedules meetings to explain bond proposal By Peter Hancock

The bonds would be used to fund building improvements at the district’s 14 elementary schools and two high schools, Lawrence school district of- as well as technology upgrades throughout the district and ficials are conducting a series of expansion of career and technical education programs. phancock@ljworld.com

public meetings to explain the $92.5 million bond proposal that will appear on the April 2 ballot. The meetings appear to be the only organized effort so far, other than media coverage, to communicate a message about the bond proposal to potential

voters. Unlike previous bond issues, no political action committee has yet been formed to openly campaign for or against the ballot issue, according to the Douglas County clerk’s office.

Julie Boyle, communications director for the school district, said in an email Wednesday that fliers announcing the meetings have been distributed by schools to the parents of their students.

Carol Williams, executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, said no statute specifically prohibits that. The only statute on the subject, she said, prohibits the use of public funds or facilities to campaign for or against identifiable candidates in an election. Mark Tallman of the Kansas Association of School Boards, Please see MEETINGS, page 4A

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