Wonkbook: Kansas GOP raises taxes, ending Brownback's 'real-live experiment'

By Max Ehrenfreund Republicans in Kansas broke ranks with t...   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   Want the inside skinny on President Trump's economic team, and what will happen to Dodd-Frank and tax reform on Capitol Hill? Tory Newmyer has you covered with our newest newsletter, The Finance 202. SIGN UP >> Gov. Sam Brownback vetoes a tax bill on Feb. 22. (Thad Allton /The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP) By Max Ehrenfreund Republicans in Kansas broke ranks with the state's conservative governor Tuesday night, voting to raise tax rates and put an end to a series of cuts. The GOP revolt is a defeat for Gov. Sam Brownback, who overhauled the state's tax system beginning in 2012, bringing down rates and causing repeated, severe budgetary shortfalls. Kansas's legislature is overwhelmingly Republican, but moderate GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats, overriding Brownback's veto of a bill they'd already passed once that would raise taxes again by $600 million a year. Eighteen of the state's 31 GOP senators and 49 of the 85 Republican members of the House voted against the governor. The victory for Brownback's opponents resulted in part from their gains in last year's election. Voters -- frustrated that public schools were closing early and the state's highways were in visible disrepair -- rejected Brownback's allies in favor of more moderate Republicans or Democrats. ADVERTISEMENT   "It was a hard vote for a lot of people to make last night," said Rep. Melissa Rooker, a moderate Republican who represents a suburb of Kansas City. "Kansas has had a turn to the far right, and we seem to be centering ourselves." The legislation undoes the essential components of Brownback's reforms, which he famously described as part of a "real-live experiment" in conservative governance. Read the rest on Wonkblog.  Top policy tweets Anthem just quit Ohio. That leaves 20 counties with zero Obamacare insurers in 2018. pic.twitter.com/18SeAfeZVP — Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) June 6, 2017 "Obamacare is a disaster, but we want to preserve its core regulatory framework" isn't much of a coherent message https://t.co/fxncGUPnX3 — Philip Klein (@philipaklein) June 6, 2017 Like time, health policy twitter is a flat circle. — Peter Suderman (@petersuderman) June 6, 2017 Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog House to vote on sweeping rollback of banking rules The House is likely to pass the bill along party lines this afternoon, but its fate in the Senate is precarious. By Renae Merle  •  Read more » Trump keeps pretending his infrastructure plan is real. It’s not. Trump's infrastructure plan, like this truck, is squarely in park. By Matt O'Brien  •  Read more »   Kansas Republicans raise taxes, ending their GOP governor’s ‘real live experiment’ in conservative policy The vote to increase taxes by $600 million a year is also an implicit rebuke to President Trump and his fellow national Republicans. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   If you thought getting Mexico to pay for the wall couldn’t get weirder, you were wrong Trump's solar-powered border wall could be a better deal for Mexico than the U.S. By Sophie Yeo  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   The Finance 202 Your daily guide to where Wall Street meets Washington. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071