Bryan Lowry and Hunter Wooddall: PLAN TO FIX BUDGET THROUGH SCHOOL CUTS IMPLODES IN SENATE @ Kansas City Star

Will self-described "moderate"  Rep. Ron Ellis (R-47th) step up to the tax plate?

[Excerpt] ... Asked about the collapse of the Senate plan, Brownback said that he has been primarily working with House leadership.

“You know how this works. It takes 100 different iterations,” Brownback said.

Democrats, who rarely agree with Brownback on budget issues, also support tapping those funds to get the state through the current fiscal year. For the following years, they’ve offered an alternative tax plan that would include the creation of a third income tax bracket.

Bollier said she believes there were enough votes to pass the Democrats’ plan if lawmakers had held a floor debate Thursday, but that Republican leaders opposed the idea of partnering with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, said that he confronted Longbine about this Thursday and told him that Republicans need Democratic votes to avoid a veto from the governor on the tax plan.

“I just said, ‘Do the math. Do the math, Jeff,’ ” Hensley said.

Hensley criticized Republican leaders for trying to craft a plan through closed-door meetings rather than through public hearings. He said he hopes Thursday’s meltdown will embolden the moderates to work with Democrats.

“We’ll just have to see whether these moderates will step up,” he said. ... [End of Excerpt]

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