By ANDY TSUBASA FIELDMay 7, 2021 GMT
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House voted for the first time Thursday to legalize medical marijuana in the state, but Republican leaders signaled the Senate wouldn’t consider the bill in the final days of the legislative session.
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Before the House advanced the measure on a 79-42 vote, Senate President Ty Masterson’s spokesperson, Mike Pirner, told The Associated Press that a budget bill and school funding legislation have emerged as higher priorities for the Senate this week.
Thirty-six states allow medical marijuana and Kansas is only one of three states that doesn’t have a comprehensive medical or recreational marijuana program or allow limited medical use of low THC cannabidiol products, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures website. Some Kansas lawmakers in favor of the bill said the state shouldn’t wait for the federal government to act.
GUEST COLUMN: Legislative update from Topeka
Rep. Pat Proctor
Last week, the Legislature completed its “veto session,” overriding many of the governor’s vetoes and accomplishing many last-minute priorities for Kansas. I am happy to report that we won a number of victories for Leavenworth last week. I wanted to take just a moment to tell you about those issues that I worked on for you in the people’s House this session.
When I was running to serve you, I promised that my top priority would be bringing jobs and opportunity back to Leavenworth. After the governor’s disastrous coronavirus economic shutdown, that priority became even more urgent. Job No.1 has been lowering the cost of owning and running a business so that our small business owners have the resources to rehire employees and put Kansas back to work. Earlier this session, we passed a key bill to finally bring accountability back to our property tax system. And, after years of trying, the Legislature finally el
Democrats cautioned they were heading back to the atrophied years of tax cuts that defined the era when Sam Brownback was governor.
“I worry that we always seem to flirt with the same problem that we had with the last recession in 2008 when we came back and gave tax cuts,” Sen. Tom Hawk, a Manhattan Democrat said, “ and then our state did not recover as rapidly as those around us.”
But Caryn Tyson, the Republican chair of the tax committee, said that was just “gloom and doom.”
“That’s money that’s going to come back into the Kansas economy,” Tyson said, “not be used to grow government.”
Democrats cautioned they were heading back to the atrophied years of tax cuts that defined the era when Sam Brownback was governor.
“I worry that we always seem to flirt with the same problem that we had with the last recession in 2008 when we came back and gave tax cuts,” Sen. Tom Hawk, a Manhattan Democrat said, “ and then our state did not recover as rapidly as those around us.”
But Caryn Tyson, the Republican chair of the tax committee, said that was just “gloom and doom.”
“That’s money that’s going to come back into the Kansas economy,” Tyson said, “not be used to grow government.”
Democrats cautioned they were heading back to the atrophied years of tax cuts that defined the era when Sam Brownback was governor.
“I worry that we always seem to flirt with the same problem that we had with the last recession in 2008 when we came back and gave tax cuts,” Sen. Tom Hawk, a Manhattan Democrat said, “ and then our state did not recover as rapidly as those around us.”
But Caryn Tyson, the Republican chair of the tax committee, said that was just “gloom and doom.”
“That’s money that’s going to come back into the Kansas economy,” Tyson said, “not be used to grow government.”