Kansas has cracked the top 20 in CNBC’s “top states for business” rankings. As The Kansas News Service reports, the legislature’s 2017 repeal of former Republican Governor Sam Brownback’s income tax cuts in is the main reason for the state’s climb from 35th to 19th in the rankings. The repeal helped turn a $350 million-dollar deficit into a budget surplus by the end of the 2018 budget year. The turnaround earned Kansas the distinction of “most improved state” in the network’s rankings of top business states.

Income and sales tax revenue received by the state of Kansas during the fiscal year ending in June topped by $440 million total collections in the previous fiscal year, officials said Tuesday.

Kansas collected nearly $33 million more in taxes than anticipated in June and ended its 2019 budget year with record cash reserves, good news likely to intensify Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s battles with Republican lawmakers over state finances. The state Department of Revenue’s report released Tuesday was the 24th in 25 months in which tax collections exceeded predictions in the state’s official fiscal forecasts.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office dismissed part of a formal complaint and planned to continue investigation of whether the public was denied the right under the Kansas Open Meetings Act to observe business of the Senate after the visitor gallery was closed to staunch a protest, a government transparency group said Monday. The Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government sought intervention by Attorney General Derek Schmidt after the May 29 session of the Senate was interrupted by people protesting in support of Medicaid expansion. Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, responded by...

The Kansas Board of Regents voted today to keep undergraduate tuition at the six state universities flat for Kansas residents in Fiscal Year 2020. “The Board believes that keeping tuition flat was incredibly important for Kansas families,” said KBOR Chair Dennis Mullin. “Education beyond high school offers students the best chance at building successful and fulfilling careers. This vote will help keep our state universities affordable and accessible.”

In a decision that is certain to mesmerize the Kansas Legislature in the upcoming election-year session, the Kansas Supreme Court has struck down the statutory cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury lawsuits. The high court ruled last week that a 2010 $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages is not constitutional. It essentially limits juries in personal injury cases from determining the amount of compensation an injured party can receive for lifestyle changes and mental and physical damages as a result of someone’s negligence or other misdeed.

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday effectively ended a nearly decade-long lawsuit by ruling that state lawmakers finally sent enough money to local school districts. “The State,” the justices wrote, “has shown its proposed remedy substantially complies with our mandate.” But the court wants to make sure lawmakers follow through with promises to add hundreds of millions of dollars a year in funding. The justices didn’t fully dismiss the lawsuit, so any future disagreements could take a shortcut directly back to the state’s high court.

Top Republican legislators are holding up nearly $10 million in funds for Kansas prisons that corrections officials say they need to deal with overcrowding. GOP leaders in the Republican-controlled Legislature expressed strong reservations Wednesday about plans by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's administration to ship inmates to private prisons outside Kansas. They also expressed doubts that a plan to move adult female inmates into empty space in a juvenile corrections center is legal.

Kansas tax collections for May exceeded revised estimates by $77.1 million, adding to a state general fund cushion for the fiscal year that ends July 1. Numbers provided by the Kansas Department of Revenue show individual income tax collections were $278 million in May, about $68 million above estimates and nearly $7 million more than the same month last year. Retail sales and use taxes added to the surplus. However, corporate income tax collections dropped to $11 million, about $9 million below a forecast that mirrored last year’s collections.

Those saying the current trajectory of state spending won’t lead to a deficit or tax increase aren’t being honest. A new profile prepared by the Kansas Legislative Research Department (KLRD) shows the state budget creates a $1.4 billion deficit over the next four years. This happens regardless of Governor Kelly’s veto of the tax windfall bill. Another way to look at the state budget is through a profile that accurately reflects reality. Most Kansas media reports on the budget don’t include the fact that state law must maintain a 7.5 percent ending balance.