AFP-Kansas announces priorities for 2008 Legislative session

The free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity-Kansas today released its agenda for the 2008 Legislative session, which includes limiting budget growth, tax cuts, and reforms in judicial selection and taxpayer-funded lobbying, to make the state government more accountable to Kansans.

“Spending in the Legislature must be brought under control,” said AFP-Kansas state director Alan Cobb. “We will ask legislators to commit to a self-imposed spending limit of 3.5 percent, which will hopefully prompt serious debate on government spending.”

The organization also proposes a series of tax cuts – reductions in individual income, corporate income and state sales taxes – totaling $130 million in taxpayer savings to help bolster the Kansas economy.

AFP would like the state to require more disclosure in taxpayer-funded lobbying, as often lobbyists hired by government agencies are lobbying for more state and federal funding.

“Without question, taxpayer dollars are used to influence legislators’ votes,” said Cobb. “Having an open system where everyone – taxpayers, watchdog groups and the media – has access to what is spent on lobbying is certainly in the best interest of the public.”

Currently Kansas is the only state where lawyers completely dominate the selection of Supreme Court justices. AFP supports reforms that will open up the system and allow public input, specifically through legislative confirmations.

“Overall our agenda is about accountable and more responsive government,” said Cobb. “All of these things – tax cuts, transparency, taxpayer-funded lobbying and judicial selection reforms – are about making sure the state government is more accountable and more responsive to the people of Kansas.”

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