TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas lawmakers expect a push to overturn a state Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights, a contentious debate over income tax cuts and some bipartisan harmony on Medicaid expansion during this years annual session.
The GOP-controlled Legislature may also tackle medical marijuana after it convenes today for 90 days of lawmaking.
A look at some of the biggest issues:
ABORTION
Top Republicans and the influential anti-abortion group Kansans for Life plan to push for an amendment to the state constitution to declare that legislators can regulate abortion as they see fit.
Its a response to Aprils ruling by the state Supreme Court that the Kansas Constitution protects access to abortion as a fundamental right. The decision blocked enforcement of a ban on a common second-trimester procedure. Abortion opponents fear that the ruling could lead courts to overturn a raft of restrictions enacted over the past 10 years.
To get an amendment on the ballot for voters to consider, supporters need two-thirds majorities in both chambers.
ANOTHER TAX FIGHT
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly last year vetoed two Republican proposals for cutting income taxes, arguing that the measures would decimate the state budget. But Kansas officials in November issued a new fiscal forecast for state government that boosted revenue projections and undercut her argument.
Kelly said in a recent Associated Press interview that she still wants to hold off because making changes in income tax laws out of context could make it harder to change the entire tax system next year.
But Republicans are determined. Their proposals were designed to provide relief to individuals and businesses that are paying more to the state because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017.
MEDICAID EXPANSION
Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, have outlined a compromise plan for extending the states Medicaid health coverage to as many as 150,000 additional people.
Their bipartisan bill is sponsored in the Senate by 22 of the chambers 40 members, enough to pass it.
