When Governor Brownback first proposed his "glide path to zero" income tax, he said it would be a shot of adrenaline to the Kansas economy.

This is a re-posting of our weekly email for June 6, 2014.

On June 2, the deadline for candidates to file for the 2014 elections passed. We now know who will run for what seat in Kansas, where moderates are safe, and where they face stiff challenges from well-backed extremists. Look up your district at openkansas.org, then look at the candidate list. There are a number of races where MainStream and our members can make a difference.

Sine Die is a Latin term meaning without day. 
A legislative body adjourns sine die when it recesses without appointing a day
on which to appear or assemble again within the year.

The 2014 Kansas legislative body has left the Capitol building for the year and many have returned home from Topeka to gear up for the coming campaign season. This gives Kansans a window of time to better understand the impact of recent laws passed and how elected officials voted on key bills.

These 2014 elections will be a historical marker for the state of Kansas. If election results return the current leadership back to Topeka, 2015 is likely to send our state so far beyond the fork in the road, to a place called Really-Limited-Government, that we will spend decades rebuilding the Main Road which offers all Kansans a route to Prosperity.

The wrap up and highlights…

Our last Legislative Forum of the season was held on May 29, and 120 people came to hear our panelists speak about the past legislative season, what happened, and where we go from here. 

In the 2013 legislative session in Kansas, a two-year budget cycle was adopted, a first in our state’s history.  The state budget, considerably the most important working document of the legislature, sets the boundaries from which the objectives of our state can be met. The budget is where we begin this update and its impact on the objectives of our state.

When reviewing legislative activity and the state budget, the nagging question should be, how small is too small?  Or as Michael Leachman, director of state fiscal research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently said, "Some states are choosing to make reduced services the new normal”.

The Kansas legislative veto session wrapped up last week, Saturday May 4 in the wee hours of the morning.  Sleep deprivation and lack of time for review or discourse appear to be legislative leadership’s preferred mode of doing business in Topeka.

We've covered what ALEC is, and how much influence they have in the Kansas Legislature. But what are the effects of that influence? The effects have been striking. This session saw ALEC-modeled legislation that gutted public education, environmental protections, teacher rights, and more.

With the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) promoting extremist, cookie-cutter legislation across the country, much of it making an appearance in the Kansas Legislature, we wondered just how many of our most important state politicians are members of the organization. So, with help from volunteers and interested moderates, we set out to find out.

ALEC stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council, and it is an extreme anti-government, pro-corporate think tank and policy organization. They are best known as the national organization that provides boilerplate legislation to their members (i.e., state legislators), who then introduce these "model" capitalism-at-all-cost bills at the state level. ALEC can not really be labeled as conservative because their policies are too risky, too radical. 

Why should you be concerned? Because ALEC has deep pockets, an extensive reach and they are changing the rules of the game - in Kansas and across the country. ALEC's mission is about profit. ALEC is not concerned about safety nets nor about investing in the common good.

This is a guest post by Tim Owens, former Kansas State Senator and Representative, and current MainStream Board member. We occasionally present guest opinions by moderates, regardless of political affiliation.

“Let there be Peace on Earth, and let it begin with me…..” the song goes. I think it is time this world and the people in it took a good look at this concept.