“State employees have not had a meaningful raise in a decade, and it’s time for state employees to get their raises just like anyone else,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat who voted ‘no’ on the bill. “Meanwhile, we’ve increased their contributions for their health insurance and other fringe benefits so, in essence, state employees are being paid less today than they were nine and 10 years ago.”
Read the full story at http://cjonline.com/news/state-government/local/2017-06-08/kansas-house-passes-budget-bill-negotiations-senate-begin
Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, voiced concern about delaying the law but said he would “reluctantly” support Whitmer’s amendment. Carmichael was critical of the Department of Labor’s request to delay the new requirements and recounted a series of incidents in which children were injured on carnival rides.
Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said Jack stepped down “under a cloud of scandal” and that controversy at the securities commission continued after Ney was appointed.
Carmichael tied the school funding debate to the unresolved question of how much lawmakers must raise taxes to close a budget deficit projected at $900 million over the next two years. He blamed the state government’s revenue shortfall on 2012 tax reform championed by Brownback that denied the state hundreds of millions of dollars needed to properly meet core obligations, such as public education.