Topeka ? The House tax committee on Thursday advanced a bill to repeal the 1-cent state sales increase that was approved in the 2010 legislative session.

Conservative Republicans have made the repeal one of their top priorities even though Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, has spoken against the proposal.

Supporters of the repeal say the tax increase has hurt economic growth and been a burden to taxpayers.

Opponents of repeal say it would reduce state revenues by about $390 million, which would require drastic budget cuts. The state is already facing a projected $500 million revenue shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The measure, House Bill 2091, next goes to the full House for consideration.

During the 2010 session, legislators approved increasing the state sales tax from 5.3 cents per dollar to 6.3 cents per dollar. The increase went into effect July 1. The rate is scheduled to decrease to 5.7 cents per dollar in 2013.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce was one of the major opponents of the increase last year and worked to defeat candidates who supported the increase.

But this year, the chamber has said the tax increase should be made permanent and the revenue used to offset elimination of the state corporate income tax.