The Journal-World sent questionnaires to all three candidates for governor, asking for their views on significant issues that will confront state government in the next four years. This week, we present their responses to questions on tax policy, K-12 education funding and higher education. Next week, we will present their responses on other issues.

Tax policy: Should Kansas repeal some or all of the tax cuts enacted in 2012 and 2013; delay implementing future tax cuts; or, as Gov. Sam Brownback has suggested, “hit the accelerator?”

Sam Brownback (Rep.): As of this moment, Paul Davis’ only significant policy proposal is to raise taxes on low income Kansans by 17%. I do not support that. I also do not support raising taxes on our small businesses. Small businesses are the heart and soul of our economy and we should support them. Over the last four years, we have lowered income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes. Paul Davis voted against all of them. He wants to grow government. I want to grow the economy.

Paul Davis (Dem.): The governor’s economic experiment is failing. With state revenues plummeting and Kansas facing a $1.3 billion projected deficit, it’s clear we need to go in a new direction. Unfortunately, we cannot fix this mess overnight. I propose temporarily freezing income tax rates until funding is restored to public schools, and addressing the $300+ million property tax increase that has occurred in the last four years. It’s a pragmatic, commonsense first step – and it doesn’t raise taxes on a single Kansan.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): Brownback’s income tax plan allows 191,000 business owners to pay “zero” income tax on their wages and profits while at the same time forcing 1.4 million wage earners to pay income tax on all of their hard-earned wages. This income tax scheme is unfair, discriminatory and makes 1.4 million wage earners the tax slaves of the Kansas Legislature. As governor, I would compel the 2015 Legislature to correct this unjust and insidious enslavement tax policy by vetoing each and every bill submitted to me until they pass legislation which will equalize the income tax burden on all Kansas citizens – no exceptions!

Income tax equalization can be accomplished by passage of the Kansas Fair Tax bill. The Kansas Fair Tax plan repeals income tax on ALL Kansas citizens, and in its place institutes a 5.7% consumption tax on all new goods and services. By allowing wage earners to retain more of their money, they will, collectively, have 2.5 billion dollars of disposable income under their control, most of which will be spent on goods and services in their communities. This will result in Kansas business owners hiring more employees to meet the increased demand for the goods and services they sell.

Education funding: Although the Kansas Supreme Court has addressed the issue of equity in the school finance formula, the question of adequacy – whether the state is making “suitable provision” overall for financing public schools – is still before a three-judge panel. If that panel rules that the state must increase spending, how do you think the Legislature should respond? And what source of funding should be used to pay for any increased spending that may be ordered by the court?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): K-12 education is to the state what national defense is to the nation. It is the primary function of state government. That’s why we have increased spending to K-12 by more than $270 million in the last four years. We are now spending more on our schools than ever before in Kansas history.

The lawsuit now being considered by the Kansas Supreme Court was filed before I became Governor in response to the massive cuts in state funding that Paul Davis voted for in 2009. The equity issues were addressed when I signed legislation increasing K-12 funding another $175 million earlier this year. Paul Davis voted against that legislation. In the first Gannon decision, the court acknowledged the state’s total financial commitment to education, including our contributions to the teacher pension system, must be considered. It also ruled that adequacy should be determined by student outcomes, not just the amount of money spent. The education system in Kansas was recently ranked #5 in the nation. Our pension system, which was near bankrupt and ranked second to last in the nation, is now quickly approaching solvency. In response to any future Gannon ruling, the legislature should continue to fund our K-12 system, including teachers pensions, and support policies that will increase student achievement.

Every tax dollar received should be used as effectively and efficiently as possible. As the economy continues to grow and we continue our efforts to reduce the size and scope of government, resources will continue to be available to increase our investments on the core functions of state government such as education.

Paul Davis (Dem.): I don’t need a court order to tell me that Kansas schools are underfunded. Significant funding cuts were made to our schools during the Great Recession, followed by the largest single cut to our schools in state history in 2011. Restoring public school funding to pre-recession levels is my top priority. We not only have a moral obligation to provide our children with a high quality education, it is also critical to the long-term health and strength of the Kansas economy. However, it is not productive to speculate on a ruling that hasn’t happened. Regardless of what the Supreme Court rules, I will work with the Kansas Legislature to restore dollars back to our kids’ classrooms.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): The Kansas Constitution requires that the legislature make “suitable provision” for financing public schools. The definition of “suitable” is a term that has been highly debated by politicians and the courts for over a decade. The fact is that the Kansas Legislature is the only branch of government that can make that determination, not the courts. The Legislature alone must strike a balance between the K-12 outcomes versus increasing the tax burden on Kansas property owners. No one is currently saying that our Kansas public school teachers are failing in providing suitable education for our K-12 students. In fact our public school teachers are doing a great job despite the fact that some school districts have more available funds than others in Kansas.

If elected governor, I will freeze K-12 funding at its current level ($4,492), rather than raise property tax on property owners. In addition, all alternative energy companies as well as companies which receive State property tax benefits from programs such as HPIP and PEAK should be required to pay local school district property taxes. I am firm in my belief that all companies which do business in Kansas should help fund our children’s K-12 education.

(Ed. note: The current level of base per-pupil funding is $3,852.)

Higher education funding: Do you think the state of Kansas is providing enough funding for higher education in Kansas?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): We have great universities in Kansas and over the last four years they’ve become even better. My focus has been on directing targeted funding to areas of unique excellence and strategic importance to the Kansas economy. For example, KU Med is critically important to providing doctors for Kansas, especially in our rural communities. In my most recent budget proposal, we provided additional state funding to expand KU Med so they can graduate more doctors. Paul Davis voted against funding for the expansion.

Paul Davis (Dem.): Higher education has been cut in Kansas in recent years specifically to pay for a failed economic experiment. This has caused tuition rates to soar at all Regents institutions. As tuition increases, Kansas students are forced to borrow more, and in many cases are unable to afford college altogether. To grow our economy, we must have an educated workforce. We must restore funding to our technical colleges and universities and invest in educating our children so they can thrive in a 21st century global economy.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): (No response provided.)

What measures would you support to hold down the rate of tuition increases at state colleges and universities?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): Tuition levels are set by the Kansas Board of Regents and my appointments to the board have worked hard to keep tuition increases to a minimum, while still making sure our universities have the resources they need to hire and keep a high quality faculty and increase student outcomes such as graduation and retention rates. During Paul Davis’ first four years in the legislature, Kansas University students experienced double digit percentage increases in their tuition. Last year, tuition rose by the smallest percentage of any year since 2001.

Paul Davis (Dem.): The most helpful thing we can do to hold down tuition rates in Kansas is to properly invest in higher education. I will also work with my running mate, Jill Docking (who served as Chair of the Kansas Board of Regents) to help higher education institutions find efficiencies.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): I do not believe that it is an obligation of Kansas taxpayers to “hold down” the tuition increases at state colleges and universities. State funding for our colleges and universities must be matched with each institution’s commitment to instituting financial efficiencies. Kansas colleges and universities should be seeking contributions from their alumni in order to hold down tuitions rather than looking to the Kansas taxpayer.

Water resources: While groundwater resources are rapidly being depleted in some parts of western Kansas, eastern Kansas faces its own challenges as reservoirs used for public water supply are silting up. What measures would you support to sustain the state’s current water supplies for future generations?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): Water policy has been a signature issue for me as Governor and we’ve made tremendous progress. We repealed the “use it or lose it law” and established local organizations to bind together and make a commitment to voluntarily reduce their water usage. We also provided funding for key water projects such as the dredging of John Redmond Reservoir and stream bank stabilization.

Paul Davis voted against funding for these projects and lacks credibility on these issues. He supports the Obama EPA’s overregulation of Kansas farm ponds as ditches that is strongly opposed by nearly every agricultural organization in the state. I will always work to protect our resources for Kansas.

Paul Davis (Dem.): Kansas undoubtedly faces a water crisis. We must act. The current administration has given lip service to a 50-year water vision, yet they have blocked $30 million from the current water plan in their budgets. We need to start funding the water plan we have already on the books. Ultimately we must have resources available to support this critical issue and the current administration’s economic experiment has put all of that at risk.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): I do not support any measures currently being discussed at this point. While some of our reservoirs are silting up, the State has more pressing issues to deal with in the next four years. I do not support increasing property taxes for all citizens in Kansas in order to dredge a few reservoirs. I do support continued work on Kansas’ 50-year water plan. However, until the 50-year plan is complete and recommendations, (accompanied by reliable cost estimates), have been submitted to the Legislature, I believe it is short-sighted to impose a tax on property owners before the State has a comprehensive water plan to debate.

Health care: Do you support expanding the state’s Medicaid program as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): Since I took office in 2011, the number of Kansans receiving benefits from Medicaid has increased by over 80,000. We have also started providing services to over 1,000 severely disabled Kansans that had been waiting for services during the previous two administrations. We should not move healthy Kansans to the front of the line at the expense of the disabled Kansans who are currently eligible.

Paul Davis (Dem.): This issue is now in the hands of the Kansas Legislature, but it is my understanding that expansion would inject $3 billion into the state economy and create 4,000 jobs. Rural hospital administrators across Kansas have also expressed deep concerns that their hospitals may close because the current administration is putting politics before people. It seems unlikely that we can revive rural communities if we are unable to provide health care access in Western Kansas and other small towns.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): No. The ACA is the poster child for a disastrous and unsustainable federal program. The ACA, in its current form, will fail within two years and will ultimately have to be drastically re-designed if it is ever going to be an affordable healthcare delivery system. With over half the states not setting up their own exchanges, as well as the federal subsidies for qualified enrollees still before the U.S. Supreme Court, I believe it would be unwise for the State of Kansas to expand our state’s Medicaid programs.

What other measures would you support to reduce the number of Kansas who currently lack health insurance?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): The key to helping struggling Kansans obtain quality health insurance is helping them find a well-paying full-time job with employer benefits. That’s why I have made growing the Kansas economy my top priority. Over the last four years, more than 56,000 private sector jobs have been created. More Kansas are working this year than ever before state history. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.

Paul Davis (Dem.): I oppose the governor’s decision to commit Kansas to a compact of states seeking to break away from federally funded health care. Both the Republican Kansas Insurance Commissioner and the AARP opposed this compact because it could strip Medicare from over 448,000 Kansans. Leaders must stop playing risky games with the lives of Kansas seniors.

I have also heard from many folks in the medical field that the KanCare program is just not working well. I’ve heard stories about denied coverage, late payments, and other unnecessary hassles. As governor, I will conduct a top to bottom review of KanCare and ensure that patients get the care they deserve and hospitals and providers receive payment they are owed.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): Health care must be separated from health insurance. You wouldn’t buy auto insurance and expect to have your policy pay for gas, oil and tires. The same is true for health insurance.

I support the Direct Primary Care (DPC) model of health care services. An example of a successful DPC model is one founded by my Lt. Governor and son, Dr. Josh Umbehr. AtlasMD, a concierge family practice clinic located in Wichita, charges $50.00 per month for most adults and $10.00 per month for children. There is no co-pay and no deductible, and patients have unlimited office visits. When a patient leaves the clinic, they leave with their medication in hand at a cost of 5% over wholesale. Doctors practicing DPC do not bill any insurance company for the patient’s clinic visits.

With a DPC model, doctors can be assured a sustainable cash flow each month from their patients/enrollees. A health insurance policy is then “wrapped” around a DPC plan in order to cover the unexpected or serious healthcare issues.

If KanCare’s 400,000 enrollees were given a DPC and a health insurance policy, the State could potentially save 1 billion dollars per year. At that point, more patients could be added to the Medicaid program.

Energy policy: Do you support the state’s current Renewable Portfolio Standards which require utility companies to produce a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, or do you believe as some have suggested that those standards should be repealed or phased out?

Sam Brownback (Rep.): I have always supported an all-of-the-above energy policy. Kansas has increased the production of oil, gas, and wind over the last four years. Wind generation has doubled and we continue to build-out the transmission infrastructure that allows us to move the wind energy to market. There has been much discussion in the legislature about the future of the standards. I have said many times that I will always support reliable and affordable renewable energy. If, however, the renewable energy industry and others can put together a proposal that meets the future energy needs of Kansas better than the current standards, I will consider it. That’s how we do things in Kansas. We work together to move our state forward.

Paul Davis (Dem.): Kansas has the second highest wind potential in the country. To continue to grow our wind production, we must show that we are a state that values the wind industry. That is why I strongly support our Renewable Portfolio Standard and, unlike the governor, I have pledged to veto legislation that repeals the RPS in Kansas.

Keen Umbehr (Lib.): I support repealing the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in 2015. Kansas rate payers should not be forced to purchase renewable wind energy when there is a lower cost energy option available in clean-burning coal.

I also support the repeal of the lifetime property tax abatement for all wind turbines and transmission lines in western Kansas. For example, Siemens Energy has a large inventor of wind turbines operating in Western Kansas. Siemens 3rd quarter net income was 1.739 billion. I believe that Siemens and all of the other alternative energy companies operating in Kansas should pay property tax just like any other Kansas company.

It is my core belief that all laws should apply equally to all individuals and companies, all the time – no exceptions. If all property tax-subsidized companies operating in Kansas paid their share of the cost to educate our children, the funding for our K-12 education as well as our higher education wouldn’t even be a campaign issue.