The long, embarrassing 2015 Kansas legislative session has come to an end. Early Friday morning, members of the Kansas House agreed to a tax plan that broke the deadlock between the House and Senate, and now, the measures will be sent to the governor for his signature.

Again, the session has been an embarrassment for its lack of political courage and leadership and its lack of regard for what is in the best interests of the state.

Whatever the reason or justification for the actions or inactions, the state’s image has been tarnished. Was this due to egos, philosophical beliefs, stubbornness, dumbness, campaign promises, political gamesmanship or what?

It’s likely there are some who applaud unbending legislators for sticking by their beliefs, but the majority of Kansans probably find it difficult to justify the inability of lawmakers to make the necessary compromises to find the revenue to comply with the state requirement for a balanced budget in a timely manner.

The legislative stalemate has triggered a flood of bad publicity for the state. Kansas, its governor and its lawmakers are the subject of critical editorials, political cartoons and television pundits. It’s been fun to make fun of Kansas.

Part of this is pure politics and, for some, the manner, behavior and performance of the Republican governor and Republican-controlled Legislature has presented an ideal target.

A great deal of the criticism was justified, and Kansas GOP leaders face a challenging task to try to restore confidence in Republican officeholders. Talk is cheap; it will be performance that counts.

The 2015 legislative session was bad for the state, bad for the governor, bad for the legislators and bad for state Republicans.

Now, the question is: What could and should be learned from what took place in Topeka? Many other states are experiencing serious fiscal challenges with governors and legislators facing similar revenue and spending problems. As has been pointed out by other writers, Louisiana, for instance, has a $1.6 billion budget hole; Alaska has an estimated $3.8 billion hole. According to one report, perhaps half of the states are facing severe fiscal challenges.

How are these states proposing to balance their budgets? What cuts are proposed and what new revenues are being proposed to bring in more dollars?

Kansas is a good state with a proud record and honest, properly motivated residents. We’ve had clean government with honest governors and lawmakers. Kansas hasn’t had many bums or crooks who seem to pop up with frequency in some other states.

It is understandable that Gov. Brownback dug in his heels trying to protect his tax plan. It’s no surprise there are strong and opposing ideas within the Republican Party, and it’s clear Democrats had a field day watching the infighting among Republicans and the damage this self-destructive behavior likely would have on Republicans in the next state elections.

Again, leadership, vision, honesty, political courage and what’s in the best interest of the state should be the guiding principles for Kansas lawmakers of both parties and those in the governor’s office. It’s not too much to ask for, and Kansas voters deserve no less.

The 2015 legislative session was a costly loss for the state — in many ways. Was anything learned and/or will it be remembered by the time of the next elections? No doubt, Democrats will be trying their best to jog the memories of Kansas voters.