Voter Guide: Kansas House District 45 — Tom Sloan

The Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

For the past 22 years, Republican Tom Sloan has represented the 45th House District that covers most of western Douglas County, including Lecompton, and he is now the only Republican member of the Lawrence-area legislative delegation. In recent years, however, his votes in the House have often been at odds with the more conservative Republicans who make up the majority of the GOP caucus.

Until this year, he chaired the House Vision 2020 Committee, which is charged with studying long-range planning issues, but House Speaker Ray Merrick removed him from that post this year after Sloan pushed a bill through the committee to expand the state’s Medicaid program as allowed under the Affordable Care Act. He also formerly served on the House Utilities Committee and has been an advocate for renewable energy in Kansas.

Outside of politics, Sloan works as a business consultant and manages a small farm outside of Lawrence.

Sloan voted against the tax cuts that Gov. Sam Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013, and in 2015 he voted to restore taxes on income derived from pass-through businesses. “I believe in tax fairness in which all Kansans pay an equitable income tax rate to support essential state programs like education, support for persons with disabilities, and programs that support job creation,” he said. “I believe that the most fair and appropriate tax system is a balance between income, sales, and property taxes, and user fees in which no group of citizens is unduly burdened.”

Asked about how to balance the state’s current budget, Sloan said: “Revenues must be increased, there is no other responsible course of action to adequately fund essential state programs on which people depend.”

As lawmakers prepare to write a new school funding formula next year, Sloan said funding should be based on the actual cost of educating students, including those with special needs. “Aid should also reflect that in addition to teachers, other school resource staff members like librarians, teachers aids, school nurses all contribute to the successful learning environment.”

Sloan said he has voted against bills to permit discrimination by individuals, agencies and groups. He also said he opposes the law requiring Kansas voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register.