The Kansas branch of the National Federation of Independent Business, which has successfully lobbied the Legislature for business tax cuts, has called on state leaders to reject any tax increases to cure the current revenue shortfall. The business group’s members recently voted on its public policy priorities. “On this ballot, our members are saying, `Don’t raise my taxes in order to help pay for wasteful spending in Topeka,’ ” said Derrick Sontag, state director of NFIB-Kansas. Because of slumping tax revenues, the state faces a shortfall of about $140 million in the current year. That amount could balloon to $1 billion next year. Social service cuts have already been enacted, and proposals have been made to cut school funding and higher education. The results of an NFIB member ballot showed that 95 percent of respondents opposed an increase in the state income tax, 76 percent opposed a sales tax increase, and 73 opposed raising the motor fuels tax to fund a new transportation plan, Sontag said. “Our members have to live within their means, and they believe lawmakers should too,” Sontag said. No surprise – McCain wins Kansas It’s official. The 2008 presidential and vice presidential electors from Kansas met Monday and cast their 6 votes for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin. The McCain-Palin ticket won the popular vote in Kansas 56.6 percent percent to 41.6 percent over the Democratic ticket of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. When voters cast ballots in the presidential election, they are selecting electors who represent the state in the Electoral College. Across the nation, those electors were meeting Monday to cast their votes. The nation’s electoral votes will be officially counted Jan. 6 in Congress. Obama is expected to win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. For their duties, the Kansas electors, who met in the state Senate chamber, are paid $3 and get mileage reimbursement. The meeting took about a half-hour.