Governing Magazine is including two Kansas lawmakers in its list of Public Officials of the Year for 2017.
Governing is honoring nine public officials nationwide, including Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Republican, and House Democratic Leader Jim Ward.
The publication – which is widely read in Statehouses across the country – cites their bipartisan work this year on the budget. That culminated in the state raising taxes by reversing many of Gov. Sam Brownback’s 2012 tax cuts.
The 2017 legislative session tied for the longest in state history and ended with lawmakers overriding Brownback’s veto. Governing credits Ward and Denning for working across the aisle to get the needed votes.
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Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @KPRKoranda.
