As a state representative, I’ve been a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility. I’ve voted against budgets that I believe spend too much money and are fiscally irresponsible. Several of the years that Governor Kelly has been Governor, we’ve spent even more money than what Governor Kelly has recommended we spend. I believe this is a big problem.

As Republicans, we shouldn’t be spending even more money than what our liberal Democratic Governor wants to spend. As a representative, I look at issues from a principled perspective, rather than a partisan perspective. I’m not going to vote in favor of a budget simply because it’s a Republican budget. I’m always going to be consistent and principled, and I will continue to oppose Republican budgets that I believe are fiscally irresponsible.

Even though we have a large surplus of money now, that may change quickly in the near future. I don’t believe that the Kansas legislature should significantly increase spending simply because we currently have a large surplus of money. We should instead look to pay off debt, put more money into a rainy-day fund, and give part of the surplus back to the people of our state through tax relief.

In addition, during my first year in the legislature I introduced HCR 5010, a Constitutional amendment to place a limit on state spending. This amendment would’ve limited spending increases to no more than the rate of inflation each year. Unfortunately, this amendment failed to pass. Ultimately, I believe that it’s necessary to put this kind of structural reform in place.

Placing a limit on the amount that spending can be increased each year is a good way to promote fiscal responsibility in our state. In the future, I will continue to promote the idea of implementing structural reforms to control state spending and put our state on a solid financial footing.