Topic: Tax Exemption
Interview of Nancy Parrish, October 23, 2020
Interviewed by Patty Clark
This 2020 oral history interview of former State Senator Nancy Parrish is packed full of information about people and policy between 1980 and 1992 in the Kansas Senate. She was one of the first, if not the first Democrat women elected to the state senate. Parrish talks about establishing her own identity after filling the unexpired part of her husband's term and winning the seat three more times while fostering a child, adopting a child, and attending law school at Washburn University. Her relationships with Republican senators allowed her to be effective in passing or shaping legislation. Show MoreParrish served on the conference committee to negotiate the 1992 school finance bill. Parrish also discussed her two years as Secretary of Revenue and working with Senator Gus Bogina to pass legislation to provide for purchase of a large-scale computer system for collecting taxes at the Department of Revenue. Parrish offers opinions on the importance of the separation of powers in the constitution, from her perspective as a former legislator, an executive branch administrator and a judge. For Parrish, each of these experiences has been a learning experience. She concludes the interview by expressing concern about the loss of "camaraderie" among legislators. Show Less
Interview of Jayne Aylward, June 18, 2021
Interviewed by Alan Conroy
Jayne Aylward Oral History Interview describes her experiences as one of the youngest members of the Kansas House of Representatives. Aylward was elected in 1978 from the 74th District in Saline County, Kansas. She served from 1979 to 1990 when she resigned to become an administrative tax judge with the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals. She later became a Certified Public Accountant specializing in tax matters. Aylward is a rancher and stockwoman in addition to having a thriving tax practice in Salina. During the interview she discusses her interest in agriculture and taxation which came Show Morefrom growing up on her family farm and her participation in 4-H showing cattle. During the 1985-1986 legislative session, she was the Chair of the House Communications, Computers and Technology Committee. She also served on the House Federal and State Affairs committee and the House Taxation committee, both of which handled high-profile issues that she discussed in the interview, including reappraisal and classification of property taxes and a constitutional amendment authorizing the Kansas lottery. Show Less
Interview of Bruce Larkin, April 12, 2024
Interviewed by Chris Courtwright
Larkin's interview focuses extensively on his involvement with tax issues during his 20-year tenure in the legislature, and after, at the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA). He tells lots of funny stories in the interview, particularly about legislative strategy. Larkin got interested in the legislature because of the American Agriculture movement in the mid-1980's. He joined the Department of Revenue's Use Value Advisory Group at a time when appraising farm ground was difficult. Larkin was a small family farmer who farmed ground that his great grandfather had bought in 1878. Larkin was also interested in education; Show Moreparticularly how small rural communities were faring under the school finance formula. But his consistent interest was in taxation. He was involved in almost every tax issue that surfaced during his 20-year involvement with the legislature, and afterward, as a staff member at the Kansas Department of Revenue or on the Court of Tax Appeal as a judge or as Chief Judge. His discussion of issues surrounding classification and appraisal is very informative. He described changes in the use value appraisal of agricultural land.
Interviews with many of the people mentioned in this interview can be found on this website by using the Search box, or by going to the Statehouse Conversations Collection. Show Less
Interview of Edward Rolfs, September 23, 2024
Interviewed by Chris Courtwright
Rolfs served during a productive period in Kansas politics and he was a key player in tax and fiscal policy, chairing the tax committee through reappraisal and classification. and major income tax reform. Rolfs tells great stories, about his grandfather, Frank Carlson, Governor Bob Bennett and why he wasn't reelected, and leadership races. His interview discusses the rationale for sales tax exemptions, the politics of the severance tax in the 1982 election, the "booster" tax affecting Johnson County, the working relationship on the House Taxation Committee, and the simplification of the Kansas Income tax in 1988. Rolfs Show Moredescribes the conundrum of property tax reappraisal and classification and its resulting impacts on the 1990 governor's race where Joan Finney beat both prior governors, Carlin and Hayden. And Rolfs had several Joan Finney stories and one about Kathleen Sebelius. There is also a great story about how Rolfs, the Young Turk who wanted to cut everything was put on the Ways and Means Subcommittee for SRS and Mental Health/Retardation. Bob Harder, Secretary encouraged Rolf to visit the state institutions and it changed his attitude. The interview closes with his reflections on the state of government 35 years after he served. Show Less