Editor's note: This story has been updated to include later comments from Gov. Matt Bevin's communications director, Amanda Stamper.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The policy director for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is coming to work in the Bevin administration.

Brandon Smith, a lawyer who has served as Brownback's policy director since February 2015, will start work as executive director of the Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs in Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services starting Nov. 1, said Amanda Stamper, communications director for Gov. Matt Bevin, in an email early Friday.

Smith did not immediately return a phone message left at the Kansas governor's office seeking comment.

The Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World quoted Brownback on Thursday as saying of Smith, "Brandon's service has been a credit to the state of Kansas, and I'm thankful for his tireless work on behalf of conservative principles. I know he is going to continue to work to promote individual freedom, human dignity, and economic opportunity for all."

Brownback, a Republican elected to two terms as Kansas governor beginning in 2011, is best known for slashing taxes in Kansas with the promise the cuts would be “a shot of adrenaline to the heart" of the state’s economy.

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But the promised economic growth was not realized, and in recent years the state has cut services and struggled to meet revenue projections. The Kansas legislature earlier this year rolled back Brownback’s tax policies despite his veto.

In an email later Friday, Stamper noted that Smith's work on Brownback's staff did not begin until three years after Brownback successfully pushed for tax reform and that the cabinet where he will work in Kentucky has "nothing to do with overall state tax reform strategy."

In Kentucky, Bevin hopes to address tax reform in 2018 — after the anticipated passage of pension system reforms at a special session this fall.

Related:Gov. Matt Bevin faces tough sell on tax reform, even among Republican allies

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Brownback is expected to step down as Kansas governor soon. He is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation of his appointment to be ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at 502-875-5136 or tloftus@courier-journal.com.