On Thursday, the House passed a budget that cuts nearly $80 million from the Governor’s proposed budget. Throughout the session, the House has worked toward a healthy ending balance. During the nearly seven hours the House spent debating the budget, one of the priorities was increasing savings to grow the balance. Amendment after amendment was brought to reach this goal. At the end of the week, the March tax revenues were announced. The lower than expected revenues have put the Governor and Senate’s budgets into the red reinforcing the need for the healthy ending balance established by the House position.
Below is an overview of This Session at the Statehouse, a preview of upcoming events, this week's Words to Watch and Kansas Trivia Questions.
This Week at the Statehouse
House Passes Budget that Produces $80 Million Ending Balance
Although House members have been working for weeks in preparation for the budget debate, most of the work on the floor occurred on Thursday when the House worked until 11:00 pm to pass its budget. The House Appropriations Committee developed a budget that cut $70.5 Million from the Governor’s proposal ensuring a healthy ending balance. Because of the new pay-go rule, amendments that increased net spending were not in order for debate ensuring that the budget did not grow during the extensive debate.
The budget that passed out of committee exempted legislative staff from the 7.5% pay cut. However, Representative DeGraaf (R-Mulvane) offered an amendment that passed 59-55 that removed the exemption for legislative staff.
Later in the debate, Representative Goico (R-Wichita) offered an amendment that replaced the 7.5% pay cuts for state employees with a 1.193% cut to all SGF-funded state agencies except for the Judiciary, K-12, human social services caseloads and debt service. The agency heads have the flexibility to decide how the reductions are made. This amendment and passed 73-39.
One of the most creative amendments offered was by Representative Patton (R-Topeka). The amendment transferred $277,000 spent on bottled water and other office supplies to a study on the effects of closing the Kansas Neurological Institute in Topeka. It passed 105-14.
Representative Worley (R-Lenexa) brought an amendment that moved $3.5 million from the Oil and Gas Trust Fund to programs for the developmentally disabled. The amendment passed on a voice vote.
The underlying bill passed the House 69 to 52. The conference committee will meet during the veto session to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate positions. With the Senate’s budget arguably already in the red, the House is entering conference committee with the leverage needed to bring the Senate toward the House position of reduced spending.
March Tax Revenues Below Estimates
This week, the Kansas Department of Revenue released the March revenue figures. Overall the state’s tax-only income is $19.4 million or 4.9% less than projected. Individual income taxes were down $14.9 million or 9.3% from the estimate. This is partially due to the efficiency of the new administration in the Department of Revenue which is processing and mailing rebates back to the taxpayers at a faster pace than previous years and might level out next month when all tax refunds have been mailed.
The sales-tax receipts for March were $7.2 million or 4.4% below the estimate. This indicates Kansans are reducing their spending which generally is not a positive sign. With the state’s year-to-date sales tax revenue approximately $25.8 million or 0.4% lower than expected, revenues would have to increase 15.6% in the next three months to reach the estimates that the Governor used to base his budget. The lower than expected revenues evaporated the less than $8 million ending balance from the Governor and Senate’s budget proposals leaving the House with the only proposed budget still in the black.
In one of the last votes before the House and Senate adjourned for the April break, they passed the final version of workers’ compensation reform sending it to the Governor for a signature. The legislation is the result of deliberation and extensive negotiation between labor and business representatives. The final version of the legislation improves the Kansas business climate increasing our competitiveness with surrounding states and ensures injured workers receive the care and benefits they need. The reform package passed the Senate 37 to 0 and the House 120 to 0.
During the debate, two amendments were approved. Representative Carlson proposed reduction of the sales tax rate to 5.7 beginning in 2013. The second amendment was from Representative Brown and steps down the corporate income tax rate to 3.5 while working to eliminate the personal income tax completely.
Looking Ahead
With the regular session ending on Friday, April 1st, legislators have returned to their districts until April 27th when the veto or wrap-up session will begin. This break allows the governor to sign or veto legislation. If a bill is vetoed, the Legislature has the opportunity to override the veto when it returns to Topeka for the final days of the session. In addition, the Legislature will work exempt bills and vote on conference committee reports.
Words to Watch
Drop Dead Day – The day on which the regular session of the Legislature ends and the April break begins. Except for exempt bills, legislation must have passed both chambers by “Drop Dead Day” in order to be sent to the governor’s desk. April 2nd is the “Drop Dead Day” for 2011. Conference committee reports on bills in conference may still be considered after this date.
Veto Session – Also known as wrap-up session, veto session is composed of the last days of session when the Legislature reconvenes to override vetoes, allow conference committees to work and both chambers approve a final budget. This year the veto session will begin on April 27th the seventy-sixth day of session. The Legislature will meet until the budget passes both chambers. The ninetieth day of the session is May 11th. The last time the Legislature went over the constitutionally approved ninety days was 2006 when the session lasted ninety-three days. The longest session was in 2002 when it the session consumed one-hundred and six days.
Kansas Trivia Questions
Question: The annual football game between Kansas University and Missouri has been cancelled once. What caused the cancellation?
Answer: The game was scheduled for November 23, 1963, the day after president Kennedy was assassinated.
Question: The first international horseshoe pitching contest open to all was held in 1909 and won by Frank Jackson of Blue Mound. What Kansas town hosted the event?
Answer: Bronson
Question: Since 1986 what specific reptile has been the state’s official reptile?
Answer: The Ornate Box Turtle or Terrapene Ornata.
Extra Credit Question: On a particularly uncivil day in the legislature, who was nominated to be the state reptile?
Extra Credit Answer: Representative Kerry Patrick of Johnson County. The nomination was later withdrawn.
Question: What is the state’s largest living rodent?
Answer: The beaver, with some weighing more than ninety-five pounds.
Question: Takeru Higuchi, a University of Kansas chemist, invented what medical delivery system?
Answer: The time-release capsule.
Posted on
Mon, April 4, 2011
by Terry L. Calloway