Kansas legislators resume work on state budget

Topeka, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators resumed work on the state's budget Wednesday amid news that revenue projections could be higher than expected for the next 18 months.

House Appropriations Committee members are working on spending plans that shore up funding for state agencies in the remaining months of the current fiscal year, as well as funding for the 2015 budget starting July 1.

House leaders hope to have a budget bill finished by the end of the week and begin negotiations with the Senate, which has already approved a bill.

Legislative staff briefed the committee on revenue projections that were revised upward by $177 million earlier in April. The increases were results of better than expected collections in corporate income taxes, as well as anticipated growth in sales taxes.

"While things are continuing to move forward, certainly it's not a huge increase," said J.G. Scott, a legislative budget analyst.

Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a $129 million education bill to satisfy a Kansas Supreme Court decision on state aid to school districts. A lower court is scheduled to review the bill July 11 to determine if it complies with the high court's ruling.

Brownback has asked legislators to increase spending by $5 million in state revenues for health care services for more than 200 people currently on state waiting lists. Those individuals receive assistance through the state's KanCare Medicaid system managed by three private insurance companies.

The increases would reduce the waiting lists for those developmental, intellectual and physical disabilities.

The administration has projected a $30 million savings in KanCare expenditures as the state tries to curb the growth in health care costs.

Rep. Jerry Henry, a Cummins Democrat, said legislators should take a closer look at the savings and see if more of the money could be reinvested to further assist the more than 2,000 people waiting for services.

by John Milburn, Associated Press

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – April 30, 2014 @ 12:35pm