March 29, 2009 (Read Update for April 5, 2009)

The most significant piece of legislation passed this week was House Bill 2373, also known as the FY 2010 mega appropriations bill.  We devoted all of Monday to the budget, debating over 30 possible amendments.  After 10 hours of debate, the bill passed by a 70-54 vote.  The Senate took up its version of the budget bill on Tuesday, which passed 26-14. 

Although we made some positive amendments, I have a number of concerns with the House bill.  I broke down some highlights below, but please be aware the budget debate is far from over.  A conference committee has already begun to meet on this bill, and there are a number of differences between the House and Senate versions.  This means there still could be a number of changes once the two bills are reconciled. 

Some highlights:

K12 Education
Protecting public education is always a top priority for me.  The House bill, unfortunately, cuts K12 education by $26 million.  The bill as proposed would reduce the budget an additional $33 per pupil and cuts special education aid $4.5 million in FY 2010.  Although this is a seemingly small cut in terms of percentage, it will disproportionately fall onto rural schools and could jeopardize our opportunity to maximize federal stimulus dollars eligible to Kansas.  Additionally, there are currently millions of dollars available in gaming revenues, yet these funds were not even considered for K12 education.  Had we utilized gaming funds, this cut would be completely unnecessary. The Senate voted not to cut K12 education, so there is hope that we can reverse these cuts in conference committee.

Waivers for developmentally and physically disabled Kansans
Another successful amendment to the House budget was a proposal to add about $13 million in spending to services for developmentally and physically disabled.  This will allow the state to avoid issuing waiting lists for disability programs, children’s health care and other programs.  The amendment passed 66-54.

State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
One major success of House Bill 2373 was the funding of a program that will provide low-cost health coverage for Kansas children.  Although these families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, they make too little to afford private insurance.  The measure approved by the House would provide the funding necessary to raise the income eligibility to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which would make it about $53,000 per year.  The House voted 75-48 to provide $1.2 million to the program.  As a result of this vote, Kansas is now eligible to draw up $6 million in additional funding for the program from the federal government.  Had the amendment failed, those $6 million would be lost and 8,000 more children in Kansas would be without coverage.  This was not only the right thing to do, it was simply a good business decision.

Other House-approved budget cuts

• An across-the-board cut of Kansas state agencies by 10 percent
• A 9 percent cut to public safety spending
• A 3.6 percent cut to public universities, colleges, and technical schools
• A 10 percent cut to state legislators’ pay

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