USA|Kansas

Capitol Buzz: Quick notes on what’s happening with the Legislature

Senate budget (Sub. for HB 2631) and tax (Sub. for HB 2630) bills on General Orders, but it is highly unlikely they will be debated today. Efforts are underway to find a budget and tax package that will be able to get enough votes to pass both chambers—in the House, 63 votes, and in the Senate, 21 votes. There is a bipartisan effort between Senate leadership and representatives in the House to achieve a budget that does not cut K-12 and other important state services.
House budget (Sub. for SB 572) is scheduled first on General Orders today. This budget does not include funding to keep BSAPP at the current level and is opposed by education advocates, as well as many other entities. This is a bill being championed by House leadership, but it does not seem to have adequate votes to pass at this time.
Sub. for SB 74 is a bill passed out of the House Education Budget Committee on Monday and is on General Orders today. The bill is aimed at provided additional flexibility for districts needing to use their contingency reserve funds. The bill also includes a provision to run KPERS for schools through the general fund to allow greater Local Option Budget authority.
HB 2486 was finally released from the Transportation Conference Committee this morning. This bill extends the legal age limitation on school buses from 20, to 25 years. The bill will be presented to the full Senate for their concurrence and, finally, to the House for their approval. The House initially approved the bill with just a few dissenting votes; the Senate initially put tighter limits on the original bill. However, the Senate conferees agreed to the House position in conference committee. Those interested in this legislation may want to contact your senators immediately and urge them to concur with the conference committee report on HB 2486.

It is looking very likely that a serious budget bill and commensurate revenue package will be on deck for debate tomorrow. USA|Kansas will keep members posted as events occur.