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Legislators offer insight into state budget
With Kansas' budget facing a shortfall this year and next, state officials are looking for virtually any way to save money.
Before lawmakers can tackle the $500 million shortfall projected in 2012, they have to plug a $35-$40 million deficit for 2011, state Sen. Bob Marshall, R-Fort Scott, told those attending a legislative update Saturday.
Marshall was joined by newly elected state Rep. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus. Rep. Bob Grant, D-Cherokee, was invited but could not attend.
About 30 people turned out the forum, hosted by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Mark McCoy.
The budget was just one of many subjects touched on including Senate Bill 54, which would allow the sale of full-strength beer, wine and liquor at grocery and convenience stores, census numbers, Gov. Sam Brownback's Rural Opportunity Zone proposal, roads and education funding.
A conference committee -- which tries to reconcile House and Senate versions of proposed legislation -- is working on a recision bill for the roughly $5.4 billion 2011 budget.
The state's estimated 2012 budget should be about $6.072 billion. All funds for 2012 come to about $13.8 billion, including federal funds and other revenues, such as bonds, Marshall said.
The sticking point for this year is about $25 million the Senate wants to put into special education that would garner federal matching funds.
Depending on who you talk to, Marshall said, if that money is eliminated, it could jeopardize the federal education funding for the next "two, three or four years."
Tyson said she would not like to "see that particular funding go away."
"Education is 67 percent of the budget. There has to be something, somewhere where we can be more frugal. ... Another thing on the tale -- and it's always on the table when times are tough -- is mental health," Tyson said. She added she doesn't like to see mental health funding reduced, but "they're digging in deep."
Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed cutting the amount of state aid per pupil by $75 in 2011 and $156 in 2012. Districts currently get $4,012 per pupil. The $75 reduction "will happen when they pass the recision bill," Marshall said. Brownback wanted the recision bill -- or revised budget for 2011 -- on his desk by the end of January, but it has not arrived yet, which Marshall acknowledged is unusual.
But lawmakers can't start on the 2012 budget until the 2011 shortfall is solved, Marshall said.
Under the Rural Opportunity Zone proposal, aimed at providing tax and student loan breaks to people moving to counties that have lost 10 percent of their population from the last census, Tyson said she has tried to get more counties included.
Marshall said the proposal began with 37 counties and it's now 44. Some counties with 7-8 percent population losses were added because they had very low incomes.
Bourbon County has lost 3.2 percent of its population and Linn County, 2.5 percent. Cherokee has lost 6.8 percent of its population; Anderson, 2.9 percent; Allen, 8.2 percent; Neosho, 5.6 percent; Greenwood, 13.1 percent; Woodson, 14.5 percent; Wilson, 8.3 percent; Elk, 8 percent; and Chataqua, 14.1 percent.
A large chunk of population loss has also been seen in Northwestern Kansas, but most of the growth is found in Wichita and Northeastern Kansas -- Johnson and Wyndotte counties, and the city of Olathe, according to a map shown by Marshall.
Marshall noted this will change the composition of the legislature. "Some districts ... are going to gain representatives" and more control of the assembly.
"This is actually kind of scary," Tyson said. "There are currently 22 representatives from Johnson County. That's enough for a caucus. We are losing rural representatives in Kansas. This year, we're going to lose senators and representatives."
She added the census counted residents, not just citizens.
If you move to one of the designated ROZ counties, you would pay no income tax for five years, or have your student loan reduced by 20 percent, or up to $15,000, for five years, legislators said.
The Senate is also discussing -- not for the first time -- a change in the Kansas liquor law.
Currently, only liquor stores can sell full-strength beer, wine and spirits. Grocery and convenience stores right now can vend 3.2 percent beer.
Marshall said there are 724 liquor stores and they are the only ones that can sell "heavy beer, wine and liquor." He added oversight won't be as tight with more outlets able to sell the beverages.
"Right now, I'm voting against it. I'm protecting the small businesses," Marshall said. He later predicted the bill would get to the floor this year and it would be a close vote. He added if it doesn't pass this year, it will probably pass the following legislative session.
Senate Bill 193 is sales tax refund legislation that would require eligible residents to list their dependents and their tax ID numbers. Those who qualify make less than $17,000 and get $95 per dependent, he said.
Repeal of the 1 cent sales tax will also be discussed by lawmakers. Marshall said the bill, passed during the last legislative session, brought in about $320 million.
"We haven't debated it on the floor," Tyson said, but she expects it to be controversial. "We all hated to see the sales tax, but the state's out of money. Even if the House passes it, we don't know what the Senate will do. The governor has said he won't sign it."
For post-secondary education, two tiers of classes have been proposed with technical classes costing more.
These classes are often more expensive because of the equipment needed to teach them.
Fort Scott City Commissioner Gary Bukowski said he found the update useful. "I think they're meaningful lots of times. ... This is just a good source of information. I wish more people were here," he said.
Ken Wood, who serves on the Republican Central Committee, and Ronnie Brown, Marais des Cygnes Basin Advisory Committee chairman and president of the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, agreed.
"These are great deals," Brown said. "We need to do more of them and people need to take more of interest."
Brown added residents need to let legislators know what they think, so lawmakers know how to work.
Some other bills before the legislature are:
*A repeal of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants was passed out of the House. The bill was pre-filed by Tyson before the session. The bill, which has not yet passed the Senate, would require illegal aliens to pay the same rate as U.S. citizens from other states and foreign-exchange students. There were 413 reported illegal aliens enrolled at Regent institutions in 2010. She said the repeal would save the state $1.1 million.
She said rumors that Brownback won't sign the repeal are untrue.
*Tyson and Marshall said they will fight for continued funding of the feral swine program, which costs the state $177,000 annually.
The hogs are known to root up crops and pastures and carry numerous diseases. "We have to protect that funding and we will," Marshall said.
*A bill restricting strip clubs. Missouri recently passed a bill putting "large restrictions" on such clubs and it is thought they might try to move across to Kansas, Tyson said.
*Passed a year ago, House Bill 2667, which decreased the amount of unemployment taxes collected by businesses, will have to be corrected. Tyson said the state's unemployment fund has run out and Kansas has had to borrow federal funds to meet its obligations. For now, it's interest-free, but a 4 percent interest rate kicks in after September, she said.
There is talk of drug and alcohol testing to receive unemployment as well, Tyson said.
*A workers' compensation bill is also proposed to prevent fraud. It would require drug and alcohol testing.
*Senate Bill 194, which has been proposed before, restricts cities from requiring sprinklers in new construction.
*The House "overwhelmingly" passed a voter ID bill requiring ballot casters to take their photo ID with them when they vote, Tyson said. She added this would cut down on fraud and "ensure the integrity of the ballot."
*Marshall said he met last Friday with a group of thoroughbred, dog and quarterhorse breeders and is going to introduce a bill to make it more enticing for racetrack owners to re-open.
Racetrack owners currently get 25 percent of proceeds -- 15 percent goes toward expenses, 7 percent for horses, 7 percent for dogs, 2 percent to problem gamblers and 3 percent to the city or county its located in, Marshall said.
The state gets 40 percent of the revenue generated, he said.
Under the new bill, that would change to 58 percent going to the racetrack owner and 22 percent to the state. The remaining percentages would stay the same.
*The Senate recently honored Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Col. Don Ballard, now in the U.S. Army, and U.S. Army Col. Roger Donlon. Ballard won his medal as a Naval Corpsman working with the U.S. Marines.
The late U.S. Navy Capt. Donald Ross, also a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, was recognized with a section of Kansas Highway being named after him. He was a hero at Pearl Harbor.