Senate approves budget with no further cuts to K-12 education

More positive news -- The Senate budget was approved yesterday, without the support of Senator Bruce. It maintains current K-12 funding. Today the Senate will vote on a plan to fund their budget which will require a tax increase. Senator Bruce is now accepting his email (at least my last one to him did not bounce back). Please let him know that we need to preserve K-12 funding and ask him to support a revenue plan to meet the Senate's budget.


Here is a excerpt for the Kansas Association of School Board's Legislative Update that I received this morning.

Senate approves budget without K-12 cuts

The Senate passed a budget for next year, Fiscal Year 2011, that keeps K-12 education funding at the current year's level, but leaves a $300 million deficit. Senators are expected to take up a proposal to fill that hole today with a one cent increase in the state sales tax. The proposal also includes a small increase in business taxes by disallowing a federal tax deduction for Kansas income tax, worth about $17 million. The revenue plan also includes increased funding for a state highway plan.

Although Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, warned the body it was irresponsible to vote in favor of the budget without also being willing to support a tax increase, it remains unclear if there will be enough votes to pass the tax plan. Here is the final action roll call on the Senate budget plan:

Yeas 23, Nays 17, Present and Passing 0, Absent or Not Voting 0.

Yeas: Brungardt, Emler, Faust-Goudeau, Francisco, Haley, Hensley, Holland, Huntington, Kelly, Kultala, Lee, Marshall, McGinn, Morris, Ostmeyer, Owens, Reitz, Schmidt V, Schodorf, Taddiken, Teichman, Umbarger, Vratil.

Nays: Abrams, Apple, Barnett, Brownlee, Bruce, Colyer, Donovan, Huelskamp, Kelsey, Lynn, Masterson, Petersen, Pilcher-Cook, Pyle, Schmidt D, Steineger, Wagle.
On the House side, after soundly defeating a budget offered by House Republican leadership to avoid a tax increase Tuesday night, Representatives spent Wednesday waiting for an alternative plan developed by Democrats and a group of moderate Republicans. Although the details were ready by mid-evening, the final bill draft was not expected until late evening, and the House adjourned until 8 a.m. today, when further consideration of the budget is expected. The proposed budget alternative closely matches the plan approved by the Senate, but likewise requires $300 million in new tax revenue. The Senate revenue plan has been placed in Senate Sub for HB 2360 which would allow the House to quickly consider that proposal if approved by the Senate.