Capitol Comments
March 5, 2001
The first half of the session was dominated by two topics - the renewal of the Kansas Lottery and natural gas bills. Other issues, such as school finance, health care, and social services, have not been acted on. Despite hours of debate, the lottery still hasn’t been renewed, and we haven’t provided the kind of immediate relief needed for natural gas bills. I can appreciate moving slow for new members, but tough issues need action, and we aren’t seeing that yet.
Raises For State Employees
I believe that it is very important that we make sure classified and unclassified employees that work for us are paid at a salary that is keeping up with rising inflation rates. The Governor has made a real effort this year to answer the concerns of state employees by proposing a 3% pay increase. He has also done so by enhancing the salaries of corrections officers and Highway Patrol Troopers. We believe that he will be open to working with us and set a precedent on pay increases. This is a move in the right direction, however, the Governor eliminates what is known as the “step movement” for this year, a 14-year tradition which provides a 2.5% increase to most state employees on an annual basis. The step movement is a guarantee for employees. No matter what our state’s fiscal situation is, we are committed each year to provide a step movement for state employees. I feel strongly that keeping a step in the budget is vital to many state employees. I am encouraged that members of both parties are also making meaningful pay raises a priority within our fiscal constraints.
Concerns About Regents Cuts
Proposing cuts in the Board of Regents is not the way to help control the shortfall in the projected budget. Since reorganizing the Board of Regents less than two years ago, the Board of Regents has made many sacrifices and kept their end of the bargain, and it’s time to make sure that we also keep up our end. Already Kansas State University and the University of Kansas have had to implement a hiring freeze to prepare for a cut in their budget. Many of our vocational-technical schools are creating waiting lists for students. If we cut spending from these important universities it will have a negative impact not just for the students that go there, but the entire state. I know that Cowley County College is an important asset to our community, making sure that it too does not get hit by the brunt impact of a budget cut will be one of my top priorities.
Budget Shortfall Near An End?
As many of you may know one of the biggest concerns the state has recently had is that we have had two really bad months of revenue collection in December and January that amassed $47.6 million dollars below projected outcomes. However, the month of February was only $2 million dollars below the projected outcome. This is hopefully a sign that the economy of Kansas is turning around, but we are still $49.6 million below projections for the fiscal year. While I am optimistic that the economy may have stabilized, it still doesn’t relieve the pressure on the legislature to hold the line on spending. As we are now working in the last half of the session, all eyes are on the budget in hopes we don’t have to make cuts in the Governor’s recommended budget.
Juvenile Justice Authority
An important system, the Juvenile Justice Authority, has had its budget endorsed in the Ways and Means committee in the Senate with only slight modifications from the Governor’s recommendations. I am concerned that the new budget may provide too little for delinquency prevention efforts. We want to make sure that we do not cripple some of the most important programs in the agency. Already we have seen juvenile offenders receiving case management services on a daily basis go up 6% and those receiving juvenile intensive supervision services on a daily basis go up 24 % from the first of FY 2000 to the last day of FY 2000. Also last year the number of youth served by the Intake and Assessment Service centers increased nine percent. On November 8, 2000 we saw community programs all over the state funded with state funds which addressed parent education programs, truancy, prevention/intervention, diversion, mentoring, early childhood programs, youth court, victim/offender mediation/restitution, school based or after school intervention. The Judicial Districts in South Central Kansas received large sums of money for programs which we would not have been able to fund locally for prevention and intervention programs. With the increase in the number of youth needing services we need to make certain that youth prevention programs are adequately funded. Many of the districts received funds for one of the larger issues in the JJA system this year which is trying to come up with a successful solution of what to do with children who are chronically truant from school.
In Conclusion
First adjournment was originally intended to be the last day the legislature could pass substantive legislation, and is still used that way in large part. The Veto Session was to be the time when the Omnibus Appropriation bill was considered to fund state operations for the next fiscal year and to fund those programs put into law by the legislature. It is still that, but it is more, and in recent years final action on many of the significant legislative programs has been deferred until the veto session. I expect this year to be no different.
You can contact me via E-mail at ggoodwin@ink.org or Goodwin@senate.state.ks.us. My address is State Capitol, Room 403 - N, Topeka, KS 66612.. Telephone at (785) 296 - 7381 or 1-800-432-3924. You can also visit my web page at https://members.tripod.com/~Ggoodwin
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