Capitol Comments
January 21, 2003
On Monday, January 13th, at inaugural ceremonies held on the south steps of the Capitol,
Kathleen Sebelius became the 44th Governor of Kansas. Monday was also the first
day of the 2003 Legislature. The Senate swore in two new members to fulfill the
former terms of Sandy Praeger, Commissioner of Insurance, and Lynn Jenkins, State
Treasurer. Twenty-nine new House members were also sworn in. The
biggest challenge for the new as well as returning legislators will be to address the
state's worst fiscal crisis in more than half a century.
Since the end of the 2002 session, revenues for the state of Kansas have continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate, so many have faced this new year with great trepidation. As the new session began, Kansas faced a shortfall of nearly $750 million in the FY 2004 budget, which actually begins on July 1, 2003. I predict the budget will take the majority of our time this session.
BUDGET PROPOSALS PRESENTED
On Wednesday, January 15th, Governor Sebelius presented her budget proposals for the
remainder of FY 2003 and for the full 2004 fiscal year. Her speech marked the
first time legislators heard her plan to address our state's budget
crisis. Without changes, the gap between spending obligations and available
resources could grow to more than $l billion over the next 18 months. To the
surprise of most, the Governor did not recommend a tax increase in either fiscal year.
The Governor's budget proposal for FY 2004 includes leaving the base state aid per pupil
at the 2003 level of $3,863 for our public schools and provided the same funding amount
for special education services as the schools received this year. Additional
dollars have been added to adequately cover the state's share of the local option
budgets. Higher education funding for university operating grants, community
college aid, and technical college support remains constant.
Late this past fall Governor Graves made substantial funding cuts to social services,
including home and community-based services to the disabled and aging
populations. Governor Sebelius' budget proposal adds supplemental funding to
the current fiscal year. Most important, FY 2004 caseloads for both SRS and
Aging are fully funded.
I believe we were given a good starting point on the budget by the Governor which
legislators must now complete. There are some gaps in the proposed
budget. We will not have an ending balance in the general fund to fall back on
should the revenues continue to decline. Another huge gap is that the Cities
and Counties not only suffered a $48 million loss on their budgets this year but it is
also proposed that $86 million in sales tax money not be disbursed to Cities and Counties
FY 2004. The Governor's proposed budget also put the 2000 Comprehensive Highway
Program in jeopardy. The state borrowed as a loan $94.6 million from the 2000
Comprehensive Highway Plan last session which will not be paid back. In
addition the Governor's proposal is to not transfer $128 million sales tax money to the
highway plan in year 2004 as promised in the CHP.
Hopefully, all 125 House members and 40 Senators will put politics aside and work for solutions to the budget problems we have facing us. There are only a few places the legislature can get money to keep the promises made to the people of our state. We must be united in our work.
BUSINESS COMMUNITY MEETING
I appreciate the work of George McCune and other CCEDA members in organizing a meeting to allow Cowley County business and industry representatives to give our local state delegation an opportunity to hear an update of proposed legislation affecting our area of the state. I was most interested in the comments coming from those people who depend on the three of us to represent and protect their business interests. If there was ever a time for the local community to keep in contact with legislators, the time is certainly during this legislative session. We have much to gain or to lose during the coming weeks as the clock is ticking. The end of session is scheduled for Saturday, April 12th, the 90th calendar day. A possible veto session is currently scheduled to begin on Wednesday, April 30th.
IN CONCLUSION
I appreciate the many constituents who have contacted me by telephone, e-mail, or written letters with suggestions and concerns in regard to this legislative session. Your input allows me to work effectively for you. With my heavy committee work I am not always available to take your calls but Betty Manning, my Office Administrator, will get your messages to me.
There are still a few slots open for those wanting to page for the Legislature this
session. Should you have a student desiring to come to the Capitol to page for
the Senate, please contact my office as soon as possible.
You can reach 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 (785) 296-7381 or
1-800-432-3924.
Copyright © January, 2003 by Jamiebro Publications. All rights reserved.