Capitol beats: ‘I want to thank the academy’
Check this spot on Sundays for a few quick hits about what’s driving the debate in the Legislature.
Say what?
“Wow. I’ve got to take a minute to enjoy it. Can we put those numbers back up for a minute? I want to thank the academy.”
– Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, reacting to passage of his amendment to the budget bill. The amendment, which would prevent Gov. Sam Brownback from privatizing Osawatomie State Hospital without legislative approval, passed 68-51 despite opposition from Republican leaders.
“I just think it’s poor timing. It looks fishy.”
– House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, on the Kansas Supreme Court releasing a school finance decision 90 minutes before a scheduled House vote on the budget.
$10.6 million
That’s the amount Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration hopes to save by enacting step therapy for the state’s Medicaid program, a process in which patients must try less expensive drugs before being approved for costlier ones. A bill to allow step therapy passed the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 23-16.
Trending
The Kansas Supreme Court said in a ruling Thursday that it will close schools if the Legislature does not fix funding inequities between school districts by June 30. Republican leaders bristled at the ruling and accused the court of playing political games with the state’s schools. Democrats saw the ruling as proof that the state has failed its constitutional duty to fund education.
The court did not give lawmakers a specific dollar amount. But the ruling could mean more than $100 million in school funding for the current and next fiscal year if lawmakers use the old formula for equalization aid, which was scrapped by the Legislature last year.
And that’s only the first half of the school finance case. The court still has to rule on the bigger question of whether school funding is adequate.
News ahead
House and Senate negotiators will need to work out differences in the budget bills passed by both chambers on Thursday before sending a joint bill to the governor’s desk.
The bills are largely similar and pretty close to what the governor proposed in January. However, there are a few key differences.
The House bill includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for prison guards. The Senate bill does not.
The House bill also would allow the governor to delay payments to the state’s pension fund this year to free up extra money in the short term and then repay it next year with 8 percent interest. The Senate scrapped a similar proposal and passed an amendment to safeguard pension funding. Current retirees’ benefits would not be affected by the delayed payments.
Bryan Lowry
For more legislative news, go to www.kansas.com/politics and follow @BryanLowry3 on Twitter.
This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Capitol beats: ‘I want to thank the academy’."