Kansas Legislature passes joint budget bill

Kansas lawmakers passed a joint budget bill Wednesday that will enable the governor to delay payments to the pension system this year.

The House voted 68-54 and the Senate voted 22-16 in favor of a compromise forged by negotiators. It now goes to Gov. Sam Brownback, who has the power to veto individual items.

The bill does not address the Kansas Supreme Court’s recent order to address funding inequities between school districts, a fact highlighted by Democrats who say that the bill does not represent a balanced budget.

It does, however, set aside $50,000 for the Legislature to hire its own attorneys on school finance issues.

The bill approves $15.6 billion in total spending for the current fiscal year and nearly $16.1 billion in total spending for next fiscal year, which begins in July. The bill expends more than $6 billion from the state’s general fund each year.

The bill grants the governor the power to delay the state’s contribution to Kansas Public Employees Retirement System this fiscal year, a move that could free up to $100 million to cushion the state’s ending balance, which even without the school finance ruling was estimated to be about $6 million.

Delaying payments would not affect current retirees’ benefits, but opponents say it could affect the state’s ability to pay off the pension system’s $9.5 billion unfunded liability. Supporters dispute that, noting that the bill requires the governor to pay back the delayed money by Sept. 30 with 8 percent interest.

The bill uses a combination of fund transfers and budget cuts to help close the state’s budget hole, including a $39.5 million cut to the KPERS death and disability plan for the 2017 fiscal year and a $25 million sweep from the state’s highway fund.

It provides more money for public safety and public health than the governor initially proposed, allocating $2.5 million to provide a 2.5 percent pay raise for correctional officers in the face of high staff turnover at state prisons.

The bill also provides $3 million more for Osawatomie State Hospital to address understaffing as the hospital seeks to regain its federal Medicare certification, which was revoked in December.

The bill also prohibits the governor from privatizing the state’s hospitals in Osawatomie and Larned, an idea floated by the Brownback administration in recent weeks, without legislative approval.

Contributing: Associated Press

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Kansas Legislature passes joint budget bill."