Kansas Lawmakers Make Progress On Budget

Kansas legislators have been settling small
differences between the House and Senate over a proposed $14.1
billion state budget.
Three negotiators from each chamber continued talks Tuesday on
the spending plan for the fiscal year that beginning July 1. They
must resolve dozens of disagreements to draft the budget’s final
version.
The talks began Monday and are expected to continue all week.
The negotiators agreed not to appropriate tax dollars to cover a
shortfall in fees collected by the state’s court system, caused by
fewer case filings than expected.
That was the House’s position. The Senate had added $1.2 million
to cover the shortfall.
The budget for the next fiscal year is likely to cut overall
state spending by at least $570 million, or about 4 percent.