Legislature Returns
Last Thursday, the Legislature returned to Topeka to focus primarily on education and the budget. The new school finance formula which passed the legislature last month contained an error in the way local option budgets are calculated as part of base state aid. That mistake would have left about $80 million out of reach to help pay for schools. So, the first order of business in the House was a bill to fix that mistake. It passed handily and will now be taken up by the Senate.
School Finance Court Case
The legislature has been under the gun to pass a new school formula which could be presented to the Supreme Court by April 30. At the request of both sides in the lawsuit, the Court has extended that deadline to May 7. Oral arguments will be May 22 and the Court is thought likely to rule by June 30 as to whether the new plan funds Kansas’ K-12 public schools adequately and equitably. If it rules against the plan, legislators will be called back to town for a special session; something most of them would prefer to avoid since they will be right in the middle of their reelection campaigns back home.
House Budget Bill
The House, last week, also passed a budget bill for next year. This Omnibus bill, is actually the first budget the House has voted on this session. The Senate will then finalize its Omnibus budget bill and a conference committee will meet to sort out final spending decisions for the rest of this fiscal year and next year. The Senate had already passed its main budget bill before the regular session adjourned last month. Its new budget will take into account the fact that on April 20, Consensus Revenue Estimates, which lawmakers must use as the basis for their budget decisions, were adjusted upward by over $500 million over the next two years.
Tax Cut Desired
Legislators have been pondering how to pass through at least a partial tax cut to Kansans based upon changes in the federal tax law. They have generally coalesced around the idea of empowering Kansas tax filer to itemize deductions whether or not they itemize for federal income tax purposes, something which is not currently allowed. The Senate has passed the idea but leaders in the House are reluctant to act upon it until they have a better idea of what the fiscal impact of such a measure would be. Current estimates range from $30 million to $90 million in foregone state revenue.
The 2018 session is set to end officially and finally on Friday, May 4.