TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill that blocks furloughs for Kansas state government workers.
The Republican governor acted Saturday, only hours after lawmakers approved the measure by unanimous votes in both chambers. The measure took effect Saturday night.
The GOP-dominated Legislature has yet to complete a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 because lawmakers are divided over raising taxes.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says he’ll sign a bill aimed at blocking furloughs for Kansas state government workers.
The Republican governor made the promise Saturday in a statement shortly after lawmakers approved the measure. The vote in both chambers was unanimous.
The GOP-dominated Legislature has yet to complete a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 because lawmakers are divided over raising taxes.
Without a budget, the state has no legal authority to pay employees for work after Saturday. Employees’ compensation lags several weeks behind their work, so their pay for the two-week period beginning Sunday won’t be distributed until early July.
The bill approved by lawmakers declares all state employees essential for the next few weeks so that they can at least stay on the job.
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NICHOLAS CLAYTON, Associated Press
JOHN HANNA, Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have approved a bill aimed at preventing a partial state government shutdown by blocking planned furloughs for thousands of workers.
The Senate approved the bill on a 39-0 vote Saturday only hours after the House passed it, 106-0. It goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Legislature are deeply divided over raising taxes to close a projected budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
State agencies and state universities sent furlough notices Friday to at least 24,200 workers deemed nonessential. Without a budget for the next fiscal year, the state had no authority to pay employees for work starting Sunday.
But the bill declares all state workers essential for the next few weeks, allowing them to at least stay on the job.