By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Kansas legislators will return to the statehouse in Topeka Thu., April 26, for their 2018 wrap-up session.
Since the April 8 adjournment, area legislators have been on the road talking with constituents. Saturday they were in Hays at the Fort Hays State University Robbins Center for the second Legislative Coffee presented by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.
The top topic still on the minds of Reps. Eber Phelps (D-Hays) and Ken Rahjes (R-Agra) along with Sen. Rick Billinger (R-Goodland) is school financing.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, April 8, Kansas lawmakers passed a $534 million increase in education funding over five years. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in October the state’s current education funding of more than $4 billion a year isn’t sufficient.
The State Department of Education later discovered an error lowering the size of the spending increase by at least $80 million. Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer signed the bill last week and plans to work with legislators when they return to fix the problem.
Sen. Billinger did not vote for what has been called the “gut and go” bill that came out of the conference committee.
“There were no negotiations when it came out of the House and so it was over,” Billinger said Saturday. “When it came to the Senate, it was just a yes or no vote. No amendments. Basically, nothing changes.”
Billinger told the audience he did not support the bill because “starting in year four, the numbers are in the red.”
“I didn’t think it was right to say to schools we’re going to give you this much money over five years, knowing that in the fourth year, we don’t have the money to give them.
“That’s not a good way to do business. I think we need to have money available when we’re going to spend it.”
Although state revenues have been above estimates since last August, Billinger pointed out the legislature continues to sweep money from the Kansas Department of Transportation to balance the budget.
“I call it the ‘Trump Bump’ and it’s good that we have that. But without the $300 million from KDOT, that ending balance is not very large.”
According to Billinger, the KDOT budget has been “the go-to place for funding” since at least 2008.
“You have to find the money where you have it to pay your bills. Without (KDOT sweep), we’re not going to even get close to funding this education deal.
“We’ve got to find a new funding source,” Billinger said.
Billinger will return to Topeka Wednesday for a joint meeting of the Senate Ways and Means committee and the House Appropriations committee to finalize the budget, what he called “the mega-bill.”
He’s hoping it will be a quick process. Last year there were more than 100 different items to be debated between the House and Senate budget in a conference committee. This year he says there aren’t nearly that many.