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• Introduced by Sen. Jay Emler (R) on January 13, 2009, in his role as committee chairman, to propose the state supplemental budget covering the remainder of fiscal year 2009, making changes to that year's full budget approved last session. This is the Governor's new proposal to spend $6.348 billion from the State General Fund (SGF) for all of FY09, compared to the $6.450 billion that was approved last spring. The SGF represents roughly half of all state spending. Among the changes are cuts to the current budget for state agencies, including higher education, and reduced state aid to local governments that was intended to offset other property tax cuts. The bill would reduce state aid for the business machinery and equipment tax reduction assistance fund and the telecommunications and railroad machinery and equipment tax reduction assistance fund by an amount equaling the overall monthly shortfall in the state general fund. NOTE: CURRENT LEGISLATIVE PROCESSES DO NOT ALLOW GOVERNMENT STAFF TO REPORT AN ACCURATE DOLLAR FIGURE FOR APPROPRIATION BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN AMENDED, NOR FOR MOST OF THE AMENDMENTS INDIVIDUALLY. ONLY A FINAL AGGREGATE STATE SPENDING TOTAL FROM ALL APPROPRIATIONS BILLS IS PUBLISHED SOME TIME AFTER THE FISCAL YEAR HAS ENDED.
  • Referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on January 14, 2009.
    • Reported in the Senate on January 26, 2009, recommending passage of a substitute bill, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises numerous budget details. Senate committee reduced the proposed spending for the current FY09 budget to $6.184 billion, down $164 million from the bill's original $6.348 billion proposal. Budget savings were achieved predominantly by a 3.4 percent across-the-board reduction affecting all agencies.
    • Substitute offered in the Senate on January 28, 2009. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. Jay Emler (R) on January 28, 2009, to cut $205,626 from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services that would have come from the Children's Initiatives Fund; and, to delete the proposed ban on funding from the Kansas Conservation Commission to construction of Horsethief Reservoir. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. Carolyn McGinn (R) on January 28, 2009, to apply a budget reduction percentage to K-12 education equally between general state aid, state support for local option budgets, and special education services. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. John Vratil (R) on January 28, 2009, to reduce by $1.3 million the proposed cut from the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation and to pay that amount with casino gaming revenues . The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. Marci Francisco (D) on January 28, 2009, to further cut $774,357 from the State Water Plan fund. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. Dwayne Umbarger (R) on January 28, 2009, to prevent any funds from being spent to permanently close various state facilities until legislative budget committees have heard a full cost-benefit analysis of the facilities' programs. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Sen. Laura Kelly (D) on January 28, 2009, to overhaul many of the bill's provisions in order to affect a $200 million reduction to the FY09 budget that was approved last spring. Also, numerous parts of the amendment would achieve $134 million overall in state revenue transfers and revenue adjustments for FY09. The amendment passed in the Senate (25 to 15) on January 28, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
    • Amendment offered in the Senate on January 28, 2009, to propose a $6.6 million change to one of the budget line items. The amendment failed in the Senate (14 to 22) on January 28, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Passed in the Senate (25 to 14) on January 29, 2009, to propose the state supplemental budget covering the remainder of fiscal year 2009 (FY09), making changes to that year's full budget approved last session. Substantial amendments on the floor now result in a state general fund budget for FY09 that would spend $6.248 billion, representing about a $200 million reduction to the FY09 budget that was approved last spring. Also, numerous parts of the amendment would achieve $134 million overall in state revenue transfers and revenue adjustments for FY09. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on January 29, 2009.
  • Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on January 29, 2009.
    • Reported to the House on January 30, 2009, recommending passage of a substitute bill, to replace the latest Senate version of the bill with one that revises many details. The FY09 budget modification proposal would now authorize a state general fund budget for FY09 that would spend $6.237 billion, about $11 million less than the Senate-passed version and about a $213 million reduction to the FY09 budget that was approved last spring. Also, numerous parts of the bill would achieve $114 million overall in state revenue transfers and revenue adjustments for FY09. Some particular amendments by House committee would: spend $2.9 million for the Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education; spend an additional $12.4 million for the physically disabled and $4 million for the developmentally disabled; and, reduce state aid to K-12 education by another $53.3 million, but accomplish it by cutting base state aid per pupil and special education while avoiding cuts to the state's aid for USD local option budgets. This House proposal is projected to result in a $140.5 million positive ending balance for FY09, a result that includes the $526.6 million beginning balance on the first day of this fiscal year.
    • Substitute offered in the House on February 4, 2009. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 4, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) on February 4, 2009, to add approximately $16 million in spending back into the bill, primarily to K-12 education by reducing the 1.5 percent K-12 cut approved by House committee to a 1.0 percent cut. The amendment passed in the House (75 to 47) on February 4, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
    • Amendment offered by Rep. Lana Gordon (R) on February 4, 2009, to add approximately $90,000 in spending to the bill for Kansas Inc. that, through a clerical error, had been reduced by House committee by more than the 4 percent intended cut. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on February 4, 2009.
    • Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Feuerborn (D) on February 4, 2009, to delete the spending cuts that House committee recommended for the Department of Corrections and for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services; also to delete all of the committee's recommended cuts to K-12. Overall, the amendment would leave the FY09 budget with $158 million in cuts compared to the House committee's recommended $208 million cuts. The amendment failed in the House (49 to 74) on February 4, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
    • Amendment offered by Rep. Melody McCray-Miller (D) on February 4, 2009, to delete proposed spending cuts to a variety of programs funded through the Children's Initiatives Fund -- that is, revenues received through the tobacco master settlement agreement -- amounting to approximately $3 million. The amendment failed in the House (55 to 68) on February 4, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Passed in the House (74 to 48) on February 5, 2009, to propose the state supplemental budget covering the remainder of fiscal year 2009 (FY09), making changes to that year's full budget approved last session. The bill now calls for a $6.252 state general fund budget for FY09, representing about a $192 million reduction from the amount approved last spring. Also, the bill would mandate $134 million overall in state revenue transfers and revenue adjustments for FY09, effectively increasing available state money this year by that amount . [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the Senate on February 5, 2009.
  • Motion by Sen. Jay Emler (R) on February 5, 2009, to not approve the House version of the bill, but to send the bill to a conference committee to negotiate the two chambers' differences. The motion passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 5, 2009.
• Motion by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) on February 12, 2009, to adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. The report recommends a revised budget for the remainder of FY09 that would change various revenue provisions to make available an additional $123.8 million more to spend and to cut previously approved spending by $201.8 million, thereby erasing an earlier projected deficit and now leaving an estimated $126.5 million positive ending balance at the end of the current fiscal year. The total State General Fund (SGF) budget for FY09 would therefore be $6.248 billion and the All Funds budget (which includes agency fees and federal aid) would be $13.452 billion.
• The motion passed in the House (70 to 51) on February 12, 2009, thereby approving the conference committee report and forwarding it to the Senate. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Motion by Sen. Jay Emler (R) on February 12, 2009, to adopt the conference committee report that was approved earlier by the House.
• The motion passed in the Senate (27 to 11) on February 12, 2009, and approves a revised budget for the remainder of FY09 that would change various revenue provisions to make available an additional $123.8 million more to spend and to cut previously approved spending by $201.8 million, thus erasing an earlier projected deficit and now leaving an estimated $126.5 million positive ending balance at the end of the current fiscal year. The total State General Fund (SGF) budget for FY09 would therefore be $6.248 billion and the All Funds budget (which includes agency fees and federal aid) would be $13.452 billion. Senate approval thereby forwards the bill to the governor for her consideration. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on February 20, 2009, approving the proposed supplemental state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2009, but exercising her line-item veto to reduce the overall budget cuts proposed for state general fund spending. The vetoes effectively: reduce the level of budget cuts to K-12 education by roughly $25 million, resulting in a 0.5 percent cut to K-12 for the full budget year from that level approved last spring; eliminate the proposed $2.5 million funding for the Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education; delete the budget savings proposed by restructuring KPERS debt payments; and, delete the proposed spending limits for the Health Care Stabilization Fund and the Kansas Bioscience Authority.