Brownback plans to focus on growing jobs, shrinking government

Governor-elect Sam Brownback
(Photo by Cliff Owen)

TOPEKA | Kansas’ next governor said he would put off big changes to school finance and Medicaid during his first year in office to instead focus on growing jobs and shrinking government.

Sam Brownback said his first budget would come with deep cuts and changes to some state departments. The Republican said he would protect "core services," such as education and Medicaid. But he will recommend rolling back or even eliminating services and programs that he does not consider necessary.

"It will be controversial," he said of his budget proposal. "But if you’re going to do your core functions, you’ve got to really do some restructuring."

Kansas lawmakers will need to find $500 million to balance next year’s budget, expected to total $13 billion.

Last year the Legislature and Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, opted to use a sales tax increase to avoid deep cuts to public schools and social services. But Brownback insists he won’t support any tax increase, and that the budget gap will be closed through cuts.

Details will be announced next week when Brownback releases his budget proposal. He will be sworn into office Monday, the first day of the 2011 legislative session. But in an exclusive interview Tuesday with The Kansas City Star, Brownback dropped a few hints about what to expect:

Don’t look for a rewrite of the state’s school finance formula this year. Brownback campaigned on the need to reform the formula, saying it should direct more money to classroom instruction. But he said his proposals would first deal with other issues — state spending and taxes.

"We will be addressing the school finance formula in the future, not this time around," he said. "We’re not ready to deal with that."
No tax increases. Brownback said he would not consider using a tax increase to balance the budget. Big tax cuts may have to wait, too, but Brownback said he was interested in targeted tax cuts designed to spur job creation.
No cuts in services to those receiving Medicaid. Brownback said he favored big reforms to make the health care program for the disabled and low-income Kansans more cost-effective. But he said any reforms would likely wait until next year.

"If you’re currently on Medicaid, we’re going to get you covered," he said.

Veteran lawmakers are not surprised by Brownback’s decision to take his time with school finance and Medicaid, two of the most expensive and politically explosive topics in the statehouse.

The new governor will have more immediate challenges, according to Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat. Forming a new Cabinet and eliminating the $500 million deficit are but two.

"There are so many irons in the fire, I don’t blame him for pushing these things back," he said. "If you’re a new governor, you want to keep your agenda as simple as possible."

GOP lawmakers, too, said it was smart for Brownback to take a realistic approach to what he could accomplish in the legislative session.

House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said Brownback’s decision reflected the severity of the state’s budget situation and the priority that state finances must take over other issues.

"When you take office facing the kind of budget deficit we’re dealing with, you’re going to have to put some things aside," O’Neal said. "It becomes a time management issue, if nothing else. The Legislature is only in session for 90 days."

Brownback agreed, and said his top priority as governor would be economic growth. He will propose several ideas for luring more people and businesses to Kansas.

One suggestion: Waive income taxes for 10 years if someone moves to Kansas and settles in an area suffering from long-term population decline.

"We have 40 counties with double-digit population loss in the last decade," Brownback noted. "We’ve got to change these trend lines."

To reach David Klepper, call 785-354-1388 or send e-mail to dklepper@kcstar.com.