By Mike Shields and Dave Ranney, KHI News Service, May 05,2010
TOPEKA — The Senate today narrowly approved a budget bill after making relatively small changes to the plan crafted by the Ways and Means Committee.
The measure calls for general fund spending of $5.6 billion for the fiscal year that starts July 1 and would require about $300 million in new taxes. But senators finished work for the day about 7:45 p.m. without debating the bill's companion tax package, which would raise an estimated $350 million.
Meanwhile, House Democrats and some Republicans spent much of the day putting finishing touches on a new budget plan for consideration by the lower chamber. The budget favored by House GOP leaders, which called for no new taxes, was rejected by wide margin on Tuesday.
The Senate budget bill, Senate Substitute for House Bill 2631, was approved, 23-17, after members spurned a proposed amendment from Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover, that had backing from most of the chamber's GOP conservatives who were holding out for a spending plan that didn't require additional taxes.
"We all see this $300 million hole (in the budget)," Masterson said. "And I prefer to fill the hole with something besides taxes."
The Masterson amendment proposed "liquidating or privatizing" state buildings and property to raise an estimated $175 million. But that provision was criticized for being too uncertain a revenue stream given that it didn't identify specific properties to be sold or their value. Instead, Masterson's plan would have required state officials to develop a comprehensive inventory of the state's holdings with a determination of market values and then sell enough of them over the next 12 months to help keep the budget in balance.
His plan assumed a certain percentage of the properties would be marketable. But critics said it was unlikely the state's assets could be fully inventoried and buyers found within a year.
"It took 10 years to sell Topeka State Hospital," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka. "And you know who bought it? U.S.D. 501," the Topeka school district.
Masterson's plan, among other things, also called for reducing state aid to K-12 schools by $66 million and a 5 percent cut in wages and salaries paid to state employees.
Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, has threatened to veto any spending plan that cuts education or social services.
In the House, outlines of an alternate budget plan pulled together by Democrats and mostly moderate Republicans were released. But finer details of the legislation were still being worked on when the House adjourned for the day so debate on it is expected Thursday.
The so-called, "Feuerborn plan," which will come as an amendment offered by Rep. Bill Feuerborn of Garnett, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, would add $86 million more for K-12 education than was included in the rejected House GOP leadership plan.
It also would add dollars for some social service programs.
"It doesn’t cut education below where it is now," Feuerborn said. "It adds money for the frail elderly (about $1.1 million) and for services for people with disabilities (about $7 million), and it allows to us to reopen the prison in Stockton, which we’re going to have to do because we’re 120 (inmates) over where we’re supposed to be."
"It doesn’t cut state employee salaries 5 percent, but there is a 5 percent cut in play for legislators," he said.
Feuerborn said he and others in the coalition spent the past "two and half to three weeks" crafting the proposal.
"The downside in this is that it will take a revenue package to fund these programs," he said.
The tax package, he said, would need to generate “right around $300 million.”
He predicted the plan would pass.
"With 125 people in the House, you never know," he said, "but I think there are 63 who don’t want to cut education, social services or programs for the elderly."
Rep. Don Hill, R-Emporia, said he planned to vote for it.
"As it stands now, it addresses the priorities I have for my community, and those are education – both K-12 and higher education – and restoration of the Medicaid provider cut, which will impact our community mental health center, county health department and our hospital."
Hill also predicted the coalition would generate the votes needed for passage.
"I think we can expect a long day of vigorous debate as we are divided on a lot of the issues before us, and I’m sure there will be a lot of amendments," he said. "But I’m comfortable in saying that in the end, there will be substantial support for the amendment."
The chamber’s conservative leaders were critical of the plan.
"For starters, it rewrites an entire 300-page budget that we spent four months putting together with hundreds of hours of hearings, public input and deliberation," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder, R-Overland Park. "But the overarching concern is that it demands the largest tax increase in state history which we know will have a de-stimulating effect on our economy which is already being hampered by one of highest unemployment rates in generations."