On May 2, 2007 the Kansas Legislature adjourned after passing a state general fund (SGF) budget of almost $6.1 billion, an increase $456 million from the prior year. This represents increased spending of more than 8% despite the fact that inflation plus Kansas population growth combined were only about 3.5% over the last year. I voted against this budget because I do not believe that Kansas can sustain such spending growth. At the outset of the 2007 legislative session the big news was that revenues were up substantially.

At the end of the legislative session the big news should be that even in a year where state tax receipts were strong the Kansas Legislature was unable to pass a budget that lives within our means. Indeed, the most recent estimates from the Kansas Legislative Research Department suggest that state expenditures will exceed available revenue by $526.6 million in FY 2008. In fairness it should be noted that this number reflects some $200 million set aside to fund ongoing increases in K-12 education funding and the statewide maintenance and disaster relief fund; however, that still leaves spending of well in excess of $300 million more than available revenue for FY 2008.

By law the State is required to maintain an ending balance of 7.5%. Under the budget just passed the ending balance will fail to meet this statutory requirement. The projected ending balance for FY2008 (the budget just passed) is 5.3%. Of even more concern are the projections for the next 2 years when ending the ending balance is projected to plunge to 0.6% in FY 2009 and negative 4.2% in FY 2010. This negative ending balance for FY 2010 would equate to placing the state some $272.8 million in the red. As bleak as that may seem these numbers may in fact be optimistic when one considers that they are based upon estimated spending increases of only 4.2% in FY 2009 and 1.9% in FY 2001. The likelihood of such spending restraint appears unlikely given recent practice. Indeed over the past 2 years SGF spending has increased $949.7 million, or 18.47%.

Given these budget figures I could not in good conscience vote for the FY 2008 SGF budget. Throughout the legislative session I, along with a group of other fiscally conservative legislators, consistently expressed a willingness to vote for a budget that kept SGF spending at or below $5.9 billion. Consistent with that pledge I did in fact vote in favor of an initial House budget that was passed in March. While still higher than I would have liked, that initial budget bill represented a step in the right direction, holding the growth in SGF spending below 5%. Unfortunately, over the last 6 weeks of the legislative session the SGF budget grew by about $190 million from the initial proposal that I supported. The result is that Kansas is continuing along a path that leads to fiscal crisis.