Kansas Budget Panel Stalls

A Kansas House committee will try again

Tuesday to finish work on a proposed $14 billion state budget for

the fiscal year that starts in July.

The House Appropriations Committee met twice Monday but was

unable to complete the budget. The full House can’t debate a

proposed budget until the committee produces a plan.

The committee reaffirmed its earlier rejection of Gov. Sam

Brownback’s proposal to increase funding for schools using the

state’s general revenues. Instead, the panel kept with an earlier

decision to take the money from highway funds.

The House panel also discussed the need for additional spending

on public safety, including overtime pay for Kansas Highway Patrol

troopers.

The Senate is tentatively scheduled to debate its own budget

bill on Wednesday.