The following is a synopsis of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s first State of the State address on Jan. 14, 2019 provided by Senator Richard Hilderbrand in his weekly newsletter.
STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
On Wednesday, Governor Laura Kelly delivered her first State of the State address. The governor laid out her agenda as she began her first term as governor. Some of her main agenda items include, more money to public education, increased funding to hire more social workers for DCF, and Medicaid expansion.
During her address, Kelly explained she would be proposing a one-year budget with a separate proposal for a two-year education plan.
GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PROPOSAL
Thursday morning, Governor Kelly presented her one-year budget proposal. The $18.4 billion spending plan would be the largest budget in Kansas history, with total spending rising $1.2 billion, or 7.2%.
Kelly’s proposal includes increased spending for areas such as K-12 education, DCF, and Medicaid expansion. Many lawmakers question the number Kelly presented for the cost of expanding Medicaid as many predict it to be well over the budget proposal’s estimate.
Below are some highlights from the governor’s budget proposal:
Kansas K-12 Education Finance
Governor Kelly recommended a $92 million inflation adjustment to state aid for K-12 public schools. This would be a phase in of $364 million over four years. With this increase, the state’s education funding would increase 5.5 percent during the next budget year, to nearly $4.4 billion.
Department for Children and Families
The budget proposed a 14 percent increase in spending on foster care programs. Governor Kelly’s agenda includes the hiring of 55 additional social workers. This would increase the department’s budget 8.7 percent, to $727 million.
Medicaid Expansion
Kelly’s budget included $14 million to initiate Medicaid expansion in Kansas. She explained that an expansion plan would be submitted to the Legislature by the end of the month.
State Employee Salary Increase
The budget provided $22 million for a 2.5 percent salary increase for state employees, excluding the judicial system and legislative branch. An additional $3 million was earmarked to increase wages for officers of the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Kansas Board of Regents
The budget proposal would complete restoration of a 4 percent, or $30 million, cut in 2017 from the Board of Regents. Most of the money was previously restored to universities, but Kelly offered the final $8.9 million to be recovered. This restoration does not include previous cuts from 2008.
Re-amortization of KPERS
Kelly’s budget was built around the re-amortization of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System which essentially refinances the remaining $8.9 billion debt over 30 years. This is meant to provide $160 million in “short-term savings” but will extend the system’s debt until the year 2049. Larry Campbell, Governor Kelly’s budget director, said the debt would become an additional cost of about $7 billion.
