Lawmakers Look at Budget Process in Special Committee Hearing

Alice Fitzgerald | September 12, 2024

On August 22, the new Special Committee on Budget Process and Development met for the first time to review the current budget process in Kansas and discuss possible changes. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle described the Committee’s intention to speed up the process and ensure “special interests” are not taking advantage of the system.  

Throughout the four-hour meeting, leadership from the House and Senate explained that the budget is so vast to the point that subcommittees — designed to take expert looks at specific budgets — are overwhelmed. One lawmaker used the analogy of an $8.0 billion company, which would likely have hundreds of people pouring over their budget, while the Kansas Legislature might spend eight hours on a billion-dollar budget.

Main topics of conversation included:

• The accessibility of agency budget requests submitted to the Governor by October 1 each year
• The Budget Committee chairs’ statutory right to attend agency budget appeal hearings
• The applicability of pay-go rules (the rule that requires an amendment to the appropriations bills to be offset in a different area of the budget, so the budget is balanced)
• The previous biennial budget process that existed until 1993 and was revived by Governor Brownback in 2016 and eliminated by Governor Kelly in 2019
• Budget provisos being discussed and added in conference committees
• The speed of the budget process and legislators’ review of the budget, with or without the Governor's Budget Recommendation

Ultimately, the focus of the Committee’s first meeting was to set intentions for a discussion of updates to the budget process. Leading up to the meeting, some worried about increased partisanship leading proposed changes to the budget process. However, the Committee seemed keen on keeping partisanship and special interests out of the budget process and focusing instead on making the process more efficient and allowing lawmakers to gain expertise on specific budget areas.

Next Meeting?

Leadership has given the Committee two meeting days this interim. With the first meeting taking place on August 22, only one more remains for further discussion, proposals, and crafting of recommendations to be distributed to the 2025 Legislature. The next (and final) meeting is not yet set, but the Committee anticipates meeting later in September. All committees’ updated schedules are available here.

As the state budget impacts many Kansas families’ ability to have enough to eat, receive a robust public education, access high-quality child care, and achieve economic success, it’s crucial that advocates understand how the process works and what may change. To prepare yourself for proposed changes and their impact on advocacy efforts, review our “How the Budget Works” primer here.

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