It’s a wonder that Alan Conroy has not developed a complex any time he visits Kansas legislators in Topeka.
That’s because Conroy, director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department, is usually bringing bad news to legislators when he arrives at the capital.
“Some people see me and run the other way,” Conroy said. “They know that I usually have bad news.”
Thursday was no different as Conroy delivered more bad budget news to lawmakers. His department reported that the state is facing a $39 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“We've gotten the final state receipt fund for January and based on the estimates of the last three months, we are $39 million below budget,” Conroy said.
This marks the first time that the Legislative Research Department has projected a deficit in the current budget.
Conroy said that the gap is due in large part to individual income tax collections.
“The difficulty is, given the state general fund balance is expected to be near zero and the general fund cannot have a negative balance,” Conroy said.
He added that even if all the receipts came in as estimated for the remainder of the fiscal year, the state’s budget will still be short.
Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee approved an 11 percent cut in legislators’ pay and endorsed a bill making about $91 million in changes to the budget. The Senate approved the measure, which mostly ratifies Gov. Mark Parkinson’s actions he took last year, but Conroy said that even those actions will not prevent a deficit.
As for a solution ...
“That is what they are working on right now,” Conroy said. “Whether there can be new expenditure reductions or revenue enhancement, but as we get closer to the end of the year, that becomes less of an option.”
The good news in the latest figures is that income tax withholdings were up 0.5 percent from the same time last year.
“Whether people are working or not is such a big factor and it seems that we are struggling and that makes it difficult,” Conroy said.
The Legislative Research Department is scheduled to have new, official estimates in April, prior to the Kansas Legislative session adjournment.
This current fiscal year problem will have to be tacked before legislators can start hammering at a projected $416 million budget shortfall for 2011.
“Everything is a mess,” said Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg. “You have to get this year done before you can start next year and you have to do some creative accounting and hope you can get it replaced in next year’s budget.”
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
TOPEKA —
