Kansans can expect income tax cuts, a little more education funding and, if the economy doesn't grow quickly, significant cuts in state services as a result of one of the most politically divisive legislative sessions in recent history.

Kansas Senate President Steve Morris said it would be difficult for the Senate to support a new alternative tax-cut bill - one Gov. Sam Brownback supports - because it could create state budget deficits.

Negotiators remain far apart on how to fund increases in public schools, including how much to boost spending and where the money will come from.

Ten negotiation sessions over two days on a compromise state government budget wrapped up with narrowing points of contention between the House and Senate.

The Kansas Senate on Wednesday approved a $14.4 billion state budget for the next fiscal year after adding money for public schools and property tax relief.

Kansans won't have access to the state judicial system for five days because the Legislature adjourned last week for its annual break without approving a $1.4 million supplemental appropriation for the judicial branch.

An agreement among Kansas legislators over a proposed $14.1 billion state budget unraveled Friday, postponing big spending decisions for several weeks and possibly creating headaches for agencies and their clients.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has endorsed a proposal to use revenues from state-owned casinos to bolster the long-term financial health of the pension system for teachers and government workers.

The $14 billion budget bill that moved briskly through the chamber cuts overall spending by 4 percent, or $572 million, during the fiscal year starting July 1.

Kansas House members gave first-round approval to a proposed $14.1 billion state budget after members boosted spending on mental health services and to help public schools cover unanticipated costs.

Kansans can expect income tax cuts, a little more education funding and, if the economy doesn't grow quickly, significant cuts in state services as a result of one of the most politically divisive legislative sessions in recent history.

Negotiators remain far apart on how to fund increases in public schools, including how much to boost spending and where the money will come from.

The Kansas Senate on Wednesday approved a $14.4 billion state budget for the next fiscal year after adding money for public schools and property tax relief.

Kansas House members gave first-round approval to a proposed $14.1 billion state budget after members boosted spending on mental health services and to help public schools cover unanticipated costs.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback offered a new glimpse at his still undisclosed state budget plan  as lawmakers formally convened the 2012 Legislature and Brownback announced a plan to provide $20.5 million in new funding for career and technical education in the state's elementary and high schools.

In the upcoming legislative session, Gov. Sam Brownback plans to roll out proposals to change the way schools in Kansas are funded, taxes are levied and state pensions are administered.

Gov. Sam Brownback on Saturday signed the 209-page bill outlining the state’s $13.8 billion spending plan.

Negotiations over a $14 billion budget are stalled as legislators haggle over building up the state's cash reserves and face criticism about the education funding cuts they're considering.

A plan to slash state spending and leave Kansas with nearly $83 million in the bank next year was endorsed by a state House committee following weeks of debate.

Kansas House and Senate leaders said a conference committee appointed to settle differences between the two chambers on a bill that would balance the state's budget for the current year had made no progress.

This study proposes a budget stabilization plan for Kansas, which is a rules-based approach to state budgeting. A tax-and-expenditure rule is linked to rules for the disposition of surplus revenue. Under a rules-based approach to budgeting, surplus revenue is used to meet emergencies, stabilize the budget over the business cycle and/or earmarked to fund one-time capital projects. Once those needs are met, remaining surplus revenue is returned to taxpayers in rebates or used to reduce tax rates.

This study examines different measures of historical and current funding shortfalls in state pension plans. Two case studies are examined in greater depth to explore some fatal flaws that have caused funding crises in these plans: Public Employee Retirement Association of Colorado (PERA) and the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS).

The Commonsense Budget for Kansas provides some specific examples of the application of these commonsense fiscal policies to agencies and programs to give citizens and law makers a roadmap on how to weather the current economic downturn as well as reduce Kansas' individual income tax rate.

The Kansas Senate on Wednesday approved a $14.4 billion state budget for the next fiscal year after adding money for public schools and property tax relief.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has endorsed a proposal to use revenues from state-owned casinos to bolster the long-term financial health of the pension system for teachers and government workers.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback offered a new glimpse at his still undisclosed state budget plan  as lawmakers formally convened the 2012 Legislature and Brownback announced a plan to provide $20.5 million in new funding for career and technical education in the state's elementary and high schools.

In the upcoming legislative session, Gov. Sam Brownback plans to roll out proposals to change the way schools in Kansas are funded, taxes are levied and state pensions are administered.

Future employees in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and those who aren't vested by July 2013 would have 401K-style investments under a defined contribution plan recommended by the KPERS Study Commission.

A commission created this year to consider changes for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System is grappling with the knowledge that whatever it proposes, closing the system's long-term funding gap is likely to squeeze the state budget for years.

Report explaining the Kansas legislature's ability to make modifications to benefits under the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, and specifically describing the legislature's ability to provide for lesser benefits than are currently provided under KPERS.

A plan to slash state spending and leave Kansas with nearly $83 million in the bank next year was endorsed by a state House committee following weeks of debate.

This study examines different measures of historical and current funding shortfalls in state pension plans. Two case studies are examined in greater depth to explore some fatal flaws that have caused funding crises in these plans: Public Employee Retirement Association of Colorado (PERA) and the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS).

This all boils down to who gets to pick taxpayers' pockets first, public pensioners or municipal bond investors? More people are waking up to the hard reality that when it comes to state and local government, somebody has to lose money over the next few decades. The National Association of Bond Lawyers is worried enough about it to issue "Considerations" for advising clients who think they're getting safe investments.

Despite an organized campaign to stop public pension reform, reality is beginning to break through.  One recent report outlines a possible path to long-term solutions and another details the necessity of states and municipalities finding their own way because federal bailout is impossible.  And Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a plan that could have been based on both reports.

Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.

Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.

Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.

This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments."  - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto

As state lawmakers struggle to close budget gaps and reduce deficits, many are scrambling to find new sources of revenue, often in the form of new taxes. To bolster revenue, states like Texas and Illinois are honing in on a new type of tax, a "skin" tax, aimed at strip clubs in the state.

Not only will agricultural subsidies legislation disproportionately affect the budgets of Heartland states, it also may play a more influential role in the upcoming Presidential election than a cursory count of electoral votes and voting trends indicate. 

Connecticut, Kansas, Indiana and Nebraska are finalizing their budget for the coming fiscal year(s). Read about those states and see the budget deficits in all 50 states.