by Murrel Bland
Kansas legislators who attended the monthly meeting of the Legislative Committee Friday, Dec. 9, at the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce office spent considerable time discussing the possible ways the state budget deficit might be filled.
Estimates are that the legislators, who will go back into session Tuesday, Jan. 9, will face a budget deficit of about $350 million needed for the fiscal year that ends June 30. And then there is the budget for the coming year. The Kansas Center for Economic Growth estimates the state could be short by about $500 million.
Then there is the pending Kansas Supreme Court school funding case. Pundits have speculated that could add another $500 million to the state budget.
Legislators are looking several different places for additional revenue. A new crop of legislators, many elected earlier this year, may yield a more moderate lawmaker more willing to find new revenue sources. One source may be closing the “LLC Loophole.” This is a provision that allows limited liability corporations (usually small businesses) to escape paying state income taxes. This has cost the state more than $300 million according to estimates.
Highway construction contractors have suggested increasing the state motor fuels tax 11 cents a gallon. Other suggestions include using the unclaimed property fund of $360 million to bolster the general fund; this would be a one-time effort.
Still another suggestion is to sell the funds that will come from tobacco companies as part of a court settlement. However, the plan to securitize the Master Tobacco Tax would harm crucial early childhood programs that promote family stability and healthy development of children according to the Children’s Initiative Fund.
The Chamber of Commerce offered a draft of its 2017 Legislative Agenda. Many of the items were unchanged from 2016.
The Chamber favors legislation that develops a specific health care plan for low-income residents. It should leverage additional federal dollars. A new funding formula for public education is favored that provides high-quality instruction for every child, the Chamber said.
The Chamber also favors a property appraisal process that affords a high level of certainty, streamlining the process for removing blight of abandoned buildings and the full funding of the state’s transportation program.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.
