Topeka ? Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius said Friday her task forces had come up with ways to save about $50 million, but she wasn’t endorsing any of the ideas yet.

Sebelius released a list of more than 100 proposals produced by her Budget Efficiency Savings Teams, which have met in private for about a month to review state government operations.

“The initial round of ideas says to me the process works,” Sebelius said at a news conference. “We have identified new budget savings … that have not been on the table before. Will it be designed to close âÂÂ’X’ amount of dollars? Probably not. But can it produce a more effective way to spend the dollars we have? I think absolutely.”

Legislative leaders were not impressed.

The state is facing its worst budget crisis in modern history as spending needs are expected to outstrip revenue by about $800 million in a $4.4 billion budget. Gov. Bill Graves already has made cuts on his way out of office that will take away social services to hundreds of needy Kansans.

Senate President Dave Kerr, a Hutchinson Republican, said of Sebelius’ budget teams’ effort: “I don’t see anything that could be remotely referred to as a solution to the problem.”

But he said he wanted to give Sebelius, a Democrat, time to form a budget recommendation as the start of the January session nears.

“She has successfully convinced the electorate that she has the answers that are not apparently very painful, and we want to give her every opportunity to present those,” Kerr said.

Sebelius’ main campaign promise in winning the November election was to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of state government.

On Friday, Sebelius declined to voice support for any of the money-saving ideas, saying the next step would be for her and her staff to determine which ones are feasible. She said the budget teams and her incoming cabinet would continue the process of reviewing government and inviting the public to participate.

She said the process had been an “incredibly valuable tool and will be a fundamental part of the new administration and the way we do business.”

Sebelius said her transition office received 1,875 suggestions through e-mails, phone calls and letters.

Of the five budget teams, however, none reviewed spending on public schools and higher education, which together account for about 65 percent of state spending. A sixth budget team will start its deliberations on education funding after Sebelius is inaugurated next month, her office reported.

The ideas released Friday include 10 new or higher fees, to raise $6.2 million. The total savings from the proposals would be $41.1 million, but the figure doesn’t include 48 ideas for which Sebelius’ transition office had no cost estimate.

Ideas for cutting costs included reducing newspaper and magazine subscriptions, selling surplus vehicles, postponing several building or renovation projects and restricting the number of frail, elderly Kansans who receive in-home services.

The budget teams have not been free of controversy. Sebelius refused to allow the public and media to attend the meetings, prompting a legal challenge from 14 news organizations, including the Lawrence Journal-World. A decision in the case is pending.

The Journal-World also has requested and been denied access to reports that budget team leaders submitted to Sebelius.