Topeka ? Kansas lawmakers got off to a rocky start in the first week of the 2018 legislative session, and many are hoping things will calm down when the second week begins Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

“We had an exciting week. It wasn’t a boring one,” House Speaker Ron Ryckman, R-Olathe, said in one of his characteristic understatements.

It began Monday, Jan. 8, with the publication in the Garden City Telegram of racially charged remarks by Rep. Steve Alford, R-Ulysses, who suggested black people have an innate character and genetic makeup that make them more prone to drug abuse.

Although he later apologized, it ended up costing him his leadership positions on two key committees that deal with child welfare reform.

On Tuesday, Gov. Sam Brownback delivered a State of the State address that appeared to fall flat on both sides of the aisle, especially after he suggested phasing in a $600 million increase in school funding over five years, with no tax increase.

The tension skyrocketed Wednesday when lawmakers saw the details of his budget plan, which analysts say would put the state in a deep hole by 2020.

“Having been left out of the budget process this year for the first time in six years, it was a surprise to see a budget introduced, when we’ve just come out of a financial crisis we had to stabilize, and then be given a budget that would put us right back into one,” Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning said in an interview.

The pushback was so intense that Brownback even put out a statement late Wednesday trying to lower the temperature and assure lawmakers he is willing to work with them, at least as long as he remains in office, pending confirmation to a diplomatic post in the Trump administration.

But Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, was not assuaged.

“The governor-despite borrowing and delaying payments-chose to spend over $100 million in new spending on top of $600 million in increased funding for schools,” Wagle said in a news release, shortly after Brownback’s statement came out. “This budget pays for the Brownback/Colyer wish list on the backs of working Kansans.”

That was, in part, a shot at Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, who is waiting to move into the governor’s office and who is running for a full term as governor himself, against a long list of GOP rivals.

He also had difficulty Wednesday when the Senate’s Public Health and Welfare Committee heard a presentation on plans for “KanCare 2.0,” a retooling of the state’s privatized Medicaid program, of which Colyer has been the chief architect.

After hearing the briefing, a group of Republican senators, led by Wagle, issued a statement saying they were reluctant to move forward with it.

“We believe there is still work to do to stabilize KanCare 1.0 and that there is no certain path forward for KanCare 2.0, at this time,” the statement read.

It was co-signed by Denning, Health and Welfare Committee Chairwoman Vicki Schmidt, of Topeka, and Ways and Means Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn, of Sedgwick.

Things did get better for Colyer on Thursday, though, when campaign finance reports came out showing he was the top fundraiser among all the major candidates in the 2018 governor’s race.

Also on Thursday, though, a bitter cold snap swept through northeast Kansas with freezing rain, sleet and snow that made it difficult for many lawmakers to get home for the four-day weekend. It also forced cancellation of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and march from the Judicial Center across the street to the Statehouse.

“It started off rocky, but it stabilized, and I feel pretty good about the session going forward,” Denning said.

When lawmakers return Tuesday, Jan. 16, the full Senate plans to vote on a number of appointments to state boards and commissions, something that was delayed from Thursday because of inclement weather. Among them are three reappointments to the Kansas Board of Regents: Helen Van Etten, Daniel Bangerter and Ann Brandau-Murguia.

A number of committees will get briefings during the week on the work done by the Special Committee on a Comprehensive Response to the School Finance Decision.

On Wednesday, Chief Justice Lawton Nuss is scheduled to deliver his annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature.

Also on Wednesday, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, of Kansas, will officially receive his Congressional Gold Medal during ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

The Kansas Board of Regents meets Wednesday.

On Thursday, the State Finance Council is scheduled to make a final decision on whether to proceed with a $300 million project to replace major portions of the Lansing Correctional Facility.