Topeka — Chairman Steve Morris expects his Ways and Means Committee to hear plenty of reasons why it shouldn't endorse a budget balancing plan drafted by him and Senate President Dave Kerr.
But Morris hopes his committee will give its approval anyway.
The plan from Kerr, R-Hutchinson, and Morris, R-Hugoton, is designed to eliminate a projected $426 million gap in the budget for the state's 2003 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
It would tap into the state's rainy day funds, cut the current state budget, then freeze spending in fiscal 2003. It also would use extra federal nursing home payments and money from the state's portion of a legal settlement with tobacco companies.
Their plan is an alternative to Gov. Bill Graves' proposal to increase taxes $228 million. The governor's package would cut some agency budgets, but it would permit an increase in aid to public schools and new spending on other items.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee has three days of hearings scheduled on the Kerr-Morris plan, starting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Those hearings give agencies and advocates the chance to voice concerns about possible cuts.
Morris said he hopes the committee will act quickly so that agencies have more time to deal with cuts in their current budgets.
"We may have to do some tweaking, but I don't want to get into a lot of details, because we don't want to have time for that," Morris said.
The $426 million gap in the budget is the difference between projected revenues and spending commitments for fiscal 2003.
Last year, legislators appropriated about $4.5 billion in state tax dollars for the current budget. The state has less than $4.4 billion available to spend, in part because of the national economic slump. State and federal law call for about $308 million in new spending.
The Kerr-Morris plan would decrease current school budgets by $39 per student, from $3,870 to $3,831, then freeze it at that level for 2003. It also would cut the 2002 budget for higher education 1.2 percent, also imposing a freeze in 2003.
Most other state agencies would have their current budgets cut by 2 percent, then frozen in 2003
Those changes would save about $156 million. The plan also would rescind commitments for new spending on higher education and road projects and get cost savings associated with employee benefits.
Graves objects to the proposal because it would reduce the state's rainy day funds by $104 million.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said he doubts the plan will have support from Democrats. He and House Minority Leader Jim Garner, D-Coffeyville, has criticized its proposed cuts in education and social service spending.
Some conservative Republicans remain cautious about the Kerr-Morris plan, but they strongly oppose Graves' package because of its tax increases.
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