Topeka ? With more than two-thirds of the legislative session over, not a single bill to save some promised highway projects from cancellation has cleared its first hurdle.

But Republican leaders promise to outline a plan this week for shoring up the state’s comprehensive transportation plan. Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has proposed issuing $465 million in bonds, but GOP leaders have opposed it.

In news conferences Friday, House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, and Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, gave few details about the coming GOP plan other than the most obvious one — that theirs will rely less on bonds than Sebelius has proposed.

Last month, Transportation Secretary Deb Miller said if legislators took no action this year, the Department of Transportation would have to cancel $150 million worth of projects later this year and an additional $100 million each year into 2008.

All of the doomed projects — which haven’t been specified yet — were promised when the state enacted its 10-year, $13.5 billion transportation plan in 1999.

Sebelius said last week she was frustrated by the lack of progress. Friday was the session’s 61st calendar day, out of 90 scheduled, and no vote has occurred on a transportation bill in committee in either chamber.

“There are discussions kind of behind the scenes in both the House and the Senate but no bill at this point moving forward,” Sebelius said Thursday during the annual Day at the Legislature program sponsored by The Associated Press and the Kansas Press Assn.

On Friday, Kerr said of fellow Republicans, “They’re still working on it.”

In setting up the transportation program in 1999, legislators promised to dedicate ever-increasing amounts of sales tax revenues to highway projects.

However, legislators just as quickly began diverting those sales tax revenues to other government programs, leaving a shortfall the Department of Transportation has estimated at $775 million.

Sebelius proposes to resume the sales tax set-aside in 2006, dedicating $264 million over three years, in addition to issuing bonds.

However, Republicans have consistently criticized Sebelius’ proposal, not only because it would increase the state’s debt, but also because KDOT already has refinanced existing highway bonds to push $161 million in payments due from 2004 through 2009 back to 2010 and beyond.

Under the governor’s plan, total debt payments on highway bonds would spike in 2010 at $210 million. Such bond payments are expected to be $118 million for 2005.

Kerr said that with those debt payments — combined with demand for ongoing highway maintenance and other transportation needs — KDOT’s finances will go “deeply under water.” KDOT projects a funding deficit of $238 million for 2010.

In the House, Transportation Committee Chairman Gary Hayzlett drafted a proposal relying on existing state revenues to shore up the transportation program. Under his plan, the sales tax set-aside would resume next year and dedicate $413 million over four years.

“We haven’t stopped looking at alternatives,” Hayzlett, R-Lakin, said in an interview.

Sebelius contends it is unrealistic to rely as heavily as Hayzlett’s plan does on setting aside sales tax revenues.

“My goal was to be able to be able to put forward a plan this year that essentially completed the highways that were promised communities across this state — on time and on budget,” she said.