Topeka ? Facing a $33 million bill, lawmakers on Thursday indicated there may be efforts to change the state employee paycheck schedule.

Currently, Kansas’ 40,000 state employees are paid once every two weeks, receiving 26 paychecks each year.

But that creates a problem. Every 11 years, there has to be a 27-paycheck year. That will happen during the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Because of budget constraints, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has proposed transferring $33 million from idle funds in the Pooled Money Investment Board for the 27th paychecks and then replacing the money by $3 million per year.

But Senate budget writers said that puts the state in the same predicament 11 years from now.

“I’d rather just pay for it all this year” out of current state revenues, said Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City.

But Sebelius’ budget director, Duane Goossen, said that would reduce the state’s ending balance to an unacceptably low level.

Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said some legislators have suggested to him that the state starting paying its employees twice a month to avoid this problem.

“You’d be paying as you go and not making a huge balloon payment at the end,” he said.

But Goossen said any attempt to change the pay schedule would be “ambitious and disrupting.” He said state employees are accustomed to the current pay schedule and changing it would require a major computer change.

But, he said, he would report to the committee on how much it would cost to change the pay schedule.

Sen. Jim Barone, D-Frontenac, said he didn’t like the situation, but there was little the state could do about it.

“I applaud the solution that is before us,” Barone said of Sebelius’ plan.