Wichita ? State per-capita debt has nearly quadrupled in the last 12 years, a Wichita State University study has found.

As Kansas’ debt ballooned to nearly $4 billion, the state went from being ranked 43rd among the 50 states for $363-per-capita debt in 1992 to a 17th-place ranking in 2004, according to the research at Wichita State’s Public Finance Center.

Simply put, if the state had to pay off its debt today, every man, woman and child would owe roughly $1,400.

Those figures are likely to get some attention as state lawmakers begin their annual session today.

Bart Hildreth, the principal author of the study, said the amount of state debt is critical because taxpayers will eventually have to pay it all off – with interest. Hildreth said the state has not reached a crisis point but it should be cautious about borrowing more.

Duane Goossen, the state’s secretary of administration and budget director, said he had not seen the report and couldn’t comment on it directly. But he said he’s not too concerned about the current level of state debt, noting Kansas has high credit ratings from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, private agencies that establish debt ratings for thousands of governments and businesses around the globe.

Goossen said the bulk of the increased debt came from two sources – the state highway construction program and a $500 million bond issued to help pay off unfunded liabilities in the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System.

“It makes sense to pay for those kind of projects over time,” Goossen said. “We use them over time.”

Almost all of Kansas’ debt is in revenue bonds, which are guaranteed by specific money streams in the state budget. But Hildreth said the state could save on interest costs if it used general obligation bonds, which are backed by the state government’s credit.

Only problem is, general obligation bonds for more than $1 million require the approval of state voters.

Sen. Phil Journey, R-Wichita, said he thinks voters would be willing to approve such funding if lawmakers explain the state would borrow the money anyway, but could potentially save millions of dollars by using general obligation bonds.