Topeka ? Next year’s presidential primary and the state’s newest park were among the casualties as Republicans pushed a budget through the House on Friday that was incomplete despite more than $12 billion in spending.

House members approved three bills containing the bulk of the spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The measures contained a spending plan that was an alternative from the GOP majority to one offered by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in January.

Two bills, containing relatively small pieces of the spending plan, passed 99-24 and 105-18. The third and most important measure passed, 79-44. All three went to the Senate.

The House GOP’s spending plan is missing some items by design, such as $2 million in the secretary of state’s office for a presidential primary in February, money many House members thought could be spent better.

And the Department of Wildlife and Parks would have no money to operate its newest park in northwest Topeka, officially known only as Park No. 24. It has become embroiled in controversy, including over a lease for a new regional parks office on the site.

The budget also is missing dozens of items because GOP leaders wanted to put off decisions on them until late April or early May. For example, the spending plan contains no aid for vocational colleges, normally a $40 million item, because some lawmakers want to examine how it’s distributed.

To the Senate

Meanwhile, the Senate Ways and Means Committee planned Friday to debate and endorse its own proposed budget. The entire Senate hopes to debate that spending plan next week.

A final version will be written by House and Senate negotiators, and legislative leaders hope to pass it before lawmakers begin their spring break on April 4. Then, lawmakers will adopt one final budget bill after they return April 25 to wrap up their business for the year.

When legislators adjourn, the next budget is likely to be about $12.4 billion, roughly the same size as the current one, though there will be big shifts in funding. The budget for fiscal 2008 will contain an increase in spending on public schools, in keeping with a plan approved last year, while spending on highway projects, which fluctuates from year to year, is expected to drop by about 24 percent.

No primary

The House debated budget issues for nine hours Thursday. Among its first decisions was eliminating funding for the presidential primary next year by passing an amendment to strip the money from the secretary of state’s budget on an 85-34 vote.

“I think we can utilize that $2 million in a much better fashion,” said Rep. Kay Wolf, R-Prairie Village.

If the state doesn’t hold a primary, the Republican and Democratic parties will have caucuses to allocate delegates to their national nominating conventions. That’s been the practice in most years.

The state had a primary in 1980 and then began scheduling them every four years, starting in 1992.

But legislators canceled the 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections, either because the races weren’t competitive enough or because the state faced financial problems.

For backers of a primary, the attraction is greater participation by Kansans. Caucuses in 2004 drew about 2,100 participants, according to the secretary of state’s office, while more than 373,000 Kansans cast ballots in the 1992 primary.

In theory, the state could refuse to spend the money on the primary and still have the election, placing the burden on the state’s 105 counties to pay for it. But that has never happened.

“I believe our citizens have been forced to sit on the sidelines of democracy for long enough,” Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh said after the House vote. “During what looks to be a contentious primary season, we owe it to our constituents to allow them the opportunity to weigh in on this important national debate.”

Park money stripped

Deleting $200,000 for operating Park No. 24 was among the final decisions House members made Thursday. The amendment to strip out the money passed 59-57.

Some legislators are upset about a $92,000-a-year lease on a building that will serve as a regional headquarters. The Department of Wildlife and Parks plans to buy the building after July 1, but the lease doesn’t specify a sale price, and the building contains more than twice as much space as the agency initially sought.

Also, the state will be buying the building from a company in which five of six partners have donated to Sebelius’ gubernatorial campaigns.

Then came Wednesday’s announcement by St. Francis Health Center that its board had voted to purchase 132 adjacent acres, with the goal of building a new hospital.

“There are just a lot of questions,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sharon Schwartz, R-Washington, who offered the amendment. “Maybe we need to take a step back.”

But lawmakers also are invested enough in the new state park to at least be contemplating a name – Kaw River State Park.

“It’s obviously prime real estate, and maybe it’s time to develop it,” said Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg.