Topeka ? Legislative leaders are tightening their own belts in an effort to shore up state revenues for the present fiscal years.

The Legislative Coordinating Council said Friday it is ordering a 2 percent cut in spending, or about $600,000. The cuts will come from travel, printing and postage and hirings. Leaders also will limit the number of interim committees that will meet before the 2009 session begins in January.

“It is important to be prudent with our plans. All branches of state government need to respond to this financial crunch, and the Legislature will certainly do its part,” said Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican.

The cuts come after Gov. Kathleen Sebelius asked state agencies last month to trim their spending by up to 2 percent.

Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said the governor’s office is taking “a careful look” at its budget and is identifying areas where adjustments can be made.

“The governor appreciates any efforts that can be made to reduce spending while at the same time continuing to serve the people of Kansas,” Corcoran said.

Reductions were prompted after Kansas ended its 2008 fiscal year on June 30 collecting a little less than $5.78 billion in general tax revenues. The basis for the budget was a financial forecast in April that predicted that tax collections would be $5.84 billion.

The budget included increasing aid to public schools by 5.5 percent, keeping up with the growing costs of social service programs and giving most state workers a 2.5 percent pay raise.

House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said legislators knew finances would be tight in the coming year with a weakening economy.

“In spite of the Legislature’s hard work to limit new spending, recent revenue reports show bigger decreases than expected and we need to do more to keep our state’s budget in line,” said Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican.

The legislative budget is $29 million and includes the House, Senate, Revisor of Statutes, Legislative Division of Post Audit and Legislative Research Department.

Kansas has been eating up its reserves to sustain increases in education aid and spending for ongoing programs.

When legislators finished this year’s budget debate, they expected those reserves to be about $120 million on June 30, 2009. Now they’re likely to be half that – or less.

Those disappearing reserves mean legislators are all but certain to face a significant gap between anticipated revenues and projected spending if they want to keep programs at current levels past fiscal 2009.