The House Appropriations Committee returns this week for another round of budget talks as state government’s financial condition continues to slide.

For the first quarter of the fiscal year, which began July 1, tax receipts are 7.8 percent, or $100 million, below projections. Tax receipts are 13 percent, or $175 million, behind the first quarter of last year.

Individual and corporate income tax receipts are leading the nosedive, while sales taxes have stayed pretty stable.

The appropriations panel last met in September. The committee this morning and again this afternoon will break up into subcommittees to look at specific agencies’ spending in more detail.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Parkinson has been saying it is too early to hit the panic button. In November, budget experts will reassess the state’s financial health to provide a revenue estimate for lawmakers to work with when the 2010 session starts in January.

On Tuesday, the full appropriations committee returns for a look at the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which is in need of a longterm funding increase. The KPERS issue gained headlines when a KU study said the system would go bankrupt if current conditions persisted. Critics of the study said it was alarmist and that the system is fixable.

The week is shaping up to have the feel of a mini legislative session, with several other committee meetings scheduled.

The Kansas Board of Regents and State Board of Education also have their monthly meetings this week. The Education Board is expected to name an interim commissioner and talk about how it will proceed in hiring a new one to replace Alexa Posny, who is headed to Washington, D.C., to become assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitation services in the U.S. Department of Education.