An error in the state budget bill that could cost the Kansas Board of Regents system as much as $43.6 million raises an important issue about what used to be known as the “veto session” of the Kansas Legislature.

Lawmakers traditionally completed the bulk of their work, including passing a state budget, before taking first adjournment and heading home. Several weeks later, they would return to Topeka for a cleanup session. At that time, they could consider overriding any vetoes made by the governor and take final corrective actions on legislation. A few weeks later the ceremonial “sine die” adjournment took place with few legislators in attendance.

In recent years — often for good reasons — legislators have taken their traditional spring break without completing work on key issues, including the state budget. That made sense this year because they had to wait until early April for updated revenue estimates that would guide their budget negotiations. The budget was passed and legislators went home with no plans to reconvene this year except for sine die.

Unfortunately, a significant error has been discovered in the budget bill. Because of an error by legislative staff, a late amendment intended to add $3.6 million to the state’s higher education budget actually subtracted that amount. That not only leaves the regents schools $3.6 poorer for the next fiscal year; it also causes their overall budget to dip below the amount needed to claim an additional $40 million in federal stimulus funds.

The best the Board of Regents can recommend is for Gov. Mark Parkinson to line-item veto the funding measure and clean up the whole mess as part of a supplemental appropriations bill that would be put together in the fall. That will work, but it’s less than ideal.

The budget error is a dramatic example of the loose ends legislators can leave dangling without a traditional veto session. Without that session, they not only lose the opportunity to correct any errors in a timely fashion; they also have far less ability to respond to vetoes by the governor — which is an additional power that governors may appreciate but might not always use wisely.

If late problems are severe enough, it’s certainly possible for legislators to call a special session, but it would make more sense for legislators to simply adjust their calendar to allow for a routine veto session several weeks after they complete the bulk of their work. It’s a system that worked well for the state for a long time and shouldn’t be lost.