Topeka ? Amid mounting opposition, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee on Monday retreated from a proposal that could have cut state employee pay by 7.5 percent

“The political pressure built up,” said Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka. “They didn’t really have any choice,” but to back off, he said.

Last week, Rep. Pete DeGraaf, R-Mulvane, pushed through an amendment to the budget bill that could have cut state salaries and wages by 7.5 percent for the last six pay periods of the year. DeGraaf said not everyone would have gotten a 7.5 percent cut because state agencies would have had flexibility in how they reached the required savings.

Under his original proposal, money from the cuts at regents universities, such as Kansas University, would have been allocated to repair buildings on campuses.

The Kansas Organization of State Employees and numerous legislators, however, criticized the cut, saying it was unfair to employees and would disrupt essential state services, such as snow removal.

On Monday, DeGraaf altered his proposal and it was approved by the committee. Under the new plan, state officers, such as elected officials and regents chiefs, and employees making more than $100,000 will see a 7.5 percent salary. So, instead of saving $16 million, the new play will save less than $1 million.

The full budget bill, which includes a proposal by Gov. Sam Brownback to cut base state aid to schools, will go to the full House for consideration on Wednesday. Under Brownback’s plan, base state aid will fall from $4,012 per student to $3,937 per student, a reduction of $75 per student.

DeGraaf said he didn’t change his proposal because of political pressure. He said he reconsidered the amendment and was concerned about the possible disruption of state services. He added he didn’t want to hurt lower wage earners, but he mentioned again that many employees in the private sector have had pay cuts during the past couple of years.

He also said he would consider a state employee pay cut for the next fiscal year’s budget, which legislators will start working on once the current one is balanced.

In the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, the state is facing an estimated $550 million revenue shortfall. “We’re going to have to make some structural changes,” DeGraaf said.