Gov. Mark Parkinson acknowledged in his State of the State address that he might not have the right plan to balance the state budget. He even invited alternative solutions from state legislators and promised, “I am open to all options.”

Unfortunately, state legislators aren’t willing to keep an open mind even long enough to introduce the governor’s budget proposal in the Senate Tax Committee.

Amid a deep partisan divide in the Legislature about how to deal with the state’s current budget crisis, senators have taken the highly unusual step of declining to even introduce the governor’s budget proposal so it could be discussed in committee. Fear that even introducing the bill would imply some kind of support apparently has put the governor’s proposal, perhaps permanently, on the back burner.

Nonetheless, Parkinson remained philosophical, saying the legislative session is just getting started and that once legislators understand the brutal reality of making enough spending cuts to balance the budget, they also will be willing to consider some tax increases.

Interestingly, the governor also contended that the thinking of Kansas constituents may be ahead of the attitude of their elected representatives. On Thursday, Parkinson said he believes the public understands the magnitude of the state’s financial problems and is more willing than legislators may realize to accept at least a temporary tax increase to deal with the situation.

Although Parkinson dismissed the traditional contention that a tax increase can never get passed in an election year, it’s understandable that legislators of both parties are skittish about making such a decision. If Parkinson is right that Kansas voters prefer higher taxes to even deeper funding cuts, they need to let the legislators know that.

During the closing days of the last legislative session, Parkinson displayed a patience and willingness to negotiate that brought the state some real progress on some highly contentious issues. Legislators should already know that he means what he says about being open to other options.

It’s unlikely that Parkinson’s plan will be the budget eventually passed by the Legislature, but the discussion has to start somewhere. It seems only courteous for legislators to at least introduce his budget for consideration. He would do the same for them.