Overview
This article describes the historical process by which the Kansas State Budget has been developed, and changes made during the 2024 Legislative Session to that process.
Historical State Budget Process
Prior to the 2024 Legislative Session, the State budget process was largely shaped by the 1976 Task Force of Effective Management established by former Governor Robert Bennett, which created the balanced budgeting system, required performance indicators, and organized the current structure of state government into programs. There have been attempts at budget process reform since then, primarily around the issues of biennial budgeting, the consensus caseload estimating process, and the 2016 Kansas Statewide Efficiency Review by Alvarez and Marsal which provided additional detail on the performance budgeting process specifically around evidence-based practices.
Article 37, Chapter 75 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated prescribes key dates in the Kansas budget process:
- The Director of the Budget provides agencies with budget forms and budget cost indices prior to September 1;
- Agencies must file a budget request with the Division of the Budget no later than October 2;
- The Director of the Budget must notify agencies of any adjustments to the agency requests by November 10;
- Agencies have ten days to appeal such adjustments. The chairpersons of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means may attend such appeal hearings; and
- The Governor is required to submit the Governor’s Budget Report to the Legislature on or before the 8th day of the session, unless the Governor is newly elected; in that case, the report is due on or before the 21st calendar day of Regular Session.
The Governor’s Budget Report is statutorily composed of three parts:
- The Governor’s message describing important features of the budget plan and means of financing the spending. This portion can not include proposed expenditures from anticipated income from legislation that would provide additional revenue or expenditures related to the 7.5 percent ending balance requirement;
- Detailed budget expenditure estimates by agency including bonded indebtedness; and
- Draft legislative measures reflecting the Governor’s Budget for all fiscal years included in the report. The budget for the Judicial Branch is included in the submission, but the Governor must pass the recommendation along without revision.
2024 Session Revisions to the State Budget Process
During the 2024 Interim, the Legislative Coordinating Council created and appointed the 2024 Special Committee on Budget Process and Development. The Committee met twice and included the Senate President, Speaker of the House, House and Senate Minority Leaders, Chairpersons of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and 15 other members of the House of Representatives and Senate.
2024 Special Committee on Legislative Budget
The 2024 Special Committee on Legislative Budget made 12 recommendations, which were incorporated into a bill introduced by the Chairperson for the House Committee on Appropriations on the first day of the 2025 Session. This bill became the starting point for legislative deliberation on the budget.
The Committee recommended the Legislative Coordinating Council establish an interim committee to develop a legislative budget recommendation, to be introduced on the first day of the 2025 Session.
The Committee also recommended the 2025 Legislature establish a cap on State General Fund growth of 2.0 percent per fiscal year, excluding human services caseloads and expenditures for K-12 education; and prohibit adding language to appropriations bills directing agencies to engage in specific acts via the conference committee process without specific approval by legislative leadership.
Other recommendations included:
- Delete all agency and department salary and wage increases, to be addressed in a global discussion on salaries during the 2025 Legislative Session;
- Delete all agency enhancement and supplemental requests in the revised FY 2025, FY 2026, and FY 2027 budget summaries for budget committees to review during the 2025 Legislative Session;
- Delete any requests for new full-time employee positions and any associated costs in FY 2025 and FY 2026 for budget committees to review during the 2025 Legislative Session;
- Review all State General Fund reappropriations and identify those that can be lapsed in FY 2025; and
- Suspend the transfer of $50.0 million State General Fund to the Build Kansas Fund for FY 2026.
Kansas Budget Process Going Forward
The 2025 Legislature did not adjust any of the Governor’s duties to submit a budget recommendation. However, the Legislative Coordinating Council has established the 2025 Special Committee on State Budget and charged it with reviewing and making recommendations on state agency budgets.
By Dylan Dear and Steven Wu.
See State Budget for more.