Kansas House adopts budget bill, rejects trigger tied to school finance ruling

The House on Friday voted to advance a budget bill after stripping a provision that would have lapsed most of the scheduled funding increases in the event of an unfavorable court ruling over school finance.

Representatives return Saturday morning with plans to tackle a tax bill and fix an $80 million error in public school legislation passed earlier this month.

Lawmakers remain wary of the political ramifications of a special session that will be needed if the Kansas Supreme Court decides the new school funding law is unconstitutional. The Legislature responded to the high court’s mandate to provide adequate and equitable funding by passing a plan to phase in about $525 million in increases over the next five years.

If the court isn’t satisfied, lawmakers may need to offset additional funding with a tax increase or budget cuts. Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, inserted the budget trigger as a way of framing any adjustments during a special session as enhancements. Her idea was to start over on the budget, dividing leftover cash after the dust settles on litigation.

Read more: http://www.cjonline.com/news/20180427/kansas-house-adopts-budget-bill-rejects-trigger-tied-to-school-finance-ruling