Gov. Laura Kelly signs $18 billion budget, vetoes unscheduled pension contribution

Gov. Laura Kelly applied a personal touch to the bipartisan $18 billion state budget Monday by vetoing an unscheduled payment to the state pension system and making a few other tweaks to shrink new spending $54 million below the level set by legislators.

The package adopted by the Republican-led Legislature and taking effect July 1 featured 2.5 percent raises for many state workers, as well as increases for higher education and prisons. It didn’t include resources to expand Medicaid services to more than 100,000 Kansan adults and children under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats and moderate Republicans tried to force a Senate vote on Medicaid by holding the budget hostage, but the coalition eventually buckled.

“There is a lot to celebrate in this state budget,” Kelly said. “I appreciate the bipartisan work of lawmakers to pass a budget that takes meaningful strides to rebuild Kansas, including investments in public education, public safety, infrastructure and the foster care system all without raising taxes.”

Kelly vetoed an unscheduled state contribution of $51 million to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. The first bill signed by Kelly during the 2019 session appropriated $115 million to cover a KPERS payment skipped several years ago when the state was strapped for cash.

Read more: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190520/gov-laura-kelly-signs-18-billion-budget-vetoes-unscheduled-pension-contribution