Kansas state workers could face furloughs if Brownback, lawmakers don't strike a deal

Kansas is less than two weeks from being unable to pay state workers unless Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature resolve their standoff on a budget fix.

Brownback vetoed a bill Tuesday that would increase income tax rates to raise $1.2 billion over two years to fill the state’s budget hole and pay for a court-ordered increase to school funding. If the governor and the Legislature don’t come to a compromise before June 18, state agencies could face a shutdown.

“Without action by the legislature, we do not have the necessary authority to pay state workers, causing difficult decisions to be made regarding the continued operations of state government,” Brownback’s budget director, Shawn Sullivan, said in an email Monday evening a few hours before the Legislature’s passage of a tax bill prompted Brownback’s promise to veto.

“Governor Brownback will continue to work with the legislature to ensure the work of state government continues uninterrupted,” Sullivan said.

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