Kansas state Sen. Jay Emler, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said last week that lower revenues may require furloughs of state employees during fiscal 2010.
Gov. Mark Parkinson is expected to announce budget cuts of almost $260 million by the end of November. Embler said those cuts could result in unpaid days off for state employees.
“If there isn’t any money, there isn’t any money,” he said at a news conference in Topeka.
The Department of Administration said it is not clear if federal law allows the state to require non-civil service employees to take days off without pay. The state has some 38,500 employees, with 21,000 covered by civil service regulations.
The Kansas Supreme Court has a preliminary plan that would require state judicial employees to take six weeks of unpaid leave, but Parkinson said the courts will receive sufficient funds to avoid extensive furloughs.
The court system is allocated about $97 million in state appropriations this year, with 98% going to salaries and retirement benefits.
