Panel Proposes $535M Cut

The Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee last week endorsed a proposed 2012 budget that would cut spending by $535 million from current levels.

The proposal would result in a $7.5 million surplus at the end of the fiscal year.

The House budget bill would shift some of the funding cuts in the Senate version into fiscal 2011, which would provide a $35 million surplus at the beginning of fiscal 2012 on June 30.

Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, said there was no need for additional budget cuts in the current fiscal year because Gov. Sam Brownback balanced the budget with $56.5 million of cuts he ordered on March 11.

The Republican Brownback has proposed a $6.1 billion general fund budget for fiscal 2012 that relied on a $35 million surplus at the end of this year to help resolve an expected $500 million revenue shortfall.

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