Kansas

With revenues continuing to fall below forecast, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback reduced spending by $100 million, with cuts to universities, transportation, and Medicaid, among other services.

The outlook on Kansas’ Aa2 rating from Moody’s Investors Service fell to negative Tuesday, as state lawmakers approved a budget that allows Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to make further cuts in spending.

Five days after Kansas lowered its revenue estimates for the current and coming fiscal year, Standard & Poor's placed the state's AA rating on its watch list for a possible downgrade.

A revised revenue estimate that is $229 million below previous forecasts will delay highway projects and force other state spending cuts, Kansas officials said.

After months of seeing revenues fall well below projections, Kansas came within $1.7 million of its target for March, officials reported.

With a deadline bearing on them, Kansas legislators approved a court-mandated revision of the school funding formula designed to keep schools open in the next fiscal year beginning July 1.

With four months remaining in the fiscal year, Kansas revenue is running nearly $80 million short of projections after the latest monthly report.

Municipal bond primary market volume in the Southwest surpassed the previous record set in 2008, climbing 20% to $77.7 billion.

Kansas lawmakers sent a $16.1 billion budget for the next fiscal year to Gov. Sam Brownback that includes new limits on bonds for tourist-related developments and out-of-state conduit issuers for universities.

With Kansas lawmakers already working to close a $200 million budget gap, the state now must now address a court order to fix the school funding formula by June 30.