Kansas

DALLAS — After going overtime, Kansas lawmakers wrapped up their work Sunday with approval of a $14.3 billion budget for fiscal 2013 that cuts general fund spending by 3% from fiscal 2012.

DALLAS — The Kansas House adopted a $14.4 billion budget for fiscal 2013 late Tuesday that takes money from Department of Transportation revenues to raise public education funding by $50 million.

A Kansas legislative conference committee adopted a compromise tax-cutting plan designed to avoid large budget gaps in the future.

Local governments in Wyandotte County, Kan., last week shared more than $843,000 from the first monthly distribution of revenues from a casino that opened in early February.

Trustees of Sedgwick County Unified School District 259 last week revived $8 million of bond projects at nine Kansas schools that had been postponed, but they are still looking for additional financing to build tornado safe rooms at district schools.

Kansas state revenue over the next two fiscal years should be $252.2 million more than had been expected, the Consensus Estimating Group said last week. The new outlook revises the official estimating group’s November 2011 report.

A dispute over $25 million in the state's proposed $14.3 billion budget for fiscal 2013 will close state courts for five days, Kansas Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said last week.

Voters last week approved a $66.6 million bond package for Sedgwick County Unified School District 260 with 75% in favor of the plan to build a new middle school and renovate existing facilities.

DALLAS — Kansas lawmakers will return to Topeka in three weeks to resolve differing version of the state's $14.1 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2013 after an agreement fell apart over the weekend.

The Kansas House has adopted a bill that would dedicate revenues from state-owned casinos to support of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which faces an $8.3 billion shortfall in promised benefits through 2033.

Both chambers of the Kansas Legislature last week adopted versions of a $14 billion budget for fiscal 2013, but differences in the measures will require negotiations by a conference committee.

A measure adopted by the Kansas Legislature last week will allow Junction City to operate with debt levels higher than mandated under state law through 2020.

A 10-year-old economic development initiative will expire with the end of fiscal 2012 on June 30 unless the Kansas Legislature extends the sales tax revenue bond program.

The Wichita, Kan., City Council last week adopted a 10-year, $2.4 billion capital improvement plan that will be financed in part with $304 million of general obligation bonds.

A plan to rebate $2.25 million of city hotel tax revenue to developers of a new hotel in downtown Wichita was rejected last week by 61% of voters.

State revenues in Kansas topped $261 million in February, the Department of Revenue said last week.

A downtown development group is asking voters in Wichita, Kan., to approve a proposed rebate of city hotel taxes to a downtown hotel in today’s election.

The Wichita City Council last week designated a 400-acre site in east Wichita as a STAR bond district that can issue debt supported by revenues from the state’s 6.3% sales tax.

Mayor Joe Reardon said last week that the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., must decide on how to use tax revenues from the new state-authorized Hollywood Casino that opened Feb. 3 in Wyandotte County.

Kansas state revenues were $30.6 million less than expected in January due to more taxpayers filing electronically, which results in quicker refunds.