TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators rushed Monday to draft a plan for funding state government after June, launch a new state transportation program and wrap up a few other loose ends so they could take an early and longer-than-usual spring break in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature were looking to pass a basic, annual state budget and a program for improving the state’s highway system by the middle of the week. Some lawmakers also were pushing for passage of a bill that would allow college athletes in Kansas to hire agents and sign endorsement deals if 15 other states allow it.
“If we have to leave, then we’ve got the big stuff done,” said House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican. “It gives us a whole lot of, really more, stability for the state and everybody.”
But lawmakers would abandon for now a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution that GOP leaders have described as their top priority and a bipartisan plan for expanding the state’s Medicaid program that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, other Democrats and some Republicans want.
Their intense push began the same day Kelly banned public gatherings of 50 or more people to help check the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. She and top legislators already have restricted access to the Statehouse to people who have business before the Legislature, canceling tours and public events.
“I’d like them to wrap up their work and go home,” Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said when asked how the new ban on public gatherings might apply to lawmakers. “And it’ll be a moot issue.”
Kansas has seen one COVID-19-related death, and public health officials have confirmed 11 cases, most of them in the Kansas City area.
For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the new coronavirus can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. But for most, it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and the vast majority recover.
Lawmakers had planned to stay in session through April 3, then take their annual spring break and return April 27 to wrap up business for the year.
They must pass a budget for state government to continue operating once the next fiscal year begins in July, but most of that work typically is done before the spring break. The total state budget is likely to approach $20 billion, but GOP leaders said they’re looking to strip out any disputed spending to get a bill through by Wednesday.
Kansas in 2019 finished a 10-year plan for improving and maintaining its transportation system after regularly siphoning off funds for highway projects to patch budget holes. Kelly has proposed a new program using the existing promised resources, with new projects chosen every two years, rather than once a decade.
But lawmakers disagree about the details. The Senate approved a bill Monday on a 37-2 vote, while a rival plan cleared the House, 103-16. Lawmakers will have to reconcile the differences.
The bill on college athletes is a response to California passing the nation’s first law last year to allow them to cash in. Some legislators fear that if Kansas does not act, its collegiate sports programs will have trouble recruiting, particularly the storied University of Kansas men’s basketball program and the nationally competitive Kansas State University football program.
The Senate approved the bill, 35-4, sending the measure to the House.
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