Temporary fix
So the 2003 session of the Kansas Legislature is over after just 85 days — which seems like just seconds compared to last year's 103-day marathon.
At 4:45 in the morning (yes, the morning) on Wednesday, state senators and representatives finally reached an agreement on the budget. They decided to keep last year's sales tax increase.
Compromise was reached, the session ended, everyone went home, and all's right with the world. Right?
Not necessarily.
Although it scrounged up enough cash to call the session to a close, the legislators didn't do much more than patch the hole on a still-leaking tire.
It's a case of temporary fixes and accounting gimmicks, not real solutions.
Example No. 1: The sales tax issue. During the 2002 session, legislators voted to increase state sales tax from 4.9 percent to 5. 3 percent. That increase was supposed to drop back down to 5 percent in July of 2004.
Wednesday morning, the legislature decided to keep the increase until 2006, thereby generating $146 million in revenue. That's a lot of money, but it'll only come in for two more years. What happens then?
Example No. 2: The governor wants to collect next year's June property taxes in May. That brings in the money early for local school districts and lessens the burden on the state budget. She'll make this decision in August or September.
But if that happens, it's just moving payments up a month. It's not altering the bottom line at all. It's an accounting gimmick — a quick fix.
The budget may be stabilized for now, but Kansas legislators have left themselves plenty of work to do next year — finding a real solution to the budget crunch, not just a temporary solution.
— JENNIFER WILSON
