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Kansas State Employee Furloughs Could Start In June Without A Budget Plan

Stephen Koranda, File Photo
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Kansas Public Radio

After the first week of June, Kansas state employees could be furloughed if there isn’t a budget in place for the coming fiscal year. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, Republican Governor Sam Brownback’s administration has said they are working on plans to do that.

 

While his office is considering options, Governor Brownback says they have some flexibility on when Kansas state workers would be sent home without pay. Brownback says he’ll be pushing for lawmakers to avoid furloughs.

“And we’ll try to work with them as much as we can," he says. "I’m not trying to put any artificial deadline on people. It’s time to get this resolved." 

The top Democrat in the Kansas Senate, Anthony Hensley, calls the disagreement between Republicans on taxes a meltdown in the Statehouse. 

“State employees are going to be the victims in this process, they’re the collateral damage,” Hensley says.

Lawmakers are now planning on working through the weekend to try to come to an agreement.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.