Kansas lawmakers have given final approval to a $325 million rescission bill, which will help get the state through the current fiscal year. The measure now goes to the Governor for approval. We released the following statement last night:

“We encouraged legislators of both parties to support this bill,” said AFP-Kansas state director Derrick Sontag. “We believe the conference committee report adopted by the House and Senate represents a good compromise between the two chambers, and makes the statement that every area of government must do its part to address the state budget shortfall of more than $200 million for the current fiscal year.

“This is a good first step, but it’s important to note that the 2009 fiscal year budget still spends more money than was spent in 2008. Had we restrained spending growth to five percent since 2004, we wouldn’t be facing this budget shortfall.

“The real challenge before us is addressing the budget for the 2010 fiscal year, with an estimated deficit of more than $1 billion. The Legislature will need to address this shortfall by eliminating wasteful spending and reducing spending where necessary, without increasing the tax load that Kansans already carry.

“My hope is that the Governor will follow the Legislature’s lead by supporting this piece of legislation and by working with our legislators on much-needed budget reform.”