The Kansas Legislature will be less conservative in 2017 and perhaps some of Gov. Sam Brownback’s initiatives can be scaled back a bit.
Meanwhile, lawmakers need to balance a budget without resorting to short-term fixes that will only make things worse down the road. That means not spending money that should be going into pension funds or future highway projects. It means not taking a lump sum on the tobacco lawsuit settlement that will help the general fund exactly once, while abolishing the Kansas Endowment for Youth and the Children’s Initiatives Fund.

Some are criticizing the revenue-enhancing suggestions shared this week by the Rise Up Kansas Coalition. Brownback spokeswoman Melika Willoughby said that package came from “liberal special-interest groups.” But if not that plan, some other plan is needed to meet revenue shortfalls.
Kansans who have wanted to roll back Brownback’s tax cuts may now have the power to do so. However, just like Republicans who severely criticized Obamacare and vowed to repeal it, they will have to admit there are parts of Brownback’s experiment that they want to keep.

In the words of Annie McKay, the president and CEO of “special-interest” advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, “The ultimate goal is to arrive at a long-term solution that doesn’t have us moving from crisis to crisis.”