As session is set to begin on January 11th and the Governor’s State of the State Address the next day, here is some context for the upcoming session as well as some important dates and events to consider.

First, this is the start of a new biennium which simply means it’s a new two-year term for the legislature, and we are coming off the heels of elections for both the State House and Senate which also means leadership elections in both chambers. Leadership elections are important as these are the individuals that will dictate committee assignments, chairmanships, priorities and set the agenda for what bills we be voted on during session. As a reminder, the Republicans expanded their supermajority from 84 seats to 86-39 after 2020 election and maintained their supermajority in the Senate of 29-11 seats giving them the number of votes to potentially override a Gubernatorial veto or pass constitutional amendments.

In the House, leadership positions remained largely unchanged as Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. won an unprecedented third term as Speaker alongside Dan Hawkins as Majority Leader, Blaine Finch as Speaker Pro Tem and Tom Sawyer as Minority Leader. What makes these elections particularly significant is they were all done by acclamation which means no other Representatives challenged them for leadership which could indicate a well-run House for the upcoming session.

In the Senate; however, there were significant changes with two out of four Senators currently occupying leadership positions retiring and a third not running for leadership. The new slate of Senate leaders is Senate President Ty Masterson, Andover; Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop, Wichita; Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn, McPherson; and Minority Leader Dinah Sykes; Lenexa. All of the majority party positions are seasoned senators serving multiple terms and chairing multiple committees, but they will now have to negotiate priorities with their own caucuses as well as the House and try and find some room to work with the Governor in an environment where there is an ongoing pandemic, economic downturn and potential budget issues looming.

What to look for?

Budget – Every session the Governor prepares a recommended budget for the legislature to consider and make amendments to. Practically speaking this is the legislature’s most important duty as it is the only one that is defined in the State Constitution. After last session with the protracted lockdowns due to the Corona Virus, the Kansas economy suffered a steep decline that impacted the State revenues including a loss of over $1B. Since then, Kansas has relaxed many of its restrictions which have improved the financial situation to only being negative just over -$120M. Both the Governor and the legislature will have to work to balance the budget as well as prepare for contingencies if further lockdowns are needed.

Higher Education – In order to balance this year’s budget, the Governor removed approximately $24M from the higher education system in Kansas and replaced it with one-time federal funding provided in CARES III. If the State funding is not restored, that will essentially be a reduction in State spending in the next fiscal year.

University Engineering Initiative Act (UEIA) – This is a program that was started several years ago to grow the number of engineering graduates from KU, KSU and WSU to meet workforce demands in Kanas. The funding provided $3.5M to each university for ten years. The program is due to sunset next year although demand for graduates continues. As of this year, each university has achieved its goal for graduating more engineers; however, a new strategy is being proposed to develop partnerships with the Kansas Department of Commerce and industry to provide work opportunities for students while in school and extend the program for another ten years with the goal being to retain more graduates in the state. Industry leaders have identified this program as critical to their business needs and are working closely with KBOR and the universities to get it renewed.

Deferred Maintenance – The physical footprint of higher education in Kansas is large and continues to grow. Unfortunately, the amount that is currently being spent to maintain campuses and cost to maintain them are growing further apart every year. KBOR has done a space utilization study as well a deferred maintenance study and believes the time is appropriate to ask the legislature to allocate funds to strategically address the growing deferred maintenance needs in Kansas. The plan calls for just over $1B to be spent on updating or renovating campuses and potentially reallocating under-utilized space. KBOR has already begun briefing the legislative budget committee about this plan and conversations are ongoing. This could be an item of interest either this session or next or both.

What’s Next?

Now that leadership positions have been decided, the next major event will be the swearing in of the new legislators on January 11th followed by the Governor’s State of the State Address the following day. While the speech itself will be largely symbolic, it is a critical moment since the Governor’s Recommended Budget will be released the following day which will not only have an impact on state agencies, but it will allow the new Republican leadership to have their first opportunity to respond to the Governor and could set the tone for the rest of the session. After the legislature spends a couple of days unpacking the Governor’s budget, their subcommittees will begin reviewing her recommendations and making changes.