BUDGET: Parkinson says he'll make up any other revenue shortfalls this fiscal year by cutting spending. No Sebelius-inspired melodrama this time.

$700 million loan enables state to resume tax refunds, school funding

The Kansas State Finance Council unanimously approved a $700 million loan today so that the state can pay its bills. The loan, or certificate of indebtedness, is statutorily required to be repaid by the end of fiscal year 2010. [Read more...]

Rep. Virgil Peck: 'We need to step up to the plate and make some tough choices and this will help us do that.'

Audits uncover more 'sloppiness' in state agency financial details

Just last week Gov. Mark Parkinson cut an additional two percent from most state agencies, forcing many departments to trim down spending as much as possible. At the same time, the legislative post audit department released a series of audits looking into possible inefficient usage of taxpayer dollars within various state agencies. [Read more...]

TAXES: Teachers' union joins with KASB, cites claimed it would cost the state $5.7 million. Bill sponsor: 'Even when we were awash with money they opposed it.'

Kansas school boards association targets backers of school supplies tax breaks

Most Kansans want to do what they can to help poor families educate their children, and legislators do their best to try to find a way to ease the burden. [Read more...]

AMENDMENT 2: Gun rights groups applaud effort to pre-empt SCOTUS changes, while polls show rise in support for gun-owners' rights.

Kansas AG urges Supreme Court to declare the Second Amendment applies to states

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six is among a bipartisan group of 33 state attorneys general who have filed a legal brief to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to confirm that the Second Amendment applies to states. [Read more...]

POLITICS: The Fowler senator's growing list of backers dominates the First District race so far. The latest: former Congressman Jim Ryun. Barker withdraws.

If endorsements were votes, it would be Huelskamp in a landslide

Kansas State Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, picked up yet another endorsement today in the First District Congressional race, this one from former Congressman Jim Ryun. [Read more...]

HEALTH-CARE: The $1-trillion plan is still being shaped. Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted today to spend taxpayer dollars on abortions overseas and in the U.S.

Obama's widening 'health' policies cause concerns in Kansas

Although there's no clear explanation of exactly what is involved in President Barack Obama's $1 trillion health-care plan, local health care providers are already worrying about how the changes could affect Kansans' daily lives. [Read more...]

POLLS: Twice as many say they've grown more conservative. Trend indicates GOP problem may be lack of leadership and ideas, not ideology.

Gallup: Despite Obamamania, America drifting to starboard

Judging by what appears in the newspapers and on television, it would seem to most that the U.S. is leaning leftward. After all, Democrats control the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and more statehouses — including Kansas' — than ever before. [Read more...]

COMMENT: From windmills to 'greenie' light bulbs, the 'environmentally sound' idea of the moment only makes things worse. Main Street Money's Bill Wyckoff explains.

The dimmest light bulb ideas ever

It’s a green day everywhere it seems. One can’t listen to a radio or watch TV without being bombarded about joining some green movement, and you are surely going straight to hell if you don’t. [Read more...]

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