The Kansas legislature approved revisions to the state budget for this year and next year last night and then quickly adjourned for an early, extended spring break due to the coronavirus outbreak. State General Fund (SGF) spending jumps almost $1 billion between FY 2019 and FY 2021, topping $8 billion next year. General Fund spending is largely 
funded by state tax receipts, whereas the All Funds Budget includes the General Fund and all other spending, which is funded by other sources, including federal revenue and fees.
The revisions resulted in a net reduction of $10.7 million for the FY 2020 SGF state budget and a net increase of $156.1 million for FY 2021.
The All Funds Budget has a net reduction of $2.6 million for FY 2020 and a net increase of $1.2 billion for FY 2021. Most of the increase is for federal support of Medicaid expansion; the SGF budget also includes $6.5 million for Medicaid expansion but all Medicaid expansion funds are subject to the Legislature passing the expansion policy in SB 252 when the Legislature returns from spring break. If SB 252 doesn’t pass, the $6.5 million can be spent on coronavirus issues.
Agency-level spending totals will be released next week.
Legislators agreed to set aside $50 million for unforeseen spending related to coronavirus issues. The state budget director can submit requests to the Legislative Coordinating Council for the release of the funds as needed.
With these revisions, the SGF state budget will have increased close to $2 billion since record-setting spending in FY 2017, when legislators implemented income tax hikes for the 2017 and 2018 tax years. Kansans were hit with their third consecutive tax increase when Governor Kelly vetoed 2019 legislation that would have prevented the increase related to changes in the federal tax code.
