The actual size of the Kansas budget hole

Although most media reports portray a budget hole around $400 million, according to Duane Goossen, Senior Fellow with the Kansas Center for Economic Growth, Kansas has nearly an $800 million gap between revenue and expenses.

Based on negotiations in the budget conference committee, State General Fund spending (which includes school block grants) is being set just above $6.5 billion. The official revenue estimate for FY 2016 (revised on April 20) forecasts income of $5.7 billion.

With $6.5 billion in expenses, but only $5.7 billion in revenue, the budget gap is roughly $800 million.

The kansasbudget.com article explains that the media is neglecting to mention that the tactics lawmakers will likely use to fill part of the $800 million gap are short-term solutions and should not be considered ongoing revenue. The article goes on to point out that even with the transfers and increases in fees for managed care, that still leaves $400 million-plus to be raised from tax increases in order for the state to have enough revenue to barely meet a conservative set of expenses.

And just closing the gap leaves nothing for an ending balance. State law requires that state budgets must have an ending balance equal to 7.5 percent of expenditures - around $500 million in our case...

Read more about kansasbudget.com's analysis of this issue.