The Kansas House yesterday passed a conference report for the budget, but don't count your chickens yet...

Yes, the House adopted a budget that they have been working on all session with the Senate, but there are two other reduced-spending budget plans already written, either of which might get traction in the Senate before the version which was just adopted in the House will be considered.

Hawver Statehouse Newsletter reported it this way:

"The House action sends the conference committee report to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be considered because Senate Ways and Means Chair Ty Masterson, R-Andover, has two budget conference committee reports in hand, one with 2.7% cuts to most agencies, another with a 5.7% haircut to state spending that eliminates the need for any new taxes to balance the budget and produce an estimated $50 million general fund balance."

So, the real question to be answered before any budget is adopted is this: Where will the revenues come from to pay for the budget? And, since there is no revenue plan adopted, no budget bill should yet be passed. Right? Yes, but...

It could happen, in this strange year, that the cart will actually be placed in front of the horse.

Some reports have suggested the legislators will pass a budget bill without adequate financing, and force the Governor to call them back for a special session to adopt a tax plan. That is not likely, but this is a year of unlikely events.

Stay tuned. And, if you see a cart rolling down the street, with a horse behind it...rub your eyes, it is either an illusion, or maybe it is your Kansas government leadership at work