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Health Fundamentals

April 2010 Special Edition
Sections: News | Events

News

About this special issue

Kansas faces extraordinary challenges in the financing of state government. During the coming days, legislators will make decisions about the conclusion of the current fiscal year and 2011 which will affect all Kansans in one way or another. Following dramatic budget cuts impacting almost all areas of state services and operations there are calls, which we are joining, for a balanced approach to meeting the state laws preventing a deficit budget. This issue of Fundamentals provides some information about the reasoning for a balanced view which may be useful to you when you approach your legislators, write opinion pieces, discuss this with your boards or other key groups, or simply converse with your friends and neighbors.

Op-Ed - calling for a balanced approach to our state budget

Health Fund President Kim Moore joins the call for a balanced approach to the fiscal crisis facing our state in an op-ed article published in The Hutchinson News on April 16, 2010.

Resources for more information

Fiscal Focus Initiative
Contact: April Holman
Email: april@kac.org
Phone: (785) 232-0550
Source: General information about the state budget--both revenues and expenditures, including recent historical trends and current budget and revenue proposals.

Kansas Action for Children
Contact: Shannon Cotsoradis
Email: shannon@kac.org
Phone: (785) 232-0550
Source: Status of children, youth, and family programs in current budget proposals and information on how proposed cuts would affect services to children, youth, and their families.

Oral Health Kansas
Contact: Tanya Dorf Brunner
Email: tdorf@oralhealthkansas.org
Phone: 785-235-6039
Source: Status of cuts to state programs affecting oral health and the effects those cuts are having and will have on access for families who have low income, people with disabilities, and aging Kansans.

Kansas Health Consumer Coalition
Contact: Anna Lambertson, Director of Development
Email: anna@kshealthconsumer.org
Phone: (785) 232-9997
Source: General information on status of state budget proposals, advice on making effective contacts with legislators, and effects of cuts on access to health care for diverse populations

Talking points

Every day, we rely upon the public infrastructure that our state's founders put into place. The school system that educates our next generation, the roads and highways that enable interstate commerce, and the justice system that mediates our personal and business disputes are all a part of that infrastructure.

Our ability to maintain the infrastructure upon which we rely depends on our capacity, as a state, to generate adequate revenues. Unfortunately, Kansas revenues have fallen for the past three years and the state has fallen short on its ability to pay for state infrastructure during that time frame. The state faces almost a half billion dollar revenue shortfall in the upcoming year. While some suggestions for how to close the budget gap have been proposed, lawmakers have yet to find a balanced approach that preserves state funding priorities with reasonable revenue increases.

A cuts-only approach to dealing with the shortfall is one option which has been under consideration in the legislature. Among the spending reductions included in this proposed budget are cuts of over $200 million from the K-12 education budget and $7 million from the Children's Initiatives Fund budget recommended by the governor, as well as increases in premium costs for HealthWave, the children's health insurance program, to the maximum amount allowed under federal law.

Another proposal recommended smaller budget cuts, alongside revenue increases, as a means to reach a solution to the shortfall. However, no consensus was reached regarding revenue increases during the regular session.

Working together, we can find a solution to the Kansas fiscal crisis before problems get worse. Lawmakers have made five rounds of state budget cuts this year totaling almost a billion dollars. The time has come for a balanced approach that includes new revenues in addition to the cuts. The following revenue sources have been proposed to fill the current budget gap of $433 million for fiscal year 2011.

Sales tax. Governor Parkinson recommended a one cent increase in the state sales tax (from 5.3% to 6.3%) to balance the budget. This would generate an estimated $351.3 million in fiscal year 2011 ($308.2 million to the State General Fund and $43.1 million to the State Highway Fund).
Cigarette tax. Governor Parkinson recommended a 55 cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax (from $0.79 to $1.34 per pack) with his budget. This would generate an estimated $52.0 million in fiscal year 2011.
Tobacco products tax. Governor Parkinson recommended a 30% increase in the tobacco products tax (from 10% to 40%). This would generate an estimated $13.7 million in fiscal year 2011.
Sugary drink tax. The Senate considered a bill creating a new state tax on sweetened beverages, Senate Bill 567, which is estimated to generate $90.0 million in fiscal year 2011.
Liquor taxes. The Senate considered a bill increasing a number of liquor taxes this year. Senate Bill 569 would double the tax on beer and cereal malt beverages, wort or liquid malt, malt syrup or malt extract, wine, and alcohol and spirits. The combined increases are estimated to generate $56.6 million in fiscal year 2011.

Events

Early Childhood Care and Education Bus Tour April 22-23

Kansas Action for Children is organizing a bus tour April 22nd and 23rd to help tell the story of early childhood care and education in Kansas. KAC is hosting the Kansas Promise Tour to remind Kansans and our lawmakers of how important the promise of early childhood is to our children, to our communities, and to the future of our state.

Kansas lawmakers will soon consider budget cuts that would jeopardize the state's most successful early childhood programs. Join Kansas Action for Children and others for the Kansas Promise Tour at a location near you to show your support for critical early childhood programs such as those listed below, and to help keep the promise to Kansas kids!

Thursday, April 22
Topeka - 9 to 10 a.m., Southwest Statehouse Lawn, 10th & Harrison

Leawood - Noon to 1 p.m., U.S Toy Company, 2008 W. 103rd Terrace

Pittsburg - 4 to 5 p.m., Pittsburg State University Veterans Memorial, 1090 S. Rouse

Friday, April 23
Wichita - 9 to 10 a.m., TOP North Early Childhood Center, 2330 N. Opportunity Drive

Hutchinson - 11 a.m. to Noon, Community College Sports Arena parking lot, East 11th Ave. & N. Cleveland

Salina - 2:30 to 3:15 p.m., Robert Caldwell Plaza, 300 W. Ash

Junction City - 4:30 p.m., Heritage Park, 6th and Washington

Early childhood programs at risk in Kansas include:

Autism Diagnosis Program
Children's Mental Health Initiative
Child Care Quality Initiative
Child Care Services
Child Welfare Community Services
Smart Start Kansas
Family-Centered System of Care
Family Preservation
Four-Year-Old-At-Risk Program
Early Childhood Block Grants
Early Head Start
Head Start
Healthy Families
HealthWave
Immunization Outreach
Newborn Hearing Aid Loaner Program
Newborn Screening
Parents as Teachers
Pre-K
SIDS Network
Tiny-k

For more information, please see the Kansas Promise website at www.kansaspromise.com