There are sharp differences in opinion when it comes to the Kansas Consensus Revenue Estimating Group’s April update announced Monday — not with the raw data, but with spending priorities.
Overall revenue was decreased by almost $55 million for fiscal 2026 ending in June and fiscal 2027, although the big hit comes through this summer as the Revenue Estimating Group dropped revenues over $127 million from the November estimate — still a nearly 1-percent increase from the final fiscal 2025 collections. Fiscal 2027 shows a nearly 1-percent increase above the November 2025 estimate and a 1.1-percent increase above the revised 2026 estimate.
The Revenue Estimating Group expects almost $10.1 billion in tax collections for fiscal 2026 and $10.2 billion for fiscal 2027.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly was sharply critical of lawmakers for rushing the budget to a vote before the Revenue Estimating Group’s latest revisions, and she continued that Monday, saying there was enough money in the budget to allow for a 2.5-percent pay raise for state workers and to increase special education funding. She also says the budget remains structurally imbalanced, causing concerns about draining reserves by 2030.
Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins disagrees, saying the Legislature took a “disciplined path” and the state’s financial outlook is holding steady. He also says the governor talks about spending increases “but also warn{s} of poor legislative budget trends,” and he says lawmakers are working to protect taxpayers long-term.
