Governor Sam Brownback today (MON) signed an executive order to abolish the Kansas Arts Commission and replace it with the Kansas Arts Foundation. The Arts Commission is a state agency, while the Arts Foundation would be a non-profit organization responsible for raising most of its funding through private donations. Brownback says the move would save the state around 600 thousand dollars next fiscal year. He believes the arts in Kansas will continue to grow under the new organization.Opponents of the move say the state will lose more than one million dollars in federal matching funds if the...

The Kansas House has given first approval to a rules change that would make it more difficult to amend budget bills. Under the new rules, amendments that increase spending could only be made on the House floor if an equal spending cut is proposed. The measure is known as “pay as you go.” Supporters of the change argue it’s needed to get the state’s finances in order. Opponents say it means a majority of the Appropriations Committee, 12 members, will be able to set the size of the entire state budget. Here’s House Minority Leader, Lawrence Democrat Paul Davis, speaking on the House Floor.The...

Governor Sam Brownback is commending Kansans over how they handled the storm this week. State offices were closed for two days and officials urged Kansans to stay off the roads. Brownback says there was a total of 3 fatalities in Kansas from the storm, but the situation could have been worse. Brownback says state workers are trying to total the amount of damage to crops and cattle from the blizzard. If the damage from the storm reaches 3 million dollars, Brownback says the state could be eligible for federal assistance though a federal disaster declaration.

A group of Kansas dentists is hoping the Legislature will take steps to keep more dentists in the state. Kansas and Missouri have an agreement, in which some students who are Kansas residents can attend the University of Missouri-Kansas City dental school and pay in-state tuition. Brett Roufs (roofs) is a dentist from Newton and the past president of the Kansas Dental Association. He says Kansas can send around 20 students per year to UMKC through the program. He hopes the legislature will require some of those students to come back and work in the state.Roufs says they’d also like to see...