khi.org
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss says furloughs for judicial branch employees will begin April 13. Nuss said Wednesday that furloughs would take place every other Friday after that in order to close a shortfall in court operating funds. Legislators failed to appropriate additional money last week after an agreement between the House and Senate on a proposed $14.1 billion state budget unraveled. Lawmakers began their annual spring break last week without passing a spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. They won't reconvene until April 25. The spending plan also covered a $1.4 million shortfall in the judicial branch's current budget. Nuss warned lawmakers in a February letter that without the extra funding, Kansas courts would have to close five extra days this year.