Budget negotiators have made big strides over the last two days, but that's not enough to end the legislative session on schedule. Talks continued off and on for 16 hours yesterday (TUE). After midnight, lawmakers and staffers needed a break to compile numbers and work on some final details. Marc Rhoades, a Newton Republican, is the lead House negotiator. He believes talks will wrap up soon, but that won’t leave enough time for lawmakers to pass a budget by Thursday, the scheduled end of the session.
Lawmakers have come to tentative agreements on large issues like education funding and restoring cuts to Washburn University and the Fair Fares program, which subsidizes airfares in Wichita. One of the main sticking points has been how much the state should have left in reserve at the end of next fiscal year. Talks will continue this morning (WED).