Important Kansas Legislative News!!

On Wednesday, March 23, the Kansas Senate passed out to final action its version of the FY
2006 budget bill (SB 270) that agrees with the Governor's recommendation for
level funding. You will remember that the Kansas House of Representatives
passed its version of the budget bill (HB 2482) that cut (transferred out)
$50,000 from the Kansas Arts Commission budget. The funds were transferred
out to the Senior Care Act home & community based services at the Department
of Aging (KDOA). As indicated previously, funding for KDOA is important,
but there is a lot of concern about cutting the arts budget to do so. So now
we are at an important juncture. The Senate budget bill gives the arts level
funding and the House budget bill cuts the arts by $50,000. To resolve this
difference, a conference committee will be appointed to negotiate a
compromise, hopefully not including a cut for the arts!

The conference committee will meet starting late tomorrow (Thursday, 3/24/05) and probably
on into the weekend or next week, so if you want to comment on the arts funding to the conference committee, time is short.

NOTE: We do not want the arts to be cut and we should recommend that the conference committee adopt the Senate's position. Listed below are the conference committee members
(three from the Senate, three from the House) that will be making the decisions on arts funding. KCA suggests that you contact these committee members with all due dispatch (e-mail or phone) if you want to get your voice heard on this issue!!

Senator Dwayne Umbarger (R-Thayer) 785-296-7389,
E-Mail: umbarger@senate.state.ks.us
Senator Jay Emler (R-Lindsborg) 785-296-7354,
E-Mail: emler@senate.state.ks.us
Senator Jim Barone (D-Frontenac) 785-296-7370,
E-Mail: barone@senate.state.ks.us
Representative Melvin Neufeld (R-Ingalls) 785-296-7649,
E-Mail: neufeld@house.state.ks.us
Representative Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita) 785-296-7683,
E-Mail: landwehr@house.state.ks.us
Representative Bill Feuerborn (D-Garnett) 785-296-7697,
E-Mail: feuerborn@house.state.ks.us

More later as the conference committee's work unfolds. Thanks!