In The News With Senator Jay Emler
Budget bill cuts spending $92M
February 18, 2010
The House and Senate on Thursday agreed to cut $92 million in spending by the end of June in an attempt to balance the current fiscal year's budget, but few legislators believed their agreement would be the last word on cuts. The bill includes $5 million more for the judicial branch in hopes of avoiding closure of district courts. Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jay Emler said court officials believe the additional funds will prevent furloughs, "but that remains to be seen." Emler said if more spending reductions are necessary that they may be included in the 2011 budget, which is still several weeks from being completed.
January 29, 2010
The Senate and House budget committee chairmen Friday said state employees shouldn't anticipate a raise in the fiscal year starting in July. Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican and chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the state's burgeoning deficit precluded the option of raising state worker wages. "It's highly unlikely there will be any pay increases," he told a gathering of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. "We simply don't have the money to do that."
Kansas Cause: Emler Pushes for Creative Security Funding
January, 2010
Rural areas such as Kansas will need to find innovative ways to fund homeland security efforts as federal resources continue to shrink for less populated areas. That is the message that Kansas state Sen. Jay Emler is spreading, after earning his master's degree at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security in 2008. More information...
Analysis: Kansas Tax Hikes Likely
January 12, 2010
Despite their public criticism of Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson's proposed hikes in sales and tobacco taxes, Kansas legislators are likely to raise taxes to close the state's budget gap. The Republican-controlled Legislature began reviewing the Democratic governor's budget-balancing plan Tuesday, and many GOP legislators panned it. "Can we reach $400 million with just cuts?" said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican. "I don't see how."
How Will the State Legislature Balance the Budget?
January 10, 2010
Ask lawmakers to name the top five issues they'll be facing when they get back to Topeka, and there's broad agreement. "There aren't five -- for me, there's only one, and that's the budget," says Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg and chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. "There will be other things, but they're of little consequence compared to the budget."
Tax revenues fall, adding pressure on legislators
January 8, 2010
A nearly 4 percent shortfall in Kansas tax revenues during December will increase pressure on Kansas legislators to either raise taxes or trim government spending even further, chairmen of two key tax committees predict. “We are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said state Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican and chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “My guess is that is going to be a tough session,” he said.
Kansas corrections chief says, depending on budget situation, he may ask to close prison
December 15, 2009
More state budget cuts could result in shutting down a prison or releasing hundreds of offenders from parole supervision, Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz said Tuesday. Werholtz’s dire warning to the Senate Ways and Means Committee was typical of testimony given by other agency chiefs in areas of health care, social services and highways as state lawmakers confront an unprecedented budget crisis. Committee Chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg said that while most lawmakers probably oppose any kind of tax increase to shore up the budget, “It’s something that is going to have to be discussed.”
State budget director: 2010 to be even harder
December 16, 2009
At a Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, agency heads told senators what they expect to see given cuts to the current budget. Next year's budget, which lawmakers will develop after they return to Topeka in January, will be even more difficult, State Budget Director Duane Goossen said. "It's not a good picture. We all know it's not a good picture," said committee Chairman Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg.
December 15, 2009
Budget director Duane Goossen and other state officials laid out a long list of bad budget news for the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday as the Legislature faces tough choices in a weak economy that has exasperated budget shortfalls and prompted calls for reviewing tax exemptions...
Kansas lawmakers to debate ban on texting while driving
December 15, 2009
Kansas lawmakers will try to put the brakes on texting while driving. The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday agreed to introduce a bill on the issue during the 2010 legislative session that starts next month. Advertisement Chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, said, “We need to have the discussion.” The bill that Emler contemplates would make texting while driving a criminal offense with possible jail time.
Kansas expects continued woes with its budget
December 13, 2009
Kansas lawmakers will get an early start this week on what promises to be the most difficult state budget in decades. The Senate Ways and Means Committee meets Tuesday to review the state’s dismal fiscal situation, a month before the full Legislature convenes. It’s the future that most worries Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican who is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Federal stimulus funds that helped avert deeper cuts will dry up, leaving lawmakers with an even bigger budget hole to fill. “Folks, this is serious,” he said. From a budget standpoint, “the next two years are horrible.”
Analysis: Higher taxes possible
December 13, 2009
Gov. Mark Parkinson's efforts to keep Kansas' budget balanced appear to continue his administration's drift toward proposing higher taxes next year. The Democratic governor imposed $259 million in cuts and other budget adjustments last month to prevent the state from having a deficit when the fiscal year ends June 30. But he avoided even deeper reductions in aid to public schools and other spending by tapping $86 million in federal stimulus funds. Those dollars had been set aside previously by him and the Republican-controlled Legislature for the fiscal 2011 budget. Some GOP leaders argue there's little reason to postpone budget cuts because the state's financial problems are likely to linger. Tapping stimulus dollars now - or even in 2011 - only postpones some tough decisions, they note. "You pay the piper at some point," said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican...
Citing Finances, Kansas National Guard Closes 18 Armories
December 12, 2009
The Kansas National Guard announced Friday the closing of 18 of its 56 armories. Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state’s adjutant general, said the closings were a result of the state’s tight fiscal situation and careful deliberation. State Senator Jay Emler, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said armories were important not only because of their role in Guard training but because they house equipment used in natural disasters. And, he noted, they have often sheltered people in storms. But, he said, budget problems have forced Kansas to set priorities. “The public has been served well by those armories, but in the long run, the public is probably going to be served better by education than armories,” said Mr. Emler...