By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Democratic State Rep. Jason Probst said most of the preliminary work has been done that takes place before first adjournment in the Kansas Legislature.
"This last week, we spent most of our time debating bills on the floor that had come out of committee," Probst said. "Committees really didn't meet, except for a few of those exempt committees, like Fed and State and Appropriations. That work's done, we've passed out most of the bills and next week, we'll move out into conference committee week."
Getting bills to this point in the process is a bit of a double-edged sword.
"There's kind of a saying around the capitol that if you just move the bill along in the process, that's the important thing," Probst said. "They'll say, if you're not completely happy with the bill, just get it to conference. I don't quite trust that, because I've seen some really complicated and confusing things come out of conference committee and a bill that I thought might come out of conference better often comes out worse."
One such amendment that will likely come out in conference is a two-percent across the board cut to the state budget that passed on a voice vote in the House earlier this week. It was proposed by Democrat Henry Helgerson of Wichita.
"Essentially, what it is, is six people, three from the Senate, three from the House doing a good deal of horse trading, where the House says, we really want these things and the Senate's saying, we really want these things," Probst said. "They start bargaining on which things are going to fall to the floor and which things end up in the bill and sometimes it's a little bit jarring and alarming what ends up in the final bill that we have to vote on."
Conference committee reports, once they come to the floor, can not be amended. Those are voted on up or down and if they are voted down, another conference committee is appointed.