In brief remarks following his swearing in as governor on Tuesday evening, Mark Parkinson pledged a bipartisan approach to solving the state’s budget problems.
“I am confident that we can work together in a bipartisan way to overcome our problems,” Parkinson, 51, said to about 150 people who gathered in the north wing of the Statehouse to witness his swearing in as the state’s 45th governor.
“The time for typical party politics is over,” Parkinson said. “Our challenges are too daunting, and the stakes are too high.”
Lawmakers returning to the Statehouse today to finish the 2009 session face about a $350 million budget deficit. The House Appropriations Committee is calling for a 5 percent across-the-board cut to most state agencies and programs, excluding education and public safety, which would face lesser cuts under the House plan. Meanwhile, Senate Ways and Means is recommending a 2.5 percent across-the-board cut to all state agencies and programs as well as some tax increases and some more targeted cuts to various programs.
Parkinson called for “shared sacrifice,” saying that a combination of spending cuts and tax changes will be needed to close the budget gap. He is calling for a delay in some business tax cuts that are scheduled to take effect next year and for the state to “decouple” its income tax code from the federal tax code, a move that would add more than $70 million to state coffers, according to estimates.
Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, said he was encouraged by Parkinson’s approach and believed that GOP leaders could work effectively with him to address the budget issues.
“It sounds to me that we’re roughly on the same page,” Schmidt said. “I’m encouraged.”
Schmidt and others said having Parkinson — a former state Republican Party chairman — as governor creates an opportunity for a new conversation on budget and other issues.
“It’s a good time to look forward and not back,” he said. “I am looking forward to being actively engaged with the governor and the leaders of both parties to work our way out of this.”
Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said the fact that Parkinson doesn’t intend to be a candidate for governor in 2010 may also help him be more effective.
“He doesn’t have a Mark Parkinson agenda, he has a Kansas agenda,” Morris said.
Morris said a plan by several Republican senators to seek a tax amnesty bill may also help with the budget situation. He said allowing Kansans to pay back taxes without threat of penalty or interest could generate up to $22 million.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said Parkinson’s lack of a personal political agenda will help him get things done.
“I think he will be able to tell people exactly the way it is,” Hensley said.
-Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at jmclean@khi.org or at 785-233-5443, ext. 123.