Kansas State’s budget for the 2026-27 year passed on March 27, according to the weekly Zoom legislative update session for K-State students, faculty and staff. A 2.3% cut equating to $3 million for K-State, along with other research facilities, was passed through the budget bill.

The fiscal year budget authorized a 1% pay raise for state employees. In higher education, this becomes a salary pool that is distributed for pay raises.

A proviso is part of a bill added to the budget bill if the entire bill will not pass. If the proviso is not revised out of the budget when it passes, it provides an entry for the failed bill and can be revised over time. 

An extension proviso to have the rest of the funding released has reportedly stayed with the budget bill. 

Extension plans need to be certified by the State Finance Council, which wants to see action taken by higher education and other state agencies. The money will be moved to the council, which will then approve the item or take the legislature’s recommendation before moving the money back.

“This will be an opportunity for us to demonstrate and showcase the value of extension and the strategy that we’re putting together going forward with extension to serve the state,” Matt Casey, executive director of government relations, said. “So even though it looks like it could be a negative, it’s going to be really a positive thing for us to showcase what we’re doing, the value of extension and the power moving forward.”

The State Finance Council, led by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, is aware of the proviso. 

“A lot of members on [State Finance Council are] very receptive to this,” Casey said. “They’re anticipating getting a meeting set up, and they’ve had a lot of positive discussions on this.”

Associate Director of Government Relations Jaylen Lane emphasized Governor Kelly’s involvement during the budget bill process with her veto authority.

“The governor does have line-item veto authority on the budget,” Lane said. “So she can go through that budget and decide, okay, I don’t like this, I don’t like that and veto it by the line. Now, I’m sure there are going to be plenty of those. The legislature then can choose to bundle those or individually try to veto override those. So [I’m] not saying that she will, but she could potentially … veto some of some of the things in the budget related to some of the provisions … or the language around higher ed. You just kind of never know.”