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For Immediate Release:
July 5, 2022
Contact:
Cassie Nichols
[email protected]
Governor Laura Kelly Continues Fiscal Responsibility with Nearly $1 Billion
Rainy Day Fund
~~Fiscal Year 2022 is First Time in Over Two Decades
Kansas Hasn’t Gone into Debt~~
TOPEKA – Highlighting her record-setting levels of fiscal responsibility, Governor Laura Kelly today announced that Kansas has closed out Fiscal Year 2022 (“FY22”) with a Rainy Day Fund balance of $969.0 million and without having to take out a certificate of indebtedness. FY22 marks the first year since Fiscal Year 1999 that the Kansas State Finance Council did not have to vote to take out a short-term loan to cover the state’s day-to-day expenses.
At the start of the Kelly Administration, there were no savings in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, and Kansas ranked last compared to other states when it came to saving for its future. Earlier this year, Governor Kelly signed a budget that made a historic $500 million deposit in the Fund and an Omnibus bill that had another $250 million deposit. Before the fiscal year closed, $219.0 million more was transferred from the State General Fund. The last deposit was made because FY22 revenues continued to beat estimates, leaving the state with higher than anticipated levels of cash.
“When I first came into office, Kansas had no savings, and in fact, was going into debt every year. My Administration worked to put Kansas on a consistent path of fiscal stability and economic growth,” said Governor Kelly. “That work has paid off. This past fiscal year, we were able to save for the future in record numbers, fully fund K-12 education, make historic investments in law enforcement and higher education, and axe taxes – all without going into debt.”
Kansas’ Rainy Day Fund was created in 2017 when the Kansas Legislature ended the failed Brownback-era tax experiment that gutted state budgets and downgraded the state’s credit rating. The previous all-time high balance in the Fund was $81.9 million.
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