Salina area Representative Steven Johnson joined in on the KSAL Morning News Wednesday on his cell phone as he sat outside the Kansas Statehouse.

“The reception is better out here,” he said.

With shortfalls and missed revenue projections during Kansas’s economic experiment – sending a clear message to other legislators has been a muddy proposition over the last two years.

“I would love to just have a hearing and say: Here is what we expected. Here is what we got. And if we can prove it’s working I’ll celebrate it with everyone,” Johnson said.

“But there’s an element that I think we went too far too fast.”

Now lawmakers are tasked with balancing a budget and finding over $54 million to shore up funding for public education.

The Kansas House is expected to approve the final version of a budget aimed at fixing a projected shortfall of nearly $200 million in the next fiscal year. A green light from the Senate would then send it to Governor Brownback.

“We have to decide what things we are going to fully cut or where we are going to raise revenue so that the budget actually balances long term,” Johnson said.

Representative Johnson will be on hand Saturday at the upcoming Legislative Issues Meeting hosted by Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

The event is in the Chamber’s Visit Salina Annex, 120 W. Ash from 8:30am to 10am.

https://soundcloud.com/ksal-radio/rep-steven-johnson-2-17-16