Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building                                                                         Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504                                                                     adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612                               Division of the Budget                              http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director                                                                           Laura Kelly, Governor
                                                    April 20, 2023
          The Honorable Rick Billinger, Chairperson
          Senate Committee on Ways and Means
          300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 548-S
          Topeka, Kansas 66612
          Dear Senator Billinger:
                    SUBJECT:      Fiscal Note for SB 10 by Senator Hawk
                  In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 10 is
          respectfully submitted to your committee.
                  Under current law, legislative compensation is set by statute and includes a daily per diem
          ($88.66 per legislative day), session expenses ($157 per legislative day) and non-session expenses
          ($354.15 biweekly). Legislators make an election to join KPERS when they take office, and for
          purposes of calculating their KPERS benefit, their compensation is annualized at the level they
          elect, and member and employer contributions are based on the annualized compensation amount.
                  SB 10 would affect the compensation for legislators and the calculation of covered
          compensation for KPERS purposes. The bill would increase the legislative per diem to $320 per
          legislative day but would maintain the existing session and non-session expenses for legislator
          services after January 13, 2025. The bill would also eliminate the annualized compensation option
          for KPERS benefit purposes. Legislators with service prior to January 13, 2025, may elect to
          continue under the existing pay structure with annualized compensation for KPERS purposes or
          move to the new structure without annualized KPERS compensation; however, this election would
          be a one-time irrevocable election.
                  According to Legislative Administrative Services (LAS), the enactment of SB 10 would
          increase expenditures for the Legislature and the Legislative Coordinating Council, beginning in
          FY 2025 by $4,618,824 for the Legislature and $27,119 for the Legislative Coordinating Council,
          all from the State General Fund. For the Legislature, the cost estimate includes $4,198,582 for
          increasing the daily salary from $88.66 to $320.00 per day; $85,705 for increasing the biweekly
          legislative allowance from $354.15 to $375.40; and $334,447 for increasing the salary costs
          incurred for interim committee meetings for an average of 91 interim committee days. For the
          Legislative Coordinating Council, the cost estimate includes increased salary costs for 12 meetings
The Honorable Rick Billinger, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 10
of eight legislators totaling $27,119. All estimated costs include fringe benefits. LAS notes that
its estimates are based on a 90-day legislative session and do not include increases which may
occur when the federal government increases subsistence rates.
       KPERS indicates that additional administrative time would be required to update existing
publications and to educate effected legislators on the changes contained in the bill. However, any
additional costs would be negligible and could be accomplished within existing budgetary
resources.
        KPERS notes that for actuarial costs associated with the bill, KPERS benefits are funded
using the entry age normal cost method, where the contribution rate needed to fund the ultimate
benefits expected to be paid from the KPERS Trust Fund is determined as a level percentage of
payroll from entry age to retirement age. This rate is independent of the dollar amount of the
member’s compensation. As a result, the enactment of SB 10 is not expected to affect the normal
cost rate for legislators who become KPERS members after January 13, 2025. For current
legislators who elect to change the calculation of covered compensation, the calculation of their
actuarial liability could be affected, depending on each legislator’s situation. Presumably a
member would only elect to change the calculation if it was to their benefit. KPERS would expect
the actuarial liabilities resulting from legislators to increase. However, because the legislator
group is so small compared to the overall KPERS State/School group (128 active members out of
107,815 active members), any change is expected to be immaterial to the funding and the KPERS
State/School Group employer contribution rate. Any fiscal effect associated with SB 10 is not
reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
                                                     Sincerely,
                                                     Adam Proffitt
                                                     Director of the Budget
cc: Karen Clowers, Legislative Services
    Craig Neuenswander, Department of Education
    Jarod Waltner, KPERS
Statutes affected: As introduced: 46-137a, 46-137c, 74-4915b, 74-4902, 74-4992, 74-4995, 75-3212, 75-3203a