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 The Kansas State Finance Council (SFC) is a joint executive-legislative body that handles certain fiscal and administrative matters, primarily when the Legislature is not in session. It was created by statute (K.S.A. 75-3708) and serves as a mechanism for limited legislative delegation of authority over specific budget, expenditure, and related actions.

Membership and Structure

The Council has nine members:

• The Governor (who serves as chairperson)
• President of the Senate
• Speaker of the House of Representatives
• Majority Floor Leader of the Senate
• Minority Floor Leader of the Senate
• Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means
• Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives
• Minority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives
• Chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations

The Secretary of Administration serves as the non-voting secretary of the Council (responsible for administrative support, such as preparing minutes and agendas) but is not a member.

A quorum requires the chairperson plus five or more other members. Approval of most matters requires the Governor’s approval plus a majority vote of the legislative members (typically five of the eight legislative votes), unless a statute or budget proviso requires a higher threshold (e.g., unanimous vote or six legislative votes).

Primary Duties and Powers

The SFC acts on matters that statutes characterize as legislative delegations. These are generally exercised only when the Legislature is not in session (with some exceptions authorized by law or proviso). Key functions include:

• Increasing expenditure limitations on special revenue funds imposed by legislative act.
• Granting approval for state agencies to receive, spend, or transfer federal grants, funds from other sources, or interagency moneys (under K.S.A. 75-3711a and related provisions), when not otherwise specifically authorized by law.
• Exercising functions related to the State Emergency Fund (including allocations and expenditures for emergencies or extraordinary circumstances, such as weather-related disasters; certain actions require a unanimous vote of the full Council under K.S.A. 75-3713).
• Increasing limitations on expenditures from reappropriated balances in State General Fund accounts.
• Increasing limitations on the number of personnel positions paid from appropriations.
• Other specific statutory functions, such as those related to certificates of indebtedness (K.S.A. 75-3725a, which requires six affirmative legislative votes plus the Governor), certain disaster-related or emergency management actions (e.g., under K.S.A. 48-938), and other matters expressly delegated by statute or budget provisos.
• Approving specific distributions or allocations directed by the Legislature (common recent examples include implementing state employee pay plans by determining agency-by-agency amounts, or approving certain university/regents funding distributions or bond-related actions when required by proviso).

The Governor separately handles certain related executive functions (such as appeals from decisions of the Secretary of Administration, approval of some Department of Administration rules and regulations, and allocations for unanticipated needs under specific guidelines). Matters not characterized as legislative delegations are generally handled by the Governor rather than the full Council.

Operational Notes

• The Council meets upon the call of the chairperson (Governor) as needed.
• Legislative members receive compensation and expense allowances for attendance.
• Notice, agendas, and minutes are provided to members and made available through legislative channels (including notice to all legislators via the Director of Legislative Administrative Services).
• It frequently addresses interim fiscal adjustments, federal fund approvals, emergency expenditures, and implementation details of budget actions that the full Legislature has authorized but left for further refinement.

In practice, the SFC provides a streamlined way for legislative leaders and the Governor to address time-sensitive fiscal matters between regular sessions while maintaining bipartisan legislative involvement (via majority and minority leaders plus the main budget committee chairs). Exact items on any agenda depend on current statutes, appropriations bills, and emerging needs. For the most current statutory details, consult K.S.A. 75-3708, 75-3711, 75-3711c, and related sections, along with recent budget bills and meeting materials from the Kansas Legislature.

The Kansas Secretary of Administration heads the Department of Administration (DoA), a cabinet-level agency that provides central administrative support services to state agencies, employees, and taxpayers.

The position is created by statute (primarily K.S.A. 75-3702a). The Governor appoints the Secretary, subject to Senate confirmation; the Secretary serves at the pleasure of the Governor and directs/supervises the Department.

Core Responsibilities

The Secretary manages and directs the Department’s offices and functions, sets agency priorities and vision/mission, and allocates resources. The DoA (created by the Legislature in 1953) acts as the state’s primary provider of centralized administrative services.

Key areas under the Secretary’s oversight typically include:

• Financial and accounting systems — Statewide accounting, payroll, financial reporting, and related services (Office of Accounts and Reports; Office of Financial Management).
• Budget processes — Involvement in financial policies/plans and (in recent practice) the Director of the Budget role, advising the Governor on the state budget.
• Personnel and human resources — Statewide HR policy, leadership, guidance, civil service/personnel administration, and related rules/regulations (Office of Personnel Services; powers under the Kansas Civil Service Act).
• Procurement and contracts — Efficient purchasing processes and statewide contracts for goods and services.
• Facilities and property management — Asset management, design/construction of state buildings, maintenance, leasing, parking, and related services.
• Printing, mailing, and surplus property — Central printing/mailing services and surplus property programs.
• Systems/IT support — Architecture, technical development, and support for statewide systems used by the Department.
• Employee benefits — State Employee Health Benefits Program (including health plan and workers’ compensation/self-insurance aspects).
• Legal and communications — Internal legal advice (Office of Chief Counsel) and internal/external communications, media, and open records (Office of Public Affairs).

Additional Roles and Duties

• Member of the Governor’s Cabinet.
• Serves as Secretary to the State Finance Council.
• Serves on various boards/commissions/committees (examples include the Kansas State Employees’ Health Care Commission and the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System/KCJIS Committee; may include roles related to information technology or other administrative bodies).
• Statutory authority includes adopting or acting on rules and regulations related to personnel/civil service, performing investigations concerning civil service enforcement (at the Governor’s request, on petition, or on own motion), entering certain interagency agreements, and broader administrative functions authorized for the Department (e.g., coordinating fiscal affairs, improving agency operations, and providing central services).

The Department’s offices (roughly a dozen) work together to deliver these services. Exact office structure and emphases can evolve with legislation, reorganization, and gubernatorial priorities, but the Secretary’s overarching role remains directing the central administrative machinery of state government.

For the most current details, refer to the official Kansas Department of Administration website (admin.ks.gov), relevant Kansas Statutes (Chapter 75, Article 37 and related provisions), and the Governor’s Budget Report narratives for the Department. As of recent records, the position has been held by Adam Proffitt (appointed 2023, who has also served concurrently as Budget Director).

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Henry McClure  
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Henry McClure  
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God save the republic

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Why Do So Many of Us Keep Giving Away Our Vote?

I still don’t get it.

Today Kansans had a chance to take back the power to choose their own Supreme Court justices. Instead, voters overwhelmingly said no. They chose to keep the current system where a nominating commission—dominated by lawyers chosen by other lawyers—picks the short list, and the governor picks from that list. The people only get a yes-or-no retention vote later, which almost never removes anyone.

In other words, we voted to keep letting someone else decide who sits in judgment over us.

I keep asking the same question: Why would free citizens ever choose to abdicate their own authority? Why hand your vote, your voice, your free will over to a small group of insiders when you have the chance to exercise it yourself?

This wasn’t some obscure technical change. It was a straightforward question: Do the people of Kansas get to elect the justices of the highest court in the state, or do we continue letting a closed process do it for us? The answer that came back was a decisive “no, thank you—we’d rather not.”

Even more baffling is who lined up to defend the status quo. Outside money, including funding connected to George Soros’ network, flowed into the “Vote No” campaign. The same people who constantly talk about “protecting democracy” spent heavily to make sure Kansas voters would not get a direct say in who sits on the Kansas Supreme Court. That should tell you something.

We’ve seen this pattern before. Too many people have been trained to believe that governing is too complicated for ordinary citizens. Better leave it to the experts, the lawyers, the commissions, the people who “know better.” It’s quieter that way. It’s safer for the people already in charge. And it’s a quiet form of surrender.

I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do. A republic only works if the people insist on keeping the power. Every time we vote to give that power away—whether it’s judges, school boards, or local development decisions—we make the next surrender easier.

So how do we wake people up?

We stop assuming they already understand what’s at stake. We explain, calmly and repeatedly, that a retention election after the fact is not the same as choosing the person in the first place. We point out that the current nominating system is the only one in the country where lawyers hold a majority of the seats. We keep showing who is funding the effort to keep voters out of the process. And we refuse to let the conversation stay abstract. This is about who decides the rules that govern your property, your schools, your rights, and your community.

People respond when they see the pattern clearly. Most of them are not stupid or evil. Many are simply busy, or they’ve been told for years that “the professionals” should handle these things. Our job is to make the trade-off impossible to ignore: either you keep the power yourself, or you keep handing it to people who will never give it back voluntarily.

I’m not interested in accepting the result and moving on. I’m interested in making sure the next time this question comes around, more people understand exactly what they’re being asked to give away.

The authority belongs to the citizens. The only way it stays there is if we insist on keeping it.

— Henry McClure Topeka