Kansas committee reviews audit finding EDIF spending not consistently aligned with statute, discusses interim review

Members of the Kansas House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on an appropriations-related review discussed findings from a 2019 Legislative Post Audit (LPA) report that questioned how the Economic Development Initiatives Fund (EDIF) had been spent and whether spending matched legislative intent.

The committee heard from Andy Brienzo, a principal auditor at LPA, who told lawmakers the audit found a significant share of EDIF expenditures were not clearly tied to economic development as narrowly defined in statute. "That was the one expenditure from this fund at the time of our audit that was clearly not related to economic development," Brienzo said, referring to a general fund sweep the audit flagged. Brienzo summarized the audit—s FY2018 review as showing roughly $7.8 million (about 18%) of spending aligned with the three specific accounts identified in statute, $14.4 million (34%) was related to economic development more generally, and $20.1 million (48%) had gone to the general fund and was not related to…