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Committee concurs with LBC on OITS budgets, deletes one FTE and declines data‑center enhancements
Summary
The Committee on General Government Budget approved the Office of Information Technology Services budgets for FY2026 and FY2027, concurring with the Legislative Budget Committee recommendation to delete one on‑budget FTE and not fund the $8 million data‑center enhancement; the governor had likewise not recommended the enhancements.
The Committee on General Government Budget voted to concur with the Legislative Budget Committee’s recommendation on the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, deleting one on‑budget full‑time equivalent position and declining enhancement requests tied to a new data‑center contract.
James Fisher of the Kansas Legislative Research Department reminded members that OITS’s FY2026 on‑budget request totaled about $34,000,000, roughly $31.2 million of which was State General Fund. For FY2027 Fisher said the revised on‑budget request was about $41,000,000 (about $39.5 million SGF), driven mainly by an $8,000,000 enhancement for a data‑center‑as‑a‑service contract and roughly $250,000 to fund three dedicated IT FTEs for non‑cabinet agencies. He also noted large off‑budget totals and FTE coding changes that increased the agency’s off‑budget totals in both years.
Committee members asked for clarification about the $8 million request. One member described the enhancement as a one‑time SGF payment to cover underestimated start‑up costs for a new data‑center contract; subsequent operating costs would generally be shifted onto agency budgets as rates are adjusted. Jeff Max, chief information technology officer for the executive branch, said the governor also chose not to recommend the enhancements, urging the agency to find efficiencies. “She did not recommend we have that as well,” Max said.
Representative Pickard moved that the committee approve OITS’s FY2026 budget following the LBC recommendation, which deletes the single on‑budget FTE; Representative O’Habison seconded. The committee approved the FY2026 concurrence by voice vote. The committee later moved to accept the FY2027 recommendation that removes the $8,000,000 enhancement, omits the $250,000 for three dedicated IT positions, and deletes one on‑budget FTE; that motion also passed by voice vote.
The committee’s actions align its recommendations with the LBC and the governor’s proposals on the enhancements and the single FTE. Members said they expect agencies to absorb and manage the ongoing costs through adjusted agency rates once the data‑center contract costs are fully reflected.
