“Sen. Jeff King, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, doesn’t see this as a problem…Maybe blackmail isn’t the right word for what the Legislature is doing to the judicial branch. Maybe ‘power grab’ would be a better term. Either way, lawmakers are trying to alter the roles, responsibilities and fundamental balance of power among the state’s three branches of government. Their action also feeds the perception that they are trying to punish state courts for school finance decisions that have forced the state to increase spending for K-12 schools — decisions based on the constitutional requirement that the Legislature ‘shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state.’

“If legislators and the governor think the Kansas Constitution is wrong, they should tackle that issue head-on and seek to change it — not use budget blackmail to try to force the state’s independent judiciary to change its mind.”

Read more here: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/may/20/editorial-budget-blackmail/?opinion