Kansas Governor’s Budget Includes Disaster Relief Funds

Gov. Sam Brownback is proposing that Kansas create a special fund to help cover the costs of recovering from natural disasters.

The measure is part of the budget Brownback has outlined for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012. He wants the state to set aside $12 million for disaster relief.

The money would come from taxes that insurance companies already pay on the value of the premiums they charge in Kansas. The state expects to collect $139 million in premium taxes during the next fiscal year.

Brownback’s budget notes that Kansas incurred nearly $109 million in costs from winter storms, flooding and tornadoes over the past five years. That figure doesn’t include either federal or local governments’ expenses.