As the governor, a skilled legislative veteran, prepared to deliver Kansass State of the State address, the multiple demands for state funding loomed large.
The Supreme Court had mandated substantial additional monies for a critical state function.
The highway fund was scraping bottom, placing Kansass reputation for excellent roads at risk.
Moreover, the governor faced the implications of federal tax laws changes, which provided the state with so-called windfall revenue at the expense of taxpayers.
The Legislature had blown apart highway funding deals for two years and had deferred any action on the windfall. The court had grown impatient. What to do?
2019? Hardly.
The year was 1989, and Gov. Mike Hayden, a past speaker, needed to unblock a legislative logjam that threatened his priorities.
Given his legislative experience, Haydens circumstances were surprising. He knew how the Legislature worked and how to cut deals.
Yet, during his first two years as governor Hayden failed to make the deals that could move the process along.
He deferred addressing the windfall, even as he pushed for a major highway package.
In 1987, the year after his election, he called a legislative special session to address roads. The former House leader saw his proposal torn to shreds, as lawmakers resisted his proposals.
Hayden wisely refrained from pushing highway legislation in 1988, choosing to work with a newly elected body in 1989. Regaining his political acumen from his legislative days, Hayden made three important moves.
First, he implored the Legislature to address the windfall as the initial order of business, thus sweeping this contentious issue off the table.
Second, he encouraged a large highway coalition to back substantial spending, thus building support around the state and across party lines.
Third, regarding the Supreme Courts mandate to construct a new prison to alleviate unconstitutional conditions and overcrowding, he gave legislators running room to come up with a deal to satisfy the justices.
