Key Kansas policymakers say there is reason to be optimistic that the state's economy may be awakening from its doldrums.
Most agree the state is on a path to recovery following the dramatic losses in jobs and tax revenue caused by the recession. People are starting to work again and state government is on better footing.
"A year ago we were looking at a $500 million deficit. Now we could have a $500 million ending balance," said Senate President Steve Morris. "That's a pretty good turnaround."
On Tuesday the Kansas Department of Labor releases its January report, which lags the federal report by a month because of the annual recalibrating of employment data. In December the unemployment rate was at 6.3 percent, down from 6.5 percent in November and 6.8 percent in December.
December's report also showed Kansas had created about 12,000 private sector jobs during the year.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday the nation's economy created 227,000 jobs in February, continuing a string of positive months. The report also revised the job numbers upward for December and January by a combined 61,000 jobs.
Morris, a Republican, said he's seeing economic activity in Hugoton where a new biofuels plant is under construction that will produce ethanol from cellulosic material. He also mentioned a company in Garden City that stores wind turbine parts on 60 acres of property. The company relocated from Wyoming.
"That's a huge win for Garden City," Morris said.
House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said the past decade has taken a toll on the college town, home to the University of Kansas. Construction permits for new homes in 2011 were at levels not seen since the 1950s.
"Ten years ago, the economy in Douglas County was really booming, but things have slowed down significantly," Davis said. "We are definitely looking to the manufacturing and bioscience sectors for opportunities to grow jobs."
House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a Republican from Hutchinson in central Kansas, said the mood on Main Street is optimistic. One area of concern is the new Siemens plant that produces wind turbine parts. Much of the growth in that industry has been related to a federal production tax credit that makes new wind generation affordable.
Congress is considering whether to extend the credit when it expires at the end of the year, he said, which is causing worries about future orders for parts.
"Concerns at home in general have more to do with problems in D.C. rather than Topeka," O'Neal said.
A group of 17 Republican senators announced a jobs plan last week aimed at encouraging manufacturing plants to locate in Kansas and for bioscience companies to consider locating their operations in the state and be exempt from income taxes.
"We think these are good public policies and they aren't damaging to the state general fund," Morris said.
The plans are in the legislative mix, including a House bill to reduce the state's income tax rates that takes elements of a tax package sought by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. The governor has made that plan a signature part of his 2012 agenda, along with changes to the state's public employee pension system, Medicaid and school finance laws.
State revenues have been growing in recent months, including a$29 million boost in February, keeping state reserves in the black as legislators work on their $14 billion budget for 2013.