State Sen. Bud Estes, R-Dodge City, underwent kidney transplant surgery in early November at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, and he described himself last week as “very fortunate.”

The option was dialysis or a kidney transplant, he said. His daughter-in-law was a “98 percent match” for a donor. “She was perfect,” he said, and he didn’t have to go on dialysis.

Estes, 71, and his wife lived in a house in Overland Park for the last couple months, while still maintaining the permanent residence in Dodge City. Last week, they moved things from the Overland Park house to an apartment in Topeka.

He currently has a problem with low blood pressure, but he planned to be in the Capitol for the session’s opening Monday. His duties include serving as chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee and as vice chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Estes said he was told years ago that he would someday have kidney failure. He experienced problems during the 2017 legislative session. K.U. Medical Center assigned a team to him, he said.

As he prepared for the new session, he said figuring out school funding would be the top issue. The income tax hike approved in 2017 was “painful enough,” he said, but tax rates still remain below 2012 levels.

The budget approved in 2017 calls for nearly $300 million in increased school aid over a two-year span. Most folks think adding another $600 million for schools is "just not doable and it's not necessary," he said.