14 February 2025 | Economic Security Health Tax and Budget Early Learning Education

2025 Statehouse Snapshot: Week 5

Kansas Action for Children | February 14, 2025

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Kansas Following Federal Government’s Lead to Shrink Government

It’s been a busy week for many lawmakers and committees, which have been entertaining several measures that mischaracterize targeted populations, from the working poor to immigrants.

Much like recent actions being taken at the federal level, state lawmakers want to expand government in select areas while shrinking the availability of crucial resources for those they don’t see deserving of help, all in the name of efficiency and cost savings. And, as we describe elsewhere in this newsletter, the level of bureaucracy, red tape, and duplicative programs proposed by a plethora of bills are not efficient. They will not lead to tax savings. They will not help everyday people.

These bills will only create a more ineffective government (like through defunding open state positions) that some will surely point to as evidence that certain programs don’t “work” or are being taken advantage of by those scheming to abuse tax dollars. But we know that isn’t reality.

Our job as everyday Kansans is to critically evaluate these narratives and continue advocating for how we can actually use tax dollars wisely – giving hardworking Kansas households the tools they need to survive and thrive, eliminating inequalities in our tax system, and funding programs that Kansas kids should have a right to access.

Next week is “Turnaround Week,” where each chamber has to consider most bills so they can advance to the other side of the Statehouse for further consideration, meaning they will be debating and voting on dozens of bills.

One of the best things you can do in this chaotic political environment is stay informed of what lawmakers are doing and let them know how you’d like them to vote on things you’re passionate about. While several harmful bills could still (and, unfortunately, are likely to) move forward, your lawmakers should know you are watching their votes closely.

House Committee Finalizes Budget... with Some Eyebrow-Raising Priorities in Plain Sight

We’ve been following every minute of the state’s budget process this legislative session and are incredibly frustrated by the way the process is working and the voting decisions of the budget committee.

Yesterday evening, the House Committee on Appropriations finalized the budget bill the full house will vote on next week. The budget process has significantly changed this year, setting a grueling pace and creating noticeable frustration between leadership of the House budget committee and the Republican chairs of the budget subcommittees. The so-called purpose of the new budget process was to give lawmakers more capacity and ability to dig into budgets; instead, though, committee chairs have frequently stated they didn’t have enough time to vet, review, and consider budget items.

This has resulted in a shell game of budget negotiations. An artificial budget crisis has been created, driving forward short-sighted budget decisions, which sets up a narrative to claim they’ve saved the state from financial doom. It’s quite similar to what we’re seeing on the federal level, with many of the same “efficiency” and cost-cutting measures directed at social services while setting up select contractors and vendors to win state contracts for services no one is asking for.

A few items we’ve been watching and their status as the budget heads to House floor debate next week:

Funding for Summer EBT – it's in the budget, but the funding is now held hostage to new language added that requires Kansas to request from the federal government to disallow all Kansas SNAP (and summer EBT) recipients from using their food assistance on candy and soda. While this may sound like a worthy endeavor, this national-think-tank-pushed agenda is missing the mark on how to help families make healthy choices and is assuming that those using food assistance are making worse choices than other parents not using the program.
Last night, they reduced the additional funding they were going to provide to special education from a new $30 million to just $10 million. Several lawmakers – from both political parties – spoke passionately about the need to meet the state’s obligation on SPED funding, but those pleas fell mostly on deaf ears. There was to be a four-year step-up plan to get SPED funding to the 92% level required by state statute. Instead, this smaller amount will actually move the state backwards in that endeavor.
Increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for both dental services and pediatric sick visits are included in the budget. But this week, the Committee significantly lowered the increase for dental rates (from $16.9 million to $4 million in new funding).
The Committee added language to lapse funding for any unfilled state position that is vacant as of July 1 (with two exceptions for the state hospitals and corrections facilities). This maneuver makes it difficult for state agencies to fill vacancies if they don’t know they’ll have the funding for those positions. Just like any other employer right now, the state is struggling to fill positions. It’s a small financial impact in the budget ($11 million), but a significant change that could harm reliable state operations.
A blanket 1.5% cut was made to all agency operations with less than two minutes of committee discussion or explanation of implementation nor impact.
At the request of House leadership, $1 million to pay for an efficiency analysis of state finances and agencies. The study will use AI and analytics to create a list of ways to reduce state expenditures.
Removal of the safe and secure grant opportunity for Kansas schools to improve the security of their buildings, hire school resource officers, and purchase naloxone and resuscitation (like AED) equipment ($5 million). Instead, a $7 million allocation was included for an unasked-for security program with a select company for AI-detection software of firearms in schools.

We are mindful there are limited state resources and many worthy projects that can’t all be funded. Yet, when we step back and look at the big picture of the budget process and the funding priorities, we’re incredibly disappointed with the choices being made on what the state should be prioritizing with our tax dollars. They’re shortchanging our kids and ignoring what’s needed for the next generation to meet the future that’s going to be here before we know it.

Budget Cuts Lead to Questions about Corresponding Tax Cuts... But for Who?

As the Legislature wrests control of the budget process with hopes of cutting spending and making government more “efficient,” they are at odds with their other major policy objective: tax cuts. We are seeing a similar dynamic playing out at the federal level, with Congress trying to find the money to extend and expand on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which will require drastic cuts to critical programs like Medicaid.

The thing is that Kansas doesn’t have a spending problem – we have a revenue problem. Expenses on K-12 education and health care for children, seniors, and low-income Kansans make up most of the state budget; without making cuts in these areas, the Legislature is unlikely to find any meaningful savings. It becomes clear that extensive budget cuts are meant to set up further erosion of the state’s tax base.

Just as a stream erodes the earth around it, budget cuts tend to erode the tax base under the guise of reduced need for revenue. In reality, this is a vicious cycle that leads to inadequate funding for core government operations.

Amid the unending introduction of tax exemption bills and resolutions, SCR 1603 and HB 2011 stand out as particularly pricey. As a refresher, SCR 1603 would roll taxable values back to 2022 levels and cap further increases at 3% per year. HB 2011 takes a different approach to reduce property taxes by decreasing the statewide school finance levy, capping future revenue at the 2025-2026 level, and raises the residential exemption to $100,000.

With the amount of excess funds uncertain due to the massive tax bill passed last June, we believe the Legislature should take a more targeted approach focused on Kansans with the greatest need. A state child tax credit, for example, would reduce tax burdens for hundreds of thousands of Kansas families at a reasonable, sustainable cost.

COGE, WRC Attempt to Amass Power for Legislative Branch

There are several bills that are attempting to tightly grip power within the Legislative Branch and away from experts within state agencies.

In discussions around SB 99, which would defund state positions that have been vacant for more than 180 days, members of the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency (COGE) paused at what they heard could be consequences if the bill were enacted. But even after hearing from agency experts about how the bill would play out in reality, lawmakers dismissed the concerns and proceeded to pass the bill out of committee.

In the House Committee on Welfare Reform (WRC), members heard about HB 2240, which would strip away agencies’ ability to continue current administrative practices related to minor changes for public assistance programs. In discussing the bill, conferees expressed much concern about how federal timelines require 30-60 day responses by these agencies while the Legislature is not in session. Other concerns highlighted emerging health issues that require immediate attention. Again, those concerns were dismissed as these bills were passed out of committee.

In both of these instances, lawmakers ignored the expertise of experts who have been engaged in these processes for many years.

Instead of focusing on ways to make critical programs better serve Kansas kids and families and streamline agency workflows, several bills in these committees would collectively place costly burdens on state agencies and require additional staff (HB 2217) (right as lawmakers in charge of the budget are slashing state spending and staff across the board), potentially duplicate government services (HB 2360/SB 85), and risk eligible Kansans losing their cash, food, and/or medical assistance due to burdensome system changes (HB 2240/SB 161).

Lawmakers’ crusade to become “more efficient” will instead result in our most vulnerable Kansans losing supports that fulfill their most basic needs. We urge you to call and email your lawmakers regarding these threats to crucial programs like SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and more.

Candy, Soda Top Priority for Legislature

Lawmakers have made banning soda and candy from SNAP purchases one of their top priorities this session, rushing it through committees in both chambers, and even using it to hold Summer EBT hostage within the budget. This sends a signal that lawmakers would rather police what children eat and let them go hungry.

HB 2015 and SB 79 are the bills that require the Department for Children and Families (DCF) to request a waiver from the federal government to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks using food assistance benefits. Both have passed out of their respective committees.

Additionally, as you saw in our budget recap earlier, a provision was added that would only release Summer EBT funding after DCF certifies that they have submitted the SNAP waiver to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Summer EBT program, also known as SunBucks, provides $120 of food assistance per kid for families who make less than 185% of the federal poverty level. This allows families to afford lunches during the summer, when their kids aren’t able to eat daily school meals. The importance of this program cannot be overstated, as 19% of Kansas kids are currently going hungry and don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

During committee hearings, concerns were also expressed about the impact on small retailers who did not have the technology to code all the new complexities, or the in-house bureaucracy to police it. This could ultimately cause them to refuse to accept SNAP as payment, leaving Kansas families with fewer options for food purchases. The truth is, lawmakers have consistently eroded the social safety net over the past three decades to make life harder for low-income families, while wages have remained stagnant. While KAC agrees that healthy food is the best option for everyone, this issue is being intentionally framed to make it seem as though working families are irresponsible and can’t be trusted to receive public assistance.

Senate Health Backs Away from the Worst in SB 29

While we’ve been concerned about SB 29 in recent weeks and still do not support the most recent version, the Senate Health Committee amended the bill in a way that doesn’t impact public health authority as severely.

Now Sub. for SB 29 only focuses on removing local health officer and local board of health authority to shut down public gatherings during infectious disease outbreaks, but still allows those individuals to make recommendations regarding health risks of certain public gatherings. While certainly not ideal, the major concerns that opponents raised in testimony – prohibiting mandatory quarantines, watering down infectious disease reporting capability to the state, and limiting health department collaboration – were all removed from version that passed out of Committee this week.

Under separate state law, most county commissions (which are the local health board for most, but not all, counties) still have the power to limit gathering sizes. SB 29 is still deeply concerning if Kansas communities are ever faced with another major infectious disease outbreak, as shutting down public gatherings is an unfortunate but necessary step in rare situations, and we still will not support this bill. But the most concerning parts are gone, and that’s a win for public health, especially with a rapidly expanding measles outbreak in Texas and growing bird flu concerns on the horizon.

What to Expect in Week 6

While most bill hearings have been completed, we do have one we’re weighing in on Monday in the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs. They’ll hear HB 2378, which would make it much, much easier for a landlord to remove someone from their property, and wouldn’t even require a sheriff to review a lease agreement to see if there is no reason to have such person removed.

After most hearings are finished and bills sent on to the full chamber on Monday, the Senate and House will see full days on the chamber floor Tuesday through Thursday, when they’ll hit the “Turnaround Day” deadline. At this point, most pieces of legislation will need to move on to the next chamber if it is to remain in play for the rest of session.

We know this week’s newsletter was lengthy, but it surely showcases how quickly the Legislature is moving and how many pieces of legislation we’re expecting will move forward next week.

As we stated earlier in this write-up, your lawmakers need to know you are watching their votes. Make a plan to contact your lawmakers about the issues you care about. With enough people banding together, it may just make a difference.

There’s a lot to keep up with this session, so remember you can always visit the Legislature’s website and look up the bills you care about to see where they’re at in the process. And you can get day-to-day updates on what bills KAC is monitoring during the 2025 Session here.