Post Turnaround 2025: What's Left Impacting Kids This Session
Jessica Herrera Russell & Kenna McNally | February 25, 2025
The Kansas House ended the first half of the 2025 legislative session with three days of floor action on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday ahead of the Turnaround deadline last Thursday. The Senate took two days of floor action on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the Thursday deadline.
Now, any bills that may move forward this year must be from an “exempt” committee*, have passed its originating chamber, or have been “blessed” by legislative leadership and approved to move forward.
Here is where the Legislature is on bills impacting kids and families going into the last six weeks of this year’s Statehouse action.
(*Exempt committees include budget, tax, and federal and state affairs; all others are non-exempt.)
What Passed during Turnaround Week
Of the bills we were watching closely last week, seven of them were debated and voted on. These still have to be approved by the other chamber in order to move on tot he Governor's desk.
SB 79, which would, (if approved by the federal government) ban SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soda with food benefits, passed the Senate 29-11. The punitive bill not only hurts Kansas families, but also their communities where grocery stores will be burdened with classifying a complex listing of foods as eligible or ineligible for SNAP benefits.
SB 85, which would require the state to use an outside vendor (like Equifax) to continually check the financial and work status of public assistance recipients, passed the Senate 30-10. This bill could force the state to pay for more data that Kansas is already receiving from other sources at no-cost or a lower cost to the state than what would be required by the bill. Potentially more than 100 additional staff would be required to implement the bill. This is the epitome of government waste, using taxpayer dollars to create administrative burden rather than serving the Kansans needing these programs.
SB 161 and HB 2240, which would take authority away from experts within state agencies to make changes to complex programs for all public assistance (SB 161) or just Medicaid (HB 2240). The Senate passed their version 30-10, with the House passing theirs 89-34. If these bills becomes law, the state government will no longer be able to quickly respond to time-sensitive changes to complex programs. This is especially true for the complex KanCare program, for which numerous changes throughout the year must occur to respond to federal mandates and health care changes.
HB 2101, which would prohibit municipalities from implementing “guaranteed income” programs, passed the House 86-37. These type of programs can support municipalities in improving economic security within their borders. The House agreed to an amendment to specify prohibited programs are those that utilize tax revenue without the express consent of the Legislature.
HB 2119, which would eliminate the Affordable Housing Tax Credit (AHTC) Program, passed the House 85-36, even though the bill had zero proponents and 38 opponents during the hearing. Despite the program having been successful at building affordable housing since its implementation several years ago, lawmakers in favor of the bill are citing cost as a factor to nix the program. The AHTC is one that Kansas cannot afford not to continue this program so that the state can address one of its biggest challenges.
Sub. for SB 29, which would remove 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, passed the Senate 28-12. While the Committee made changes that don’t impact public health as severely, this bill still takes a tool out of the public health tool box, if the state were ever to need to protect against outbreaks like measles.
What Bills Are “Blessed” and Remain in Play
Several non-exempt bills weren’t debated or voted on, but are being allowed to continue on due to being “blessed” by legislative leadership. A few key bills could get further action in the coming weeks.
HB 2217, which would expand the authority of the Kansas Medicaid Inspector General to investigate fraud within the SNAP, TANF, and child care subsidy programs. Creating a separate investigative process like in HB 2217 is unlikely to be able to replace current processes already performed by the Department for Children and Families and would waste millions of taxpayer dollars on redundant work.
SB 75, which would give tax credits to families with children who do not send their children to public school. Parents would receive either $8,000 (for accredited schooling) or $4,000 (for unaccredited schooling) for each child, with no proof required with a family’s tax filings.
HB 2132, which would modify the definition of neglect to prohibit the removal of a child from their home due solely to a lack of financial resources. This is a good step forward in ensuring children are not removed from their homes unnecessarily.
HB 2373 and SB 254, which would prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving state benefits, including in-state tuition, pensions, and more. SB 254 will have a hearing in the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Thursday, February 27.
Bills that “Died” after Turnaround Deadline
With the Turnaround deadline behind us, several non-exempt bills weren’t voted on nor given approval by leadership to move forward. These bills could come back next year, however.
HB 2015, which would have, if approved by the federal government, banned SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soda with food benefits. However, the Senate version of this bill was passed by the chamber.
HB 2358, which would have required work reporting requirement for SNAP recipients who have children ages six or older.
SB 19, which would have weakened longstanding vaccination policies, eliminated quarantine protocols, and prevented local and state officials from quickly stopping the spread of infectious disease outbreaks.
SB 172, which would have prohibited a school from excluding a child who has been exposed to an infectious or contagious disease without an isolation or quarantine order. We’re hopeful that this and similar bills that threaten public health remain at bay for the rest of the year.
What’s Next
Taxes
Now that Turnaround is past, the 2025 Legislature’s tax work is really just beginning. We hope they’ll be cautious with their approach to tax relief and target populations most in need. They could consider a child tax credit, like in HB 2210 and SB 179. These bills would target children in their earliest years, helping parents pay for child care, food, and more. We look forward to hopefully seeing more action on these two bills as they would help make Kansas a better place to raise and be a child.
State Budget
The House passed a state budget bill last week during their flurry of final actions. This budget ties funding for EBT summer meals to the candy/soda restriction for those receiving SNAP benefits. We will be watching the conversations during upcoming budget discussions, finding opportunities to invest state dollars into key priorities, like continuing early child care funding and providing free school lunches to qualifying students as proposed in the Governor’s budget. It now goes over to the Senate for their further work.
One other bill we’re watching related to the budget is SB 181, which would limit the amount of expenditures the Legislature may approve relative to the prior year’s spending. The Governor would also be required to recommend a budget within this limitation. Expenditure limitations like these arbitrarily hamper the state’s ability to respond to emergencies (either immediately or in case of future recessions). The bill has had a hearing, and could hit the Senate floor for action at any time.
Child Care
Picking up where they left off last year, the Legislature will resume considering a bill (HB 2294) streamlining the early childhood governance system and some child care regulations. The House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development will hear this proposal on Thursday, February 27.
Now that the dust has settled from the Turnaround frenzy, we’re seeing a clearer picture of what the next six weeks have in store for the Kansas Legislature. We hope lawmakers will keep kids and families top of mind when considering proposals across the next few months.
< Back to the news listShare
