Topeka
March 31, 2024
This will be the final week of the session and first adjournment.
Any bills that were passed previously in the House or Senate which contain any changes in the legislation must now go to conference committee for final agreement. The Senate Ways and Means committee will call our first conference Monday afternoon.
Currently there are approximately eighteen pages of differences between the House and Senate on the budgets.
Some of the bills that were passed last week:
SB 552 creates the Kansas Campus Restoration Act authorizing the Kansas Board of Regents to adopt rules and regulations relating to deferred maintenance and demolition of facilities at postsecondary institutions. The bill will allow transfers from the State General Fund to the Kansas Campus Restoration Fund and require annual reports be submitted to the Legislature. This bill provides $32.7M for the next six years starting in 2026 of which $30M will go to the Regent schools, Kansas University, Kansas State University, Wichita State University, Pittsburg State University, Emporia State University and Fort Hays State University.
The funding for the universities will require a one for one match for dollars being used for restoration. Any funds used for demolition will not require the match.
The additional $2.7M will go to all community and technical colleges and Washburn University. Each will receive $100,000 per year starting in 2026 for the next six years.
Currently the community and technical colleges and Washburn University do not receive demolition and restoration funding. The $2.7M will not require a one for one match.
HB 2690 will allow counties or governing bodies of cities to contract with another governing body of a Public Safety Answering Point for consideration of the provision of 911 services, make changes to how 911 is governed within the state by replacing the current 911 Coordinating Council with a new State 911 Board, change how the 911 fees are allowed to be used, and require 911 fees collected from phone bills and prepaid wireless service to be transferred to the state treasury.
HB2536 passed and would establish a new legal permanency option for children 16 years of age or older who are in the custody of the Secretary for Children and Families. The bill would also amend various statutes contained in the Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children to reference this new form of permanency.
HB 2358 will modify the Uniform Vital Statistics Act provisions concerning who may certify a cause of death. This legislation is important to rural Kansas. It will allow other qualified medical personnel when a coroner is not available to sign a death certificate.
HB 2570 passed and would make various amendments to law related to unemployment compensation. This new legislation should be helpful to all employers who are contributing to the State Unemployment Plan. These changes should lower the unemployment rates for all employers.
HB2527 would establish new mechanisms for the recovery of costs associated with deferred depreciation and new gas-fired generating units. The bill will modify the qualification requirement receiving a discounted electric rate and increase the term of the discount for certain facilities.
HB2453 would enact the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact to provide interstate practice privileges for dentists and dental hygienists.
I am honored and grateful to represent the 40th Senate District in Kansas.
Please do not hesitate to contact me by email: [email protected] or call me with your concerns. My office number is 785 296-7399 or my cell number is 785 899-4700. If you are in Topeka stop by my office, room 545-S.