Topeka
March 11, 2024
Bills Debated in the House
Nine bills were debated on the House Floor this past week. Here are the details of some of these bills:
Senate Bill 195 authorizes the Children’s Cabinet to form a 501(c)3 for fundraising for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book Gifting Program. This fundraising by the Children’s Cabinet will allow the state of Kansas to have a true statewide program for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which is very important to all children in Kansas as it is to our three sons who participate in the program. Because I feel so strongly about the value of this program, I carried the bill on the House Floor. The bill passed on Wednesday, March 6, 118-0. Since there were no changes to the bill, it now goes directly to the Governor for signature as it has passed both chambers. If you want to enroll a child, ages zero to five, in this free program, please go to www.imaginationlibrary.com.
Above is a picture of Dolly Parton with our five-year-old son, Christian, who has been a recipient of the Dolly Parton Imagination Gifting Program since he was born. He was able to meet Dolly Parton when she was in Kansas in August of 2023, for the announcement that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Gifting Program is truly a statewide program in the state of Kansas where every child can receive monthly free books from birth to the age of five.
Senate Bill 307 adds for-profit private entity to the definition of “qualified applicant” in the Kansas Fights Addiction Act. This language was included in the budget bill last session and passing this bill codifies the language in statute. This bill passed the House, 91-27
House Bill 2676 creates a crime of enticing or encouraging someone to commit suicide and provides criminal penalties, as well. This bill passed the House, 119-1.
House Bill 2749 requires that medical care facilities and providers report the reasons for each abortion performed at such facility or by such provider to the Secretary of Health and Environment. This bill passed the House, 81-39.
I voted “yes” on all the above-mentioned bills.
Appropriations Committee
The House Appropriations Committee conducted many informational hearings this past week. On Tuesday, we had a second presentation by KC2026 regarding the request for the World Cup which was coupled with a presentation for a project for Northwest Kansas Economic Development. We also had a discussion on facility upgrades to the Law Enforcement Training Center that is located south of Hutchinson.
Wednesday, we had a presentation about Tele-Ultrasound Technology and Remote Non-Stress Technology and having these coded as a Medicaid expense. Currently the state of Kansas does not offer these items. We also discussed the Community Support Waiver and the unwinding of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage.
Budget Begins to Take Shape
This week in the House Appropriations Committee we finalized our budget reports from the Higher Education Budget Committee. On Tuesday, we heard the budgets of the University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Kansas, Emporia State University, Pittsburgh State University, and Fort Hays State University.
Wednesday, we continued the budget discussions with Kansas State University and Wichita State University. After we had all of the budgets reported back to the Appropriations Committee, we began working on the appropriations for fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The committee vetted numerous changes, amendments, and provisos to the budget for the the state of Kansas before we completed our work on the budget late Thursday. The anticipation is that the budget will be debated and voted on the House Floor the middle of next week.
Contact Information
Anytime that you would like to participate and listen to the developments of committee hearings or discussion on the House floor, you can tune in by video or audio at www.kslegislature.org.
As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, follow on twitter at @waymaster4house, or email me at [email protected].
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.
Rep. Troy Waymaster is the House Appropriations Committee chairman and representative of the Kansas House 109th District which includes Ellsworth, Lincoln, Osborne, Russell, and Smith counties.