[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6638798,"mediaKeyId","2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824","parentId",2570016,"title","Senate committee advances HB 2280 with AED registration and rural EMS amendments","audioSeconds",707,"startMs",2568000,"endMs",3275000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824&start=2568&end=3275","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824/thumbnail_2568000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6638798/Kansas/Senate-committee-advances-HB-2280-with-AED-registration-and-rural-EMS-amendments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6638798-30ceed552a7abbcedf70ebf416f31b48/orig.mp4?Expires=1775606493&Signature=klG4w0D2UL8Jga1KN102xi~rZFD2K1I0mG73-i8go7YYOQqdP0TRl4uIMisflGMo51bHzUgG0s6-pkNLCVgETzzE6P06~apetIomQlQWFa1DztE7SUS0PG24Pk3LXkK31JIRMftHO8xnZ1t1LsEisss0Lkr13UfdRoWrltFgCTYf9CijZHwCYuWXRQgr4LYLuAmb41mEjLQQT8Pu~pexEvdXXa5W6RknXgOaWfCmsQgkeg0uBy4zrYaEp3Cly9N0QEqT7tLDr8HlAekgcoz8gQ~~JRNKty-YXBc5nPNjIJyRCUPdVLig~vSlbc4NInaAtkil9dw6AHlPEQupWGKOww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Public Health and Welfare","date","2025-03-12T14:44:50.207Z","article","House Bill 2280, which updates statutes governing emergency medical services and adds an AED registration requirement for devices in public places, passed out of the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare after several amendments.

Committee staff Jenna summarized the bill as updating authorized orders for paramedics, AEMTs, EMTs and emergency medical responders; clarifying requirements for ambulance services that operate fewer than 24 hours; and requiring automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be registered. The committee considered multiple amendments addressing AED registration scope, civil liability protections and rural ambulance staffing.

Senator Clifford offered an amendment adopting a definition of \"public place\" drawn from the Clean Air Act and exempting private homes from the AED registration requirement unless the residence is used as a daycare. Senator Clifford explained the change as \"a protection for individuals who have a right to own these devices\" and said private homeowners should not be required to register an AED kept for family use.

A subsequent amendment struck language tying liability protections to registration status; committee staff explained the bill would still require registration but would not condition civil liability protections on registration. In discussion, Senator Petty asked whether entities would be liable if they failed to register; staff replied registration would remain required but failure to register would not remove civil liability protections so owners would still receive liability protection if devices were properly maintained and operated.

A third amendment expanded rural ambulance staffing flexibility for services serving areas with populations of 30,000 or less. The amendment allows ambulance drivers to be minimally trained (including CPR) rather than requiring two medically trained personnel on all transports; committee proponents said the change addresses volunteer shortages in rural services and facilitates interfacility and transport runs.

The committee adopted each amendment by voice vote and then passed the bill out of committee as amended. Senator Thomas moved passage and Senator Rose seconded; the motion carried on a committee voice vote recorded in the hearing.

Ending: House Bill 2280 was advanced from committee with technical and policy amendments intended to limit AED registration requirements to public places, preserve liability protections irrespective of registration status, and ease staffing requirements for rural ambulance services; the bill will proceed in the legislative process as amended.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare 03/12/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare passed House Bill 2280 out of committee as amended; the bill updates EMS authorizations, requires AED registration in public places and includes rural EMS staffing relief.","taxTitle"," Public Health and Welfare, Standing, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Kansas","taxId",19121,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6638808,"Kansas hearing on HB 2311 debates limits on Department of Children and Families' placement policies",2090,50000,2140000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824&start=50&end=2140","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824/thumbnail_50000.jpg","/articles/6638808/Kansas/Kansas-hearing-on-HB-2311-debates-limits-on-Department-of-Children-and-Families-placement-policies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6638808-8047d5a77daa489f669f8142cf2560ae/orig.mp4?Expires=1775606493&Signature=MfyskwnIjl4eUcBBpkTpF4BtnIAiUcw~MsiLeeFX4lXMim0C9FfoE-ReQZ24Z05dJDQ6J1j~XsxmzrsH1PysYaHfK0nEO63QleIfSHOV8QJhzxamIiIgjw~E5TTdQV9e9fAZMDbtXlemEeCB9QGhHmQaE-rcn95Jm5fyf9rQ9HHTGpvFjvEzrTHr7Z8mUbZ26GaDPU3hb76FTsFXq4BnpqQkBcvtOqar9wfDsfsYwDr0HZIf9AMWg-GeN7HY~2eXPPSQ~1E-OxZ8d2faJ3CpirbHKuVrK~MwxYgLxcTfT0NeeVaL9LY80~~RuyqFszb936cGzj9ieawjGWQCIN5SMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Bill 2311 would prohibit the secretary for children and families from adopting or enforcing policies that require a person to affirm, accept or support a policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity as a condition of being selected for out‑of‑home placement, custody, adoption, appointment as a permanent or sole custodian, or licensure.

The bill drew a full hearing before the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare, with proponents warning that some prospective foster and adoptive parents are excluded from care for their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs and opponents saying the bill would expose vulnerable youth to harm and invite litigation that could hamstring child welfare decisions.

Jenna (committee staff) summarized the proposal: \"House Bill 20311 proposes a new section of law that would prohibit the secretary for children and families from adopting certain policies regarding the placement, custody and appointment of custodians of children who are in custody of the secretary,\" and explained the bill's three subsections and the House amendment clarifying that actions would be against the Department for Children and Families and not contractors.

Proponents framed the bill as a narrow protection for otherwise qualified parents. Lance Kinzer, a proponent, told the committee, \"The bill before you addresses a real and growing problem,\" and said the bill would prevent an otherwise qualified person from being barred from fostering or adopting solely because of their religious beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity. Private citizen Tyler Geisler described his family's experience: \"On May 1 of 2019 my wife and I had our final home visit...the supervisor...denied us the ability to be foster care, denied us the opportunity to finish our training\" after a heated training discussion about how to handle a transgender child.

Supporters and witnesses from faith‑based child‑placing agencies said the measure preserves case‑by‑case review. Lance Kinzer noted the bill \"makes crystal clear that the department can always consider the views on sexual orientation and gender identity of the child or their family of origin in comparison with the family that's being considered for placement.\"

Opponents said the bill would create a statutory avenue to authorize discrimination and put children at risk. Rabbi Mozzi Reber, executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, said the bill would \"put special privileges for right wing Christians into statute\" and warned it could \"open the state up to a lot of legal liability.\" Taryn Jones, policy director at Equality Kansas, opposed the bill because it creates a civil cause of action that she said could pressure the Department for Children and Families (DCF) to place children in homes to avoid suits even when staff judge a placement is not in a child's best interest. Dr. Brianna McGough, an assistant professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, warned that caregiver rejecting behaviors can be linked to \"increased depression, suicidality, and substance use\" and to placement instability.

A former foster youth who testified as Iridescent described abuse while in care and urged lawmakers not to pass a law that, in their view, could \"set them up to be targets of torture and abuse.\" Several committee members expressed concern about competing accounts; Senator Hoelscher asked opponents and proponents to clarify that proponents were describing actual incidents of disqualification and opponents were describing potential unintended consequences.

The bill's text includes these key provisions, as read into the record by committee staff: subsection A would bar the secretary from requiring affirmation of or disqualifying an otherwise eligible person based on beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity; subsection B states the secretary may still consider the child's, family or community's beliefs in deciding an individual placement that is in the child's best interest; and subsection C (as amended in the House) clarifies civil actions would be brought against the Department for Children and Families and not against contracting providers and would permit recovery of actual damages, injunctive relief, costs and reasonable attorney fees (punitive damages were struck in the House amendment). The bill took effect upon publication in the statute book and, as reported in testimony, passed the Kansas House by a vote of 86 to 37.

The committee closed the hearing on HB 2311 after public and expert testimony; no committee vote on the bill occurred during the recorded hearing.

Notes: testimony and arguments were sharply divided along lines of religious liberty and child safety; proponents stressed protecting otherwise qualified foster and adoptive families, while opponents emphasized elevated risks to LGBTQ youth and the potential for the bill to constrain DCF's case‑by‑case placement decisions.

Ending: The committee record for HB 2311 includes written testimony from advocacy groups on both sides and multiple in‑person and remote witnesses. Lawmakers will next consider the bill in committee work sessions or on future calendars; no committee action was recorded during this hearing.","House Bill 2311 would prohibit the secretary for children and families from adopting or enforcing policies that require a person to affirm, accept or support a policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity as a condition of placement, custody, adoption, appointment or licensure.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6638803,"Committee hears bill to create South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital with 104 beds",433,2127000,2560000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824&start=2127&end=2560","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2570016-555c9be9fc39e69fba9718a4af97f824/thumbnail_2127000.jpg","/articles/6638803/Kansas/Committee-hears-bill-to-create-South-Central-Regional-Mental-Health-Hospital-with-104-beds","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6638803-4f0bab89279be63d89d85b6d46f5b2d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1775606493&Signature=ZGpD~37mTVpAge4O2RowjuHjF0Pf4lKoyiMkdGc~f4N8qjmGJMjgTjcKvthrWScncx4AZ4kncNgOczPo57zLD8vKHbCbnibpthCUd-ToA7DT2esd1M0dmRu3LI0hGO7kYrpKWvUFHDNQHWhOnD5BKGJIN9hV8hMl4GmNJHFCfCdIwYzEEsPyqAYpRZOyWap~ZCY2vKEF23iJ4e9M7Gxn7k9hk69p9E-aP78ubFxLbc79CouaFSYNgWT6dNiQwx0PuX3G0gv-9ZyuSiDUQdcV1NATLjmb4TIPCYCU9c0FR4hJrF9UQMy0FPAmQ7pFw8QOGu7zd-8ke4EK60L2JNp3NA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Bill 2365 would add the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital to state statute as a state psychiatric hospital, create a dedicated fee fund, update cross‑references throughout existing law, and authorize the facility Sedgwick County and the state have planned for several years.

KDADS Deputy Secretary Scott Bruner told the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare that the hospital is planned to provide 104 beds for adults committed for involuntary mental health treatment under the care and treatment statute and to provide competency services for criminal defendants as an extension of Larned State Security Hospital. He said Sedgwick County is a key local partner that has acquired the property and engaged a general contractor; construction is expected to be substantially complete near the end of 2026 with the first patient admitted in January 2027.

Scott Bruner, deputy secretary for hospitals and facilities at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), summarized the scope and timeline: \"The South Central Regional Hospital will...have 104 beds for patients and serve adults committed for involuntary mental health treatment or the care and treatment statute and criminal defendants needing competency services as an extension of the state security hospital at Larned.\" Bruner also noted prior appropriations and a legislative increase of $26.5 million that expanded the project's initial design from 50 to 104 beds and said no additional fiscal note was attached to the bill because the project is funded through prior appropriations.

Amy Campbell of the Kansas Mental Health Coalition urged support, saying the hospital addresses long‑standing inpatient capacity shortfalls but warned that community‑based services and crisis alternatives must also be strengthened so the new facility complements — not substitutes for — a broader continuum of care.

The bill also renames Parsons State Hospital and Training Center to remove the phrase \"Training Center,\" a change KDADS said reflects updated services and treatment approaches. KDADS testified that an advisory panel appointed by the governor has met for 18 months and provided recommendations on treatment model and catchment area; the bill names Sedgwick, Butler, \"Cali,\" Harvey and Sumner counties as the hospital's catchment area, with KDADS noting catchment boundaries may be set by regulation.

Committee members asked about project funding and timing; KDADS said funding has been appropriated and that a full operational budget will be submitted to the governor once the bill authorizes the hospital in statute.

Ending: Supporters said HB 2365 is the statutory authorization needed to finish planning and budgeting for the new state hospital; mental health advocates echoed the need for inpatient capacity while urging continued investment in community services. The committee heard the bill and closed the hearing; no committee vote was recorded at that time.","House Bill 2365 would establish the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital in statute, authorize a fee fund and add the facility to cross‑references in state law.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate committee advances HB 2280 with AED registration and rural EMS amendments

Kansas hearing on HB 2311 debates limits on Department of Children and Families' placement policies

Committee hears bill to create South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital with 104 beds