House panel restores $5.4 million in state water-plan enhancements for Department of Agriculture; approves meat and poultry inspection funding

The Kansas House appropriations subcommittee voted to restore $5,400,000 in State Water Plan Fund enhancements for the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) and approved a separate $350,000 General Fund addition for the department’s meat and poultry inspection service.

Luke Drury, senior VISTA analyst with the Kansas Legislative Research Department, told the committee the agency submitted no supplemental request for FY2025 and that the agency’s FY2026 summary and figure tables “outline the dollars specifically and moves within the budget.” Drury also said four enhancement requests and FTE additions the agency had sought were removed in the Legislative Budget Committee’s global recommendation.

The KDA enhancements the committee approved included: $500,000 for water-resources cost share; $1,750,000 for conservation aid to conservation districts; $500,000 for irrigation-technology conservation; $1,000,000 for a sorghum research center at Kansas State University (a one-time $1,000,000 payment the agency described as a 10-year, $100,000-per-year-equivalent partnership leveraged 4-to-1 by industry checkoff funds); a corrected dam-construction rehabilitation amount of $650,000 (the agenda sheet originally listed $1,650,000); and a $1,000,000 item described as the “Piedmont soft water upgrade.” Committee discussion and the motion indicated the total for the KDA water-related enhancements is $5,400,000. Representative Rogers moved the action; the motion carried on a voice vote.

Representative Carlin moved and Representative Long seconded a $350,000 General Fund appropriation for the KDA meat and poultry inspection service for FY2026, with proviso language to allow returning the funds if corresponding federal funding becomes available. The committee approved the motion on a voice vote. During discussion Representative Carlin said the funds were intended to avoid layoffs of inspectors and maintain state inspection capacity at local slaughterhouses.

Committee members also addressed a displayed technical error in the KDA materials showing a 2.2 FTE reduction; staff said it was a reporting error and that KDA was not losing those positions. After the amendments the subcommittee moved, and by voice vote approved, the KDA budget “as amended.”

The chair noted multiple times that any water funding approved by the subcommittee would remain subject to final acceptance or denial by the full Appropriations Committee when the statewide budget is compiled in the coming weeks.