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Panel hears bill to lift $25 cap on Kansas water-operator exam fees; proponents and rural water groups clash
Summary
House Bill 2112 would remove the $25 statutory cap on operator-exam fees and let KDHE set exam fees to cover actual costs; KDHE and water-industry groups support the change for modernization and better exam access, while Kansas Rural Water Association opposes it citing cost and small-system relevance concerns.
The Committee on Water heard competing testimony on House Bill 2112, which would remove the statutory $25 cap on water and wastewater operator exam fees and repeal KSA 65-4506, the statute that allows correspondence courses to substitute for classroom instruction.
KDHE and industry groups said lifting the cap would allow the agency to move to standardized, up-to-date exams, expand testing locations and formats, and improve reciprocity with other states. "Eliminating the $25 fee cap will allow us to provide a variety of exam formats, and expand the opportunities for more exam locations," said Kathy Tucker Vogel, representing the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's public water supply program. Vogel said KDHE currently administers 10 separate exams (five drinking water and five wastewater classifications) and in 2024 administered 539 drinking-water exams and 440 wastewater exams.
Industry witnesses endorsed the change. "This necessary and welcome change…
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