Secretary of Administration certifies compliance with section 161 of 2025 Senate Bill 125; council directs follow-up on a university report

Adam Proffitt, secretary for the Kansas Department of Administration, told the State Finance Council on a video meeting that he has certified to the governor and council that, to the best of his knowledge, state agencies are in compliance with section 161 of 2025 Senate Bill 125.

Proffitt said his office provided a written certification in the council members’ materials and summarized steps taken to reach that determination. “My director of personnel services and I did a search for every single job title from the executive branch,” Proffitt said, adding, “we reviewed all 20,000 job titles, and scrubbed it a couple of different times in a couple of different ways.” He said those searches included terms such as “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and the acronym “DEI,” and that, where such duties were identified, those individuals have been reassigned and were no longer performing DEI duties as described in the statute.

Proffitt also said his office reviewed statewide training requirements, agency mandates where visible to the Department of Administration, and state contracts to ensure the state did not have contractual requirements that would conflict with the provisions of section 161. He told the council he updated and distributed a Department of Administration email-signature policy on July 1 to ensure agency compliance with the section’s requirements.

The council raised a separate concern about an investigative report focused on a particular university. A council member asked what methodology Proffitt used in preparing the certification and whether the specific allegations in the report had been considered. Proffitt said he had met with university leadership, including the university president and general counsel, and that the Board of Regents had provided guidance to the university about implementation. He offered to conduct further research with the Board of Regents and report back to the council if members wanted more information.

Following that exchange, a council member moved—and another member seconded—that the secretary be directed to review the investigative report and return to the State Finance Council at its next meeting with a response to the allegations. The council took a roll-call and recorded ayes from several members; the motion carried.

Proffitt told the council he would follow up on the specific report and that he had already included his written certification in the meeting materials. The council did not specify additional deadlines beyond directing Proffitt to return at the next meeting with findings on the report.