Conference committee reviews House and Senate differences in House Bill 2,007 budget

The Committee on Appropriations on Oct. 27 reviewed a conference comparison showing how the House and Senate positions differ across the provisions of House Bill 2,007.

Dylan Dear, assistant director for fiscal affairs, presented the comparison and the method used to display differences. "So some of the Senate positions will look different from the Senate shorthand. Because the Senate shorthand was differences from the House. But when we put this together, all Senate positions are differences from House Bill 2,007 as introduced," Dear said, explaining the report shows the full fiscal effect of each change.

The presentation flagged several statewide and agency-level differences. Dear gave a specific example on operating-lapse percentages: "The House is at 1.5%. The Senate is at 3% operating expenditure reduction. And so, you see the $35,000,000 effect in the House and the $70,000,000 effect in the Senate." The committee discussion noted the Senate also proposes capping the budget stabilization fund at $1,750,000,000 and transferring accrued interest into the State General Fund once that threshold is met.

On executive-branch policy items, the Senate positions include measures to reduce or eliminate DEI-related funding in the Department of Administration and the Office of the Governor and to require most executive-branch full-time employees to perform duties in assigned state offices except during authorized travel. The Senate also proposes timing changes for lapses of vacant-position funding (lapse at fiscal-year end rather than beginning) and several agency-specific lapses and deletions across economic development and other grant programs.

Major line-item differences cited in the review include: a Senate proposal for up to $100,000,000 in bonding authority for a new Kansas Bureau of Investigation headquarters (the Senate described this as bonding authority only); a Senate recommendation of $55,500,000 from the State Highway Fund for relocation of a Troop C headquarters and central dispatch; Senate additions totaling $50,000,000 (including $20,000,000 SGF) to increase hospital outpatient rates for FY 2026; and multiple higher-education bonding or refinancing authorizations included in the Senate positions for University of Kansas, Wichita State University and Kansas State University.

The comparison also documented many smaller adjustments across departments: additions and deletions from Economic Development initiatives, differing treatments of ARPA interest funds for programs such as rural remote workplaces and KC BioHub, adjustments to childcare and special-education funding, and a range of reappropriation restorations for lapsed priorities in juvenile programs and facility operations.

Committee members asked for clarification on particular items. Representative Ballard questioned the change to a "strong military bases" line item and was told the Senate had reduced or deleted portions of an EDIF allocation. Senators and representatives discussed consolidating HB 2,007 provisions into Senate Bill 125 to produce clearer side-by-side comparisons and to reconcile items that appear in one bill but not the other.

No formal votes occurred during the presentation; committee leadership and staff said they would merge and reformat the materials to show SB 125 with HB 2,007 positions for clearer negotiation. The committee indicated they would reconvene to continue conference work after members completed floor obligations.

The presentation and follow-up questions emphasized that the conference comparison is intended to show the full fiscal effect of alternate positions, and that some items shown as present in one chamber may appear in a different bill in that chamber (for example, provisions the House placed in SB 125).