Appropriations committee hears Senate Ways and Means changes to budget bill; advances two bills

The House Appropriations Committee met for an informational briefing on the Senate Ways and Means substitute to House Bill 2,007 and took final action on two bills, passing both out of committee.

Dylan Dear, assistant director for fiscal affairs, told the House Appropriations Committee that the Senate shorthand for the substitute to House Bill 2,007 remains under active revision but shows several notable departures from the House position. “For the record, my name is Dylan Dear. I'm the assistant director for fiscal affairs,” Dear said, and then summarized major adjustments the Senate had made compared with the House fiscal plan.

The shorthand deletes multiple ARPA interest allocations the House had included, Dear said, and restores a limited set of uses. For example, $26,000,000 in ARPA interest previously budgeted for ERP modernization was removed, while $20,000,000 of ARPA interest was retained and directed to the Board of Regents for demolition and reconstruction projects on campus facilities (the Campus Restoration Act). Dear summarized numerous line-item changes across agencies and funds but cautioned the committee that the Senate’s positions were not yet final and could change when the Senate Ways and Means Committee finished its work.

The draft substitute also includes provisions that withhold operating funds tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions unless the executive branch certifies those positions have been eliminated. Dear described deletions of $2,000,000 from the Department of Administration and $2,000,000 from the Office of the Governor tied to DEI elimination language, and added that the state finance council hold those lapses unless agencies certify compliance.

Other highlights Dear listed from the shorthand include: - A new Build Kansas and Aviation Jobs Fund created by transferring $50,000,000 from the Build Kansas Fund to seed an aviation loan program and creation of a separate aviation jobs loan initiative. - Deletion of roughly $19,300,000 from the Kansas Housing Link deposit program for infrastructure projects. - KDADS (Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services) adjustments including $8,500,000 SGF for IDD waiver reimbursement rates and $4,900,000 for IDD waiver slots (noted as supporting about 500 new slots in the shorthand). - Allocations for behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment that repurpose previously scheduled planning funds, including moving $4,000,000 that had been scheduled in 2026 for CCBHC planning grants into direct substance use disorder treatment. - Health and environment items such as a $4,800,000 addition tied to the GainWell contract and $2,500,000 for a childcare pilot run in cooperation with Blue Cross Blue Shield. - Higher education restorations including $21,000,000 added to regional stabilization funds, $2,500,000 for vocational educational capital outlay and a $750,000 feasibility study for a proposed dental school at Wichita State University. - Transportation and public safety items including a $55,500,000 addition from the state highway fund for a troop command headquarters and central dispatch, and authority for up to $100,000,000 in 30-year bonds for a new Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) headquarters. - Numerous deletions from the State Water Plan Fund and EDIF (Economic Development Initiatives Fund) across conservation, watershed and park operating budgets and partial restorations to wildlife and parks.

Committee members asked follow-up questions about the operational effect of the DEI proviso and whether agencies could simply rename positions to regain withheld funds. Dear replied that the shorthand withholds the funds in the state finance council and that questions about how agencies might staff or re-title positions were better addressed by agency HR and legal advisors. Representative Ballard asked directly how employees currently in DEI roles would be treated; Dear said the shorthand’s language contemplates eliminating the title or position but did not assert how individual employment arrangements would be handled.

The committee chair noted the Senate shorthand’s totals on the last page compare with the House position, and Dear confirmed the figures shown were differences relative to the House. Committee members also sought clarifications about specific transfers (for example, the use of unutilized Apex funds in the Campus Restoration Act) and the timeline for final Senate action; the chair and staff anticipated the Senate would finalize its work the same day Dear briefed the committee.

Votes at a glance House Bill 2,237 — Motion: “I move that House Bill 2,237 be passed out favorably for passage.” Mover: Representative Williams. Second: Representative Walsinger. Outcome: Passed out of committee by voice vote. Transcript records the chair asking, “All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Alright.” Vote counts were not recorded in the transcript.

House Bill 2,402 — Motion: “I move that House Bill 2,402 be passed out favorably for passage.” Mover: Representative Williams. Second: Representative Rogers. Outcome: Passed out of committee by voice vote. The chair called for the ayes and the motion passed; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally. Committee members were given an updated fiscal note for HB 2402 and told a corrected fiscal note was distributed after the prior day's hearing.

The chairman closed by saying the committee would likely meet again on call of the chair — probably Tuesday — for a single resolution to be introduced, and praised the committee’s work on the legislative budgeting process. The committee adjourned and the chair said the committee’s major business for the year had concluded.

Ending The briefing was informational: staff stressed the substitute was not final and several large funding items and provisos (including the DEI-related withholding and ARPA interest reallocations) remained subject to change when the Senate Ways and Means Committee completed its work. The committee advanced two bills out favorably by voice vote and scheduled possible additional meetings to introduce a resolution and conclude year-end business.