Bill would set State Board of Education per‑diem at $286.81; committee heard questions on calculation

House Bill 2,382, explained to the Senate Education Committee by reviser Tamara Lawrence, would amend KSA 72-253 to set daily compensation for Kansas State Board of Education members at $286.81 per calendar day for regularly scheduled board meetings and to set the same rate for the first 12 calendar days of any other in-state meeting, with $172 per calendar day for additional days. The bill would take effect July 1 upon publication in the statute book. The bill passed the Kansas House on a 115-7 vote.

The bill was presented as a technical correction meant to realign State Board pay with legislative pay after legislative compensation was increased by the Legislative Compensation Committee without an accompanying statutory amendment, Lawrence told the committee. “House Bill 2,382 would amend KSA 72,253 regarding State Board of Education member compensation,” she said, summarizing the statutory change and the daily rates established by the bill.

Senators asked how the number of paid days was determined and how the per‑diem calculation relates to legislative pay. Senator Petty asked how the rate was determined for days beyond 12; Senator Gossage noted that legislative pay is set as an annual salary and asked how a per‑diem was derived from that. Lawrence replied the bill uses a calendar‑day basis and that the rate was intended to “roughly align” with how legislative pay would break down if expressed per day. Senator Thomas said legislative pay still includes a per‑diem while in session and that, “that per diem that we're still currently getting … is the basis for the formula for this.” Committee members also asked whether the State Board’s historical practice of meeting frequency—references were made to an average number of days worked and to committee and travel days—was the basis for the bill’s structure; Lawrence said she could not confirm how the board calculated its number of paid days.

Committee staff noted written proponent testimony from Kathy Hopkins, chair of the Kansas State Board of Education, and Danny Zick, who serve as liaisons to the Legislature; no opponent testimony was reported. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 2,382 without taking further action and planned to take up working amendments at a later time, with some senators indicating they needed more time to prepare proposed changes.

Because the bill is a statutory amendment tied to legislative compensation practices, senators pressed for clarity on how meeting days and travel or committee obligations are counted in practice; no definitive practice was established in the committee record. The bill text sets the rates and an effective date, and the committee record includes the House floor vote but contains no committee vote on final passage at this hearing.