Ways and Means committee adopts multiple Ag & Natural Resources budget recommendations, including agriculture, water and parks adjustments

The Senate Ways and Means Committee (subcommittee on Agriculture & Natural Resources) adopted a series of motions to approve the committee’s recommended budgets, changes and one balloon amendment across several agencies for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

Votes at a glance: All motions listed below were presented on the committee floor and approved by voice vote (committee recorded “Aye”; counts not specified in the transcript).

- Department of Agriculture, FY2025: Committee motion to adopt the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee report for the Department of Agriculture for FY2025 carried (mover: Senator Peck; second: Senator Alley). No dollar totals were changed beyond concurrence with the House Committee of the Whole recommendation for FY2025.

- Department of Agriculture, FY2026: Committee motion to adopt the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee report for FY2026 carried (mover: Senator Peck; second: Senator Feige). Key items in the committee’s FY2026 adjustments, as described by Senator Peck, included deleting $1,500,000 from State Water Plan Fund conservation district aids, deleting $1,500,000 from State Water Plan Fund for conservation reserve enhancement and water resources cost share (the committee described those deletions as returning above‑request items to the agency base), deleting $650,000 from State Water Plan Fund watershed dam construction (the committee noted the agency’s request differed and the recommendation reduces a House-added enhancement), deleting $900,000 SGF for a local farm-to-food program (committee rationale: program should not be a continuing state function after one-time funding), deleting $50,000 SGF for emergency animal shelters, and adding $1,100,000 EDIF for agricultural marketing (committee restored EDIF funding for that purpose after a previous committee motion deleted EDIF funds). The committee also requested review of the Future Farmers of America director salary and noted considerations for return-to-work language for nontraditional field employees.

- Department of Agriculture balloon amendment (meat and poultry inspection matching funds): The committee adopted a balloon amendment clarifying $350,000 of state matching funds for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service will lapse if the federal funds do not materialize (mover: Senator Peck; second: Senator Peterson). Senator Peck said the language was requested by the department to ensure state matching would not be spent if federal match funds are not provided.

- Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Division of Environment), FY2025 and FY2026: The committee adopted the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources report to concur with House recommendations but deleted 8.1 FTEs for FY2025 (the committee said the positions could be managed within agency resources and federal funding shifts) and made several FY2026 deletions and reporting conditions, including deleting $500,000 of State Water Plan funding for watershed restoration projects that the committee moved to John Redmond dredging, deleting $500,000 for a local environmental protection program’s rural groundwater/septic testing, and directing a report to the State Finance Council about underground storage tank (tanks program) database improvements prior to releasing funding.

- Department of Wildlife and Parks, FY2025 and FY2026: The subcommittee concurred with the House for FY2025. For FY2026 the committee restored some EDIF money for parks operations (added $398,000 EDIF for parks operations and $292,000 EDIF for operating expenditures) while the committee position retains an overall net reduction to EDIF funding across the agency (Senator Peck said the Senate position still shows a reduction of approximately $3.8 million in EDIF compared with prior levels). Senator Peterson later moved and the committee approved adding $124,000 back for National Guard and veterans licenses operations (mover: Senator Peterson; second: Senator Fagg); Senator Peck said that additional $124,000 would be drawn from EDIF as a source.

- Kansas State Fair, FY2025 and FY2026: Committee motions carried to adopt the committee recommendations. For FY2025 the committee added reporting language directing the State Fair to report on securing $1.8 million in nonstate funds for an emergency command center. For FY2026 the committee recommended adding $365,152 SGF to pay off certain expo center rehabilitation debt service if the debt is callable and added $135,000 SGF for state fair operating expenditures.

- Kansas Water Office, FY2025 and FY2026: Committee motions carried to adopt committee recommendations. For FY2026 the subcommittee deleted several House‑added State Water Plan Fund items that were not in the agency’s original request (including reductions to water planning/project development, aquifer monitoring/modeling, and independent program evaluation lines), added $3,000,000 in State Water Plan Fund for John Redmond dredging (with $1.5 million coming from deleted KDA conservation reserve enhancement money), reinstated a $2,000,000 transfer from EDIF to the State Water Plan Fund for FY2026 and requested a report on investments related to Milford and Perry reservoir debt service.

How the committee recorded votes: Motions were recorded as carried by voice vote; the transcript records “All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.” The committee did not provide roll-call tallies in the transcript segment provided.

What to watch next: multiple deletions and restorations of EDIF and State Water Plan Fund items were part of these recommendations; several senators asked for supplemental data (for example, updated regional maintenance staffing for KDOT and more detail on watershed dam needs). Conference negotiations with the House were referenced as the next forum for resolving differences between House and Senate positions.