Committee hears bill to move prenatal/postnatal awareness program to Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities

The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee heard testimony on House Bill 2307 on the transfer of responsibility for prenatal and postnatal diagnosed-conditions awareness programs from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities (KCDD).

Jenna, the committee reviser, summarized the measure and told the panel the bill transfers the powers, duties and functions of the awareness program, amends the relevant Kansas statute (cited in testimony as KSA 65 1 2 59) to reflect the transfer, and establishes a prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions awareness programs fund in the state treasury. The bill sets an appropriation trigger that, according to Jenna, would require the director of accounts and reports to transfer $25,000 from the state general fund to the new awareness program fund on July 1, 2025; she also said the bill passed the House on a vote she quoted as "120 two-zero."

Mike Burgess, Director of Policy and Outreach at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, told the committee the Disability Rights Center is part of a federally created network with the DD Council and said the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities is "uniquely qualified" to run the program. Jean Gowden, Director of Government Relations for Kansans for Life, and Lola Cornell, advocacy coordinator for the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities and a self-advocate, also testified in support. Cornell described personal experiences with prenatal counseling and said the bill would ensure parents receive "not only medical facts, but also evidence based life affirming information about their child's condition." She asked the committee to support the bill so "parents receive the information they need to embrace their children's unique abilities, and people like me know we matter."

Sarah Hartware of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities answered fiscal questions from senators. Hartware said the council intends to use a $25,000 transfer and "match that to make this a $50,000 program," and described KCDD's role providing navigation and resource information to families, including guidance on IDD waivers, wait lists and financial tools such as special needs trusts and ABLE accounts.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about why the transfer is needed, how the new fund would be used, and whether the transfer reduces Department of Health and Environment resources. No final committee vote on House Bill 2307 was recorded in the provided transcript; committee staff closed the hearing after public and proponent testimony.

The measure as described would take effect July 1, 2025, if enacted, and the reviser's summary in committee testimony specified the statutory change and the $25,000 transfer into the newly created fund.