Appropriations Committee flags hazardous-waste fund shortfall, reviews KDHE Division of Environment budget requests

Luke Drury, a senior fiscal analyst with the Legislative Research Division, told the Kansas Legislature Appropriations Committee that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment——s Division of Environment requested about $108 million for FY2025 (including roughly $19.2 million from the general fund) and about $84.8 million for FY2026 (including about $3.4 million from the general fund). Drury said the FY2025 request includes a $350,000 enhancement for the hazardous-waste stabilization fund and the house position restored 8.1 FTEs that the budget committee had deleted.

The committee heard that fee revenue and federal funding for the hazardous-waste stabilization fund have declined. "We will be in the red at the end of the year if we don't receive the state general funds," Leo Henning, deputy secretary and director of environment at KDHE, told the committee. Henning also said KDHE takes fee increases seriously: "We don't increase fees unless we absolutely have to."