Senate Bill 125 would authorize payment of several small claims against state agencies; committee heard fiscal memorandum

Molly Pratt, fiscal analyst with the Legislative Research Department and facilitator for the Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State, briefed the Appropriations Committee on Senate Bill 125, a housekeeping appropriation bill that directs payment of a set of claims recommended for payment by the joint committee.

Pratt said the joint committee reviewed over 120 potential claims in the 11/01/2023–10/31/2024 period and recommended payment of five small claims totaling $6,430 in fiscal year 2024. Senate Bill 125 would not increase total state expenditures because each directed payment is to be made from existing agency operating accounts.

Specifically, Pratt detailed small correctional-facility claims totaling $230 split across Hutchinson, Larned and Lansing facilities for property losses or misdirected mail. The bill also directs a larger payment totaling $6,200, to be split evenly between the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. That larger claim stems from a private assisted-living provider, Hillside Village LLC of DeSoto, which alleged a multi-agency delay in processing home-and-community-based-services (HCBS) eligibility that caused financial harm for a resident; agencies and a third-party contractor acknowledged coding errors that contributed to the problem in written responses to the joint committee.

Pratt said the bill requires each claimant to sign a release of future liability and that the Senate Committee on Ways and Means recommended the bill be placed on the consent calendar. Pratt noted Senate passage occurred on Feb. 11. No proponents or opponents appeared before the House committee during this briefing.

The committee did not take further action; Pratt’s memorandum and the joint committee’s recommendation provide the committee record for any legislative disbursement required by statute.