Ways and Means strips ARPA interest, EDIF and non‑Regents items from House Bill 2,007

At a Senate Ways and Means committee meeting, senators approved a series of amendments to House Bill 2,007 that remove several funding line items inserted by the House and reallocate the Senate’s negotiating position. Committee members voted to: remove ARPA interest line items in HB 2,007 except for Dole State Office Building funding (a subtraction the motion said totaled $47,963,748); remove Economic Development Initiative Fund (EDIF) items for FY 2026 totaling $44,668,280; and remove from the bill any items that were not requested by the Kansas Board of Regents.

The motions were introduced during committee consideration of HB 2,007. Senator Clay (chairing the committee) explained the ARPA interest motion was intended to give the Senate a clean slate on where those interest earnings will be spent. "The reason for pulling those out is simply so that we can start from scratch on our side as far as where dollars are allocated," Clay said, adding the change would let the Senate take its own position in conference. Senator Erickson seconded both the ARPA and EDIF removal motions.

Senator Owens pressed for detail on the Dole State Office Building allocation that the motion left in the bill. "So on the Dole State Office Building, can you tell me, are we over budget? Like why are we spending an extra 20,000,000 on that?" Owens asked. Senator Clay replied: "I believe that's for all of the furnishings and yes, I think there were some change orders throughout. So it's a mix of both of those things. The reason that it's left in is because largely that money has been spent or, is in the process of being spent."

Committee debate included requests from members for the lists of specific line items being removed. Senator Penny and others asked for the detailed lists; staff indicated those lists would be provided to committee members. Several senators described the motions as positioning language for later negotiations with the House rather than final policy choices.

A third motion, moved by Senator Klase, would remove from HB 2,007 any items the Kansas Board of Regents did not request; proponents said it would return the bill to a baseline that reflects only agency‑requested items. Some senators objected that the motion was premature because a Regents hearing and presentations were on the committee agenda that day. "This seems a bit out of order to vote on items and issues before hearing the information that is about to be presented," Senator Hoelscher said; Senator Patty said the motion was premature. Despite objections, the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The committee recorded no roll‑call tallies in the transcript; actions were reported as carried by voice vote.

The committee then proceeded with scheduled presentations from Kansas Board of Regents staff and public university leaders. Those presentations outlined the Board’s supplemental requests, the Regents’ FY 2026 enhancement package, and institution‑level priorities that senators said they would weigh in conference negotiations. The committee paused questions for the end of the presentations.

Notes on formal actions: the transcript records voice approval for the three motions described above. Exact numerical vote tallies were not recorded in the public transcript; the committee reported the motions as carried by voice vote.

Looking ahead, senators said the deletions leave funding sources unresolved in the bill and create positions the Senate can carry into conference with the House. Staff committed to providing the detailed lists of removed line items to committee members.