House Bill 2558 advanced by Committee on Water after amendment fails
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Summary
The Committee on Water advanced House Bill 2558 to increase transfers into the State Water Plan Fund and boost subfund allocations; an amendment to reduce the proposal by $5 million failed on a committee vote before the bill was sent out favorably.
The Committee on Water advanced House Bill 2558 out of committee on a voice vote after rejecting an amendment that would have reduced the bill's proposed funding increase.
The bill, as explained by Chris from the reviser's office, raises the transfer from the state general fund to the State Water Plan Fund and increases subsequent transfers to the water technical assistance fund and the water projects grant fund, and extends the scheduled repeal of those subfunds from July 1, 2028, to July 1, 2031. "Committee House Bill 25 58 increases the amount of monies transferred from the state general fund to the State Water Plan Fund," Chris said while summarizing the bill's provisions.
Heather, speaking for legislative fiscal staff, said the bill would increase the general-fund transfer from $35,000,000 to $60,000,000 for fiscal years beginning July 1, 2027, through 2030, and boost transfers to the technical assistance and projects grant funds to $15,500,000 and $22,500,000 respectively.
Representative Fairchild offered an amendment to reduce the total transfer to $55,000,000, reallocating $13,500,000 to the technical assistance fund and $20,500,000 to the projects grant fund. "Basically, I'm reducing it by $5,000,000 to put it back to where it was in last year's bill," Fairchild said, arguing the smaller increase would make the bill easier to advance and more acceptable to fiscally conservative members.
Members debated the amendment. Supporters of the cut said scaling back could ease passage in the Senate and align better with broader budget constraints. Opponents urged keeping the $60 million request to provide negotiating room and to better reflect program needs. Representative Stocksdale said keeping the larger figure preserves leverage in conference negotiations; Representative White called the larger request a reasonable start. The chair defended the $60 million request, citing earlier testimony about unmet need and program efficiency.
The committee first attempted a voice vote on the amendment; the chair then conducted a hand count and ruled the amendment failed. The committee returned to the main motion and, following a voice vote, the chair announced the ayes had it and directed staff to record the vote. Representative Pickard moved to advance the bill favorably, with Representative Stocksdale recorded as the second.
Members discussed program demand during the debate: Representative Vaughn said the committee previously saw an $18 million pool that funded 34 grants while 275 applications went unfunded, an example used to justify increased funding. Kate Gleason of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) later told the committee a revised agency fiscal estimate of about $350,000 for one engineering or environmental-scientist FTE and limited contract work.
The committee's action was procedural: it advanced House Bill 2558 from committee after the amendment failed. The bill now proceeds per legislative process for further consideration beyond committee.
