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Senate adds reporting requirement after Wildlife and Parks restructuring prompts concern
Summary
Following an announced agency restructuring and reports of low employee morale, the Senate added language blocking staff changes until a report on efficiencies is delivered and replaced a $95,435 SGF item with agency fee/federal funds for FY2026.
Senator Peck told the Ways and Means Committee that the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources concurs with the special committee recommendation for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ FY2026 request, but added several conditions after the agency announced a major restructuring.
The subcommittee deleted $95,435 in state general fund (SGF) for FY2026 and replaced the funding with agency fee and federal funds, explaining the agency historically did not receive SGF for those items. The committee also added language requiring the department to submit a report to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources by June 30, 2026, detailing any efficiencies or savings the agency identifies. The committee added a prohibition on implementing any efficiency-related actions that would terminate or modify filled positions before that report is submitted.
Peck said the measure was prompted by many Wildlife and Parks employees reporting "low morale" after the secretary announced restructuring shortly before committee meetings. Senators asked clarifying questions about whether the $95,435 change was linked to a separate $61,523 reappropriation the special committee had deleted; committee members confirmed it was not.
The committee moved and approved a motion to accept the subcommittee’s recommendations for the department’s FY2026 and FY2027 budgets.
Next steps: the department must file the required report by the June 30, 2026 deadline before making staffing changes that would affect filled positions.
