Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
House adopts conference report for state budget after heated debate over special education, employee pay and program restorations
Loading...
Summary
Following extended floor debate, the Kansas House adopted the conference committee report on HB2513, a multi‑billion dollar state budget that includes a roughly $10.7 billion SGF figure, an estimated $1.7 billion ending balance, and contested allocations for special education and state employee pay.
The Kansas House adopted the conference committee report on HB2513 after extended debate on funding priorities, special education reimbursements, teacher pay and other program allocations.
Representative Waymaster (speaker 16), who presented the report, said the conference package set the state general fund for fiscal year 2026 at approximately $10.7 billion with an estimated $1.7 billion ending balance. Waymaster detailed line items including a $15 per resident per day increase ($15,000,000 SGF) for a specified resident program, a 6 percent reimbursement rate adjustment for developmentally disabled waiver services (about $16,000,000 SGF), and contract staffing funding for state hospitals. The report also included K–12 caseload adjustments of about $6.3 billion for FY2026 and targeted research and higher‑education investments using ARPA funds.
Several members pressed the majority over special education funding levels. Representative Hoye (speaker 18) and Representative Owsley (speaker 7) said the budget fell short of the House position on special education funding and expressed reluctance to support the conference report; Hoye said the package reduced special-education funding by roughly $15.3 million from the House position. Representative Sillington (speaker 17) criticized a 1 percent raise for state employees as inadequate given inflation and retention concerns.
Supporters, including appropriations members and Representative Ballard (speaker 13), said the conference process required tradeoffs and defended restorations the committee obtained. The chairman summarized the pacing and hours of negotiation and listed investments such as $5,000,000 over three years toward a Kansas State University dairy barn project, investments for technical and community colleges, and ARPA-funded housing modernization projects.
Roll-call explanations were given by several members citing principle-based votes (including objections to legislative pay increases versus employee raises). The clerk recorded passage in batches; the presiding officer announced that batches met constitutional majorities and declared the bill cleared to pass.
