On Friday, Jan. 10, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order(EO) 25-01, which directs the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to manage federal benefits for eligible youth in foster care, such as those administered by the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement Board. DCF will be responsible for ensuring that the benefits are preserved, spent and ultimately dispersed for the benefit of the child. No benefits can be used to reimburse DCF for the contractual maintenance of the child while in DCF’s custody. The program requirements in the EO must be fully implemented by July 1, 2025.
Also on Jan. 10, Republican priorities for the 2025 session were announced by Masterson and Hawkins, including a focus on government efficiency, school vouchers, and a ban on transgender minors accessing gender-affirming health care. Masterson had previously announced on Dec. 17, the creation of a new Committee on Government Efficiency (COGE), which will be chaired by Sen. Renee Erickson. COGE is charged with exploring ways to “restructure and reform state government to reduce spending and increase government efficiency.”
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, Rep. Troy Waymaster, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced House Bill (HB) 2007, a legislative budget bill for fiscal years ending June 30, 2025, June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2027. The budget bill is the result of the work of the newly formed Special Committee on Legislative Budget, which met during November and December. Hawkins stated on Jan. 15 that Chair Waymaster has also asked all state agencies to provide a 7.5 percent reduced resource proposal for their FY 2026 budgets, which will be reviewed by the standing budget committees.
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Governor delivered her 2025 State of the State address to the Legislature. In her comments, Gov. Kelly spoke about early childhood education and child care, the proposed Office of Early Childhood, public school funding, her proposal to address childhood hunger by providing free school lunches to more than 35,000 students, the state’s water supply, including the need to stabilize the Ogallala Aquifer, maximize the capacity of state reservoirs, and development of a comprehensive, long-term water supply plan. The Governor also spoke about Medicaid expansion.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, Budget Director Adam Proffitt presented the Governor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 to a joint meeting of the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees, which includes $10.6 billion in State General Fund (SGF) spending, a 0.7 percent increase over the budget passed by the Legislature in 2024. The Governor’s budget proposal includes:
- $13.4 million to expand child care slots and build child care workforce capacity
- $5.5 million to eliminate co-payments for students on reduced lunch, providing free school meals to more than 35,000 students
- $72.6 million for Special Education State Aid
- $500,000 to cover certain Advanced Placement (AP) test fees for students of low-income families
- $90 million for water infrastructure projects
- $2.6 million to establish Behavioral Health Intervention Teams for Child Welfare Providers to increase placement stability for youth in foster care
- $2 million for capacity building for hospitals and other health care facilities
- $20 million for Home and Community Based Services provider grants
- Funding for growth in Frail/Elderly, Brain Injury and Technology Assistance waiver utilization
- Funding to complete stand-up of the Community Support waiver for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who do not need continuous, 24-hour support.
Also on Jan. 16, Hawkins and House Majority Leader Chris Croft introduced House Resolution (HR) 6004, the House rules for the 2025-2026 biennium. Consistent with leadership’s support for a 90-day session the resolution does not include a rule stating that a session day cannot continue after midnight. Previous rules have required the House to vote to suspend the “midnight rule” to continue working into the next day. HR 6004 was referred to the House Rules and Journal Committee, chaired by Rep. Susan Humphries, and a hearing was held on Jan. 16. The Committee will be working the resolution at a later date.