(Mar. 8, 2024) – Last night, the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Troy Waymaster (R-Bunker Hill), met to finalize details on their budget. The bill, now in House Bill 2273, was recommended favorably for passage after they made the following final adjustments:

• Adding $2.5 million to all funds, including $1 million in State General Funds, to increase Medicaid OB-GYN codes by 15 percent
• A proviso saying the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts shall make expenditures to reduce licensing and renewals by 15 percent
• Adding $600,000 for respite care funding for Alzheimer's disease up to $1,000 per person with 10 percent going to the area agencies on aging for administration
• Including language not to add to the 1.8 billion currently in the state Rainy Day Fund for fiscal year 25 and recognizing they will add half of that to a higher interest yield account
• Allowing the Kansas Department of Agriculture to audit and evaluate water banks
• Adding $500,000 to help Jewish places of worship have security due to increases in anti-semitic activity
• Allowing the Friends of Cedar Crest to commission a quote from developers on upgrading the governor's residence
• Kansas Highway Patrol Pay Plan – 10 percent adjustment for sworn law enforcement officers and dispatchers
• Kansas Bureau of Investigation – 10 percent adjustment for sworn officers and forensic scientists
• Funding for elevators for the Kansas State School for the Deaf
• Moving $150,000 from the Attract Professional Kansas Sports Teams to the U.S. Adaptive Open being held at Sand Creek Golf Course
• Approximately $1 million for pay for parole officers at the Kansas Department of Corrections
• Grant for shooting teams for Air and National Guard adjutant generals
• Allowing DeSoto school district to sell countryside learning center
• Scholarship funds for the Full Circle Drug Prevention and Recovery Program
• Housing Resource Center – adding to develop housing plans for non-profits

The budget is complete, and the bill runs on the House floor.

The committee also saw a bill introduction made by Rep.Bill Sutton (R-Gardner) on legislation related to consumer protection related to hospital price transparency.