(March 3, 2026) – Today, the House Appropriations Committee heard an update on the American Rescue Plan Act fund expenditures. $1.6 million in interest is being deposited into the State General Fund. They highlighted recent expenditures to higher education, the World Cup and the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, and noted what is allocated but not yet spent, stating $197 million remains, with $981 million spent.

The committee reviewed a list of closed projects, including:

• Frontline Worker Retention;
• Rural Hospital Innovation Grants; and
• 988 Crisis Line.

The committee also received information on active projects and whether those funds will be spent, including: KDADS programs, behavioral health bed expansion and childcare capacity accelerator. Committee members wanted to know how much of this funding might not be spent, what happens following the closure of ARPA funds and whether that would be up to the governor's discretion. They suggested adding language to reallocate unspent ARPA funds to certain projects the legislature would like to see completed, with $28 million currently in the House budget that could be eligible for these funds. The committee asked for a detailed report on KC 2026 expenditures for transportation and security. After an in-depth discussion, the committee suggested using a bill to reallocate some of the ARPA funds to support some of the projects they would like to fund.