(Jan. 30, 2024) – Today, the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Will Carpenter (R-El Dorado), held a hearing on House Bill 2358. This legislation allows mid-level practitioners to provide medical certification to attest to an individual's cause of death and to file a death certificate. The committee discussed a balloon amendment to the bill. The committee heard from the following:

Proponents:

• Pam Scott, executive director of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association
• Doug Smith, Kansas Academy of Physician Assistants
• Melanie Urban, administrator, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital
• Karen Trees, Phoenix Health Care Clinic

There were no neutral or opponent conferees.

The committee expressed an interest in amending the bill to include the ability for advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to be able to refer to hospice care. The chair indicated the bill will likely be worked Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Troy Waymaster (R-Bunker Hill), held a hearing on Senate Bill 307, SB 307 adds for-profit private entity to the definition of "qualified applicant" in the Kansas Fights Addiction Act. The bill, carried over from 2023, when it passed the Senate on a vote of 40-0, had the following proponents in the House Appropriations Committee:

Proponents:

• Travis Lowe, Acadia Health Care

Today, the House Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita), held hearings on two bills:

House Bill 2547 authorizes schools to maintain certain emergency medication kits and to administer such medication in emergencies.

Proponents in writing or appearing before the committee included:

• Alexandra Blasi, executive secretary, Kansas Board of Pharmacy
• Leah Filter, Kansas Association of School Boards
• Kimber Kasitz, Kansas School Nurses Association
• Carol Moreland, Kansas State Board of Nursing
• Paul Teran, MD, Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Heather Braum, Kansas Action for Children
• Private Citizens: Darlene Coffey, Lyndsay Cochran, Kimberly Martin and Cindi Tedder.

There were no opponents or neutral conferees.

House Bill 2578 provides that programs and treatments provided by a certified community behavioral health clinic be granted a renewal certification if such programs and treatments have been previously certified or accredited.

Proponents:

• Kyle Kessler, executive director, Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas
• William  Warnes, MD, Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas
• Joan Tammany, executive director, COMCARE
• Tim DeWeese, Johnson County Mental Health Center
• Greg Hennen, Four County Mental Health Center

Opponents:

• Sonja Baccus, Community Care Network of Kansas
• Stuart Little, Kansas Behavioral Health Association
• Shane Hudson, CEO, CFK Addiction Treatment
• Lorri Alvarado, DCCCA
• Elizabeth Keever, Heartland Community Health Center
• Matthew Schmidt, Health Ministries Clinic
• Leah Fliter, Kansas Association of School Boards
• Chrysanne Grund, project director,Greeley County Health Services
• Linda Bass, KVC Kansas