(Mar. 1, 2024) – Next week, the legislature will return to committee work with bills from the opposite chambers and begin the final touches on assembling the state mega budget.
Monday, March 4
House Appropriations – 9:00 a.m. – Room 112N
Budget report out: Chairperson Howe, Higher Education budget – the University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Kansas, Pittsburg State University, Fort Hays State University, Emporia State University
Tuesday, March 5
Senate Public Health and Welfare – 8:30 a.m. – Room 142S
Hearing: House Bill 2596 – Adds and removes certain substances in Schedules I, II, IV and V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and makes conforming changes to the criminal code definition of "fentanyl-related controlled substances"
House Bill 2777 – Prohibits an employee of the Office of the State Fire Marshal from wearing or operating a body camera during an on-site inspection at a patient care facility
Senate Assessment and Taxation – 9:30 a.m. – Room 548S
Hearing: Senate Bill 498 – Establishes a tax credit for contributions to eligible charitable organizations operating pregnancy centers or residential maternity facilities and establishes a child tax credit, increases the tax credit amount for adoption expenses and makes the credit refundable; provides a sales tax exemption for pregnancy resource centers and residential maternity facilities
Senate Ways and Means – 10:30 a.m. – Room 548S
Hearing and final action: Senate Bill 514 – Makes and concerns certain supplemental appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and appropriations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 for various state agencies
House Health and Human Services – 1:30 p.m. – Room 112N
Hearing: Senate Bill 433 – Clarifies practice privileges of institutional license holders
Senate Bill 352 – Enacts the John D. Springer Patient's Bill of Rights to require hospitals to allow in-person visitation, adopts visitation policies and procedures and creates a civil cause of action for violation of such rights
House Welfare Reform – 1:30 p.m. – Room 152S
Hearing: House Bill 2723 – Makes appropriations for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services for fiscal year 2025 and creates a program for cities to improve and develop infrastructure for homeless shelters
Wednesday, March 6
Senate Public Health and Welfare – 8:30 a.m. – Room 142S
Hearing: House Bill 2536 – Establishes the SOUL Family Legal Permanency Option for children 16 years of age or older
Senate Ways and Means – 10:30 a.m. – Room 548S
Final action: Senate Bill 514 – Makes and concerns certain supplemental appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and appropriations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 for various state agencies
Senate Education – 1:30 p.m. – Room 144S
Hearing: House Bill 2645 – Amends the Nursing Service Scholarship Program to remove limits on the amount of the awards and number of scholarships, removes the sponsorship requirement, modifies the interest rate terms for repayment obligations and abolishes the Nursing Service Scholarship Review Committee
House Bill 2646 – Modifies the financial limitations on awards under the Kansas Hero's Scholarship Act and broadens the eligibility requirements for such awards
House Appropriations – 9:00 a.m. – Room 112N
Medicaid Presentations:
Telehealth
Community Support Waiver – Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
Unwinding of Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage – Megan Leopold, managing fiscal analyst, KLRD
House Federal and State Affairs – 9:00 a.m. – Room 346S
Hearing Senate Bill 434 – Exempts the practice of hair removal by sugaring from the definition of cosmetology
Thursday, March 7
Senate Public Health and Welfare – 8:30 a.m. – Room 142S
Hearing: House Bill 2629 – Requires the secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to provide a death certificate of a child to the state Child Death Review Board, increases the number of board members, allows for compensation and provides for the disclosure of certain records to certain persons for securing grants
Senate Commerce – 10:30 a.m. – Room 546S
Hearing: House Bill 2570 – Defines benefit year, temporary unemployment, wages and other terms in the Employment Security Law, requires electronic filing for certain employers, establishes qualifications for the Employment Security Board of Review candidates, extends the deadline for new accounts following business acquisitions, makes certain changes to the employer rate schedules, enables employers to report claimant work search issues, confirms Legislative Coordinating Council oversight for the new unemployment insurance information technology system implementation, authorizes the secretary to grant temporary unemployment, requires the secretary to annually publish certain data, abolishes the Employment Security Interest Assessment Fund and provides relief for negative account balance employers
Senate Ways and Means – 10:30 a.m. – Room 548S
Final action: Senate Bill 514 – Makes and concerns certain supplemental appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and appropriations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 for various state agencies
Friday, March 8