Summary — HB 2024 (Fighting Chance for Firefighters Act)
Status / Key dates
- Introduced: January 22, 2025
- Committee hearing: Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 3:30 PM (Room 346‑S)
- Fiscal note dated January 24, 2025 (Kansas Division of the Budget)
Purpose
- To encourage and partially offset out‑of‑pocket cancer screening costs for firefighters by creating a state income tax credit for unreimbursed medical expenses related to detecting occupation‑related cancers.
Key provisions
- New tax credit: A nonrefundable credit against Kansas individual income tax equal to a firefighter’s unreimbursed expenses for medical procedures to detect cancer, up to $250 per taxpayer per tax year.
- Definitions:
- “Cancer” includes lung, prostate, testicular, skin, colon, breast cancer and any cancer generally recognized as having elevated risk for firefighters.
- “Firefighter” includes trained or certified individuals (public employees or volunteers) who perform firefighting duty in Kansas.
- “Medical procedure to detect cancer” includes blood tests, genetic tests, biopsies, medical imaging, and similar diagnostic procedures.
- “Unreimbursed expense” means amounts paid by the taxpayer not covered (or not fully covered) by health insurance; no insurer appeal is required to qualify.
- Carryforward: If the credit exceeds a taxpayer’s Kansas income tax liability, the unused amount may be carried forward for up to five years. Carryforward credits count toward the $250 annual maximum in later years.
- Aggregate annual limit and adjustment mechanism:
- For tax year 2025 the total credits allowed statewide are capped at $1,500,000.
- For tax year 2026 and later, all claimed credits are allowed even if they exceed $1,500,000, but the Department of Revenue will calculate and publish an adjustment percentage (using the formula $1,500,000 ÷ prior‑year credits) and reduce the individual credit amount in the following year so estimated total credits do not exceed $1,500,000.
- Administration: Secretary of Revenue may adopt rules to implement the act.
Who is affected
- Resident Kansas firefighters (including volunteers) who pay unreimbursed diagnostic medical expenses for covered cancer screening; Kansas individual income tax revenues and the Department of Revenue for implementation and administration.
Estimated fiscal and administrative impact (per fiscal note)
- Estimated State General Fund revenue loss: $1,500,000 annually (FY2026 and ongoing, assuming full take‑up).
- Department of Revenue implementation cost: $160,831 one‑time (FY2026) and ongoing personnel/overhead of $72,181 (FY2027), including 1.00 FTE to assist taxpayers and administer the credit. Existing staff are expected to handle programming but contractor costs could be needed if workload increases.
Effective date
- The bill provides it takes effect upon publication in the statute book (i.e., upon enactment as specified).
Practical notes
- Credit is modest ($250 cap) but targeted to lower barriers to preventive cancer screening for firefighters.
- Aggregate cap and adjustment formula are intended to limit the program’s fiscal exposure while allowing initial flexibility for claims.
