WeVote

Bill

Bill

HB 2090

ASRS; long-term disability

57th Legislature - Second Regular Session Introduced by David Livingston

Kansas creates KEESA, a voluntary, employer-facilitated emergency savings program (2025-2027) with tax credits for employers and tax deductions for employees.

Signed by Governor
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 2090

HB 2090 — Kansas Employee Emergency Savings Account (KEESA) Program — Summary

Status (key dates)
- Introduced: January 24, 2025 (Representative Poskin, et al.).
- Fiscal note issued: March 17, 2025 (Kansas Division of the Budget).
- Scheduled committee hearing: Feb. 28, 2025 — CANCELED.
- Companion: SB 1168.

Note: this summary is limited to the Kansas-introduced version of HB 2090 and the fiscal note dated March 17, 2025.

Purpose / Intent

Establish a voluntary, employer‑facilitated emergency savings program to help employees build liquid savings, reduce reliance on high‑cost credit, promote financial literacy, and assist employers with recruitment and retention by incentivizing employer contributions through state tax credits.

Key provisions

  • Creates the Kansas Employee Emergency Savings Account (KEESA) Program (administrated by the Secretary of Commerce) for tax years 2025–2027.
  • Eligible employers (see below) apply to the Secretary of Commerce to participate and receive certification.
  • Employer must make an initial deposit of at least $50 per participating employee to open an employee savings account.
  • Accounts must be federally insured, employee‑owned, allow payroll deduction, offer online/mobile banking and a mobile app with deposit notifications and financial literacy tools. Employers may not restrict use of account funds. Payroll deductions carry no employer administrative fees.
  • Employers must provide annual employee notices (by Jan 31) of payroll deduction totals and must annually report program metrics to the Secretary of Commerce (numbers of accounts, deposits, participant counts, etc.).
  • Secretary of Commerce may adopt rules to implement the program.

Eligibility

  • “Eligible employer” = entity subject to Kansas income or privilege tax that employs no more than 250 employees.
  • Employee participation is voluntary; employees own the accounts and may modify/stop payroll deductions.

Tax incentives and taxpayer impacts

  • Employer tax credits (available tax years 2025–2027):
    • 50% credit on the required initial deposit (max credit $50 per employee per year).
    • 25% credit on additional employer deposits (matching or other) (max credit $325 per employee per year).
    • Credits are nonrefundable, nontransferable, and may be carried forward up to two years.
  • Employee subtraction modification (Kansas income tax):
    • Employees may subtract payroll deductions deposited to KEESA accounts from Kansas taxable income.
    • Cap: $1,500 per taxpayer ($3,000 married filing jointly).
    • Available tax years 2025–2027.

Fiscal impact (per fiscal note)

  • Estimated reduction to State General Fund receipts:
    • FY 2026: $28.0 million
    • FY 2027: $68.8 million
    • FY 2028: $122.4 million (reflects multi‑year phase‑in/credit claims)
  • Department of Revenue assumptions: up to ~479,135 employees (employers <200 employees) could potentially participate; DOR estimated large potential credit claims ($155.7M/year from employer contributions plus $24.0M/year for initial deposits under a full-takeup scenario).
  • Employee subtraction estimated to reduce receipts by roughly $15.1M/year once fully implemented (using an effective tax rate of 2.1%).
  • Implementation costs:
    • Department of Revenue: $185,150 (FY2026) for automated tax system changes (staff programming; may require contractors if capacity exceeded).
    • Department of Commerce: $52,167 (FY2026) for 0.50 FTE to administer the program.
  • Department of Administration: note that larger refunds (from subtraction) may affect debt‑setoff collections; fiscal effect not estimated.

Who is affected

  • Small and mid‑sized employers (≤250 employees) choosing to participate.
  • Employees of participating employers (can build emergency savings; receive payroll deduction benefits; reduce Kansas taxable income).
  • State agencies (Dept. of Commerce to administer; Dept. of Revenue to implement tax changes and reporting).

Administrative & procedural details

  • Employer applications and annual reporting requirements to the Secretary of Commerce.
  • Employees receive annual notice of payroll deduction totals.
  • Program and tax incentives limited to tax years 2025–2027 per bill text.

Uncertainties / caveats

  • Fiscal estimates rely on participation assumptions (take‑up among eligible employers/employees); actual cost depends on program enrollment and deposit levels.
  • Credits are limited in duration (through 2027) under the bill as drafted.
  • This summary excludes text from other jurisdictions’ bills numbered HB 2090; it covers the Kansas bill and the related fiscal note.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.