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HB 2156

Providing solar consumer protections.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Beth Doglio and 2 co-sponsors

Creates a refundable Kansas Education Opportunity Tax Credit: up to $8,000 per dependent in a private K–12 school (or $4,000 for non-accredited), reducing state revenue.

Effective date 6/6/2024.
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Bill Summary · HB 2156

Summary — HB 2156 (Introduced Jan 28, 2025)

Establishing the Education Opportunity Tax Credit for taxpayers with dependent children not enrolled in public school (Kansas)

Main purpose

Provide a refundable income tax credit to Kansas resident individual taxpayers for each dependent child who is eligible for K–12 public school but instead attends a private school. The program is intended to reduce out‑of‑pocket education costs for families who use nonpublic schools.

Key provisions

  • Credit amounts
    • $8,000 per dependent child enrolled full time in a private school that is: (a) accredited by the State Board of Education, or (b) accredited by a national/regional agency recognized by the State Board for licensure purposes or working in good faith toward such accreditation.
    • $4,000 per dependent child enrolled full time in a non‑accredited private school.
  • Refundability and timing
    • The credit is refundable (excess beyond tax liability is refunded).
    • Taxpayers may claim the credit in advance during the tax year by applying to the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) or claim it on their annual tax return.
  • Annual program cap and escalation
    • Tax Year (TY) 2025 cap: $125,000,000 total credits.
    • For TY 2026 and later, the cap is the prior year’s cap unless the prior year’s claimed credits were ≥90% of that cap; if so, the cap increases by 25% for the next year. KDOR must publish any cap increases on its website.
  • Priority and eligibility limits
    • If applications exceed the cap, KDOR gives priority to taxpayers who previously received the credit (note: no priority mechanism in effect for TY2025 beyond this wording).
    • A taxpayer cannot claim the credit for a child who received a scholarship under the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (TCLISSP) for that tax year.
    • Taxpayers must provide valid Social Security numbers for each dependent for whom they claim the credit.
  • Verification, reporting, and enforcement
    • KDOR may consult the State Department of Education solely to verify public‑school enrollment status; taxpayers acknowledge this possible data sharing.
    • KDOR must report to the Legislature by January 15 each year on the credit for the second preceding tax year, including total credits claimed and known fraud.
    • The bill imposes penalties for fraudulent claims (the introduced version prescribes a civil penalty under K.S.A. 79‑3228(e); the fiscal note also describes criminal penalties in its summary).

Fiscal impact (estimated)

  • KDOR and the Division of the Budget estimate the credit will significantly reduce State General Fund revenues.
  • Department of Revenue projects the TY2025 cap ($125.0M) would be fully claimed. Because credits can be claimed across tax years, the Division projects:
    • FY 2026 SGF reduction: $281.3 million (includes credits claimed for TY2025 and TY2026).
    • FY 2027 reduction: $195.4 million.
    • FY 2028 reduction: $244.1 million.
  • Rationale: There were 26,395 private school students in Kansas (Dept. of Education); at $8,000 each that would exceed the initial cap ($211.16M), so the cap is likely to bind.
  • KDOR indicated implementation/operational costs (document cites ~$271,306, truncated in fiscal note).

Who is affected

  • Beneficiaries: Kansas resident individual taxpayers with dependent K–12 children not enrolled in public school (private school attendees).
  • Excluded: Children who received TCLISSP scholarships in the same tax year.
  • State impacts: Reduced State General Fund revenues; increased KDOR administrative workload; potential effects on public school funding dynamics.
  • Oversight/verification: KDOR and State Department of Education.

Procedural status / timeline

  • Introduced: January 28, 2025.
  • Referred to: Committee on Education (per bill information).
  • If enacted, applies beginning with tax year 2025.

Note: The summary is based on the introduced Kansas version and its fiscal note; other documents in the file (Arizona, Illinois text snippets) appear unrelated to this Kansas bill.

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

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