Bill
HB 2397
Raises guaranteed state aid to local health departments from 7,000 to 12,000 and clarifies distribution of remaining funds among applicants.
Status
- Introduced: February 4, 2025 (House)
- Referred to: House Committee on Health and Human Services
- Fiscal note issued: March 4, 2025
- Hearing scheduled: March 5, 2025 (Room 112‑N)
- Bill amends: K.S.A. 65‑242 (statute governing state assistance to local health departments)
Purpose / intent
- To raise the guaranteed minimum state distribution to local health departments from $7,000 to $12,000 and to clarify how remaining state funds are distributed among applicants. The aim is to help ensure minimum baseline funding for local public‑health operations across Kansas.
Key provisions
- Amends K.S.A. 65‑242 to change the guaranteed per‑department distribution:
- Subsection (a): Each local health department that applies shall receive $12,000 (was $7,000). If insufficient funds exist to make that full minimum payment to all applicants, available funds are divided equally among applicants.
- Subsection (b): After minimum payments, any remaining funds are distributed pro rata based on the population of the county/counties served by each applying local health department.
- If a department’s pro‑rata share would be less than or equal to $12,000, it receives only the minimum amount under subsection (a).
- No department’s allocation under subsection (b) may exceed the amount that department receives from local tax revenues in the county fiscal year when state assistance is paid.
- Subsection (c): If a department’s local tax revenues fall below the prior fiscal year’s level, the department’s eligible state assistance for the year is reduced proportionally to that tax‑revenue decline.
- The bill repeals the existing version of K.S.A. 65‑242 and replaces it with the amended language.
Who is affected
- All Kansas local health departments that apply for state financial assistance under K.S.A. 65‑242.
- Smaller departments benefit most from the higher guaranteed minimum ($5,000 increase).
- State budgeting and KDHE administration (for processing applications and distributions).
Fiscal impact
- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment advised that raising the statutory minimum to $12,000 merely codifies current practice; the FY2026 Governor’s Budget already provides at least $12,000 per department.
- The Division of the Budget’s fiscal note states no additional fiscal effect is anticipated if enacted (i.e., the change aligns statute with the Governor’s budget assumption).
Procedural / timeline notes
- At the time of the fiscal note, the bill was under committee consideration with a scheduled hearing (early March 2025).
- Because the statute ties distributions to available appropriations, actual payments each year depend on legislative appropriations and application volume.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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