Legislative Update: Week Four
Kansas Appleseed’s legislative agenda saw a lot of action this week! We are seeing great progress on many of the bills we are advancing, but also continue to see baseless attacks made on Kansans who are low income. We are pushing back on these false narratives every chance we get. It shouldn’t matter what a family’s income level is to ensure the government works well for every Kansan.
Reducing Childhood Hunger in Kansas
On Monday, $2 million dollars to eliminate the reduced-price meal copay for Kansas kids was stripped out of the budget in the House Committee on Appropriations. We were extremely disappointed to see this, but there remains bipartisan support for the endeavor and multiple paths to get these funds reinstated into the budget. Stay tuned as we continue the long road to the final state budget!
We are also encouraged that more legislators are interested in learning about Child Nutrition Programs like Community Eligibility Provision, which provides universal free meals in school districts that are high poverty! On Tuesday, Dr. Harwood of KSDE presented ‘The State of Education in Kansas’ and highlighted school meals and CEP.
Protecting and Expanding Food Assistance Programs
On Tuesday, there were two hearings on bills (HB 2015 and SB 79) in the House Committee on Welfare Reform that both directed the secretary for children and families to request a waiver from supplemental nutrition assistance program rules that would allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks with food assistance. We oppose both bills as we believe every Kansan should have the autonomy to purchase the food they want for their family.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Welfare Reform voted HB 2015 out of committee, though it did not come without controversy. Ranking Minority Member Jarrod Ousley brought forward an amendment to the bill that would have disallowed legislators from using their per diem on soda and candy, as well as other items that are prohibited for those using SNAP food assistance. While the amendment ultimately failed, it highlighted the double standard applied to taxpayer dollars, creating harsher limits for SNAP recipients compared to others who use tax dollars to purchase food.
Supporting Justice-Involved Youth
The deadline to submit bill drafts in nonexempt committees was on Monday, February 3, and we made it under the wire to introduce more legislation in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary:
- SB 157, requiring certain records and files to be automatically expunged from a juvenile’s record.
- SB 158, allowing persons with felony drug convictions to receive benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
We also introduced a bill to the House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice that would add considerations of whether an offender had custody of their child or was a legal guardian or custodian with custody of a child at the time of the offense to factors considered for diversion and dispositional departures. In essence, this bill encourages community-based alternative sentencing for primary caregivers of children who could be placed in foster care if the person is incarcerated, with the intention of keeping parents in the home and children out of the system. We are still waiting for a bill number for this legislation, which we will hopefully provide in our next legislative update!
Improving the State’s Foster Care System
On Wednesday, February 5, the House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care heard testimony on HB 2132, a bill that would modify the definition of neglect to remove issues related to poverty. Brenna Visocsky, our Just Campaign Director, presented our testimony in support of this bill as disconnecting financial hardships from the removal of children from their homes is a significant step towards improving the Kansas Foster Care System, keeping families together safely, and directing resources towards preventative supports. The committee will work the bill on Wednesday, February 12, at 1:30pm. You can watch the discussion– and catch all other committee meetings– on the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel.
If you have not yet reached out to your legislators, I hope you take time to do so. We can’t let them forget who their constituents are and what our lived experiences are.
