The Kansas Legislature has finished the last committee meetings for the general session. We will spend the next week on the floor debating those bills we have considered from the Senate and a few last bills that are coming out of the House committees. The following week we will work out the differences between House and Senate positions in conference committees.

The Rural Revitalization committee worked on bills that would help rural hospitals. Senate Bill 175 creates the Rural Healthcare Innovation Fund. It would match public dollars with contributions from private foundations and corporations to help rural hospitals. This could include implementing broadband access for tele-medicine delivery or other initiatives.

The bill also implements the Rural Emergency Hospital designation in Kansas. This is part of a new federal initiative to allow smaller, targeted health care facilities in rural areas to be eligible for federal funding. This can help to ensure that smaller hospitals can continue to provide needed care. I voted “yes”, and the bill passed the House with 119 “yes” to 3 “no” votes.

Mental health continues to be a growing need in Kansas. Senate Bill 238 expands the use of tele-health in mental health services. Most importantly, it creates a new type of mental health entity, the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. This will allow our current Community Mental Health Centers to transition and expand the services they are authorized to provide. I voted “yes” and the bill passed the House 121 “yes” to 1 “no” vote.

House Bill 2401 authorizes the Secretary of Corrections to enter into agreements for public-private partnership projects for the purpose of funding new or renovated buildings at correctional institutions for education, skills-building and spiritual needs programs. Improving these skills for inmates is an important part of helping them return to our communities and be productive members. The bill passed the House unanimously.

We finished amendments and passed the bills from the Insurance and Pension committee. Those bills are scheduled to be debated in the House on Monday. In our final meeting, KPERS staff gave us an update on the KPERS investment returns and the resulting dividend credits that are paid to Tier 3 (cash balance plan) KPERS employees. The credit is based on a formula using a five-year rolling average. The upcoming credit for this year is estimated at 2.475 percent which will be added at the end of March. The 2020 calendar year return was just below 11.5 percent. Combined with the 2019 return of just over 17 percent, these numbers signal a good dividend for the next couple of years. The first five years were not as strong. We will continue to analyze how the formula is working.

I’m looking forward to getting several issues across the finish line with our Senate counterparts the next two weeks. Thanks for the calls and e-mails that Jan Kiehl, my committee assistant, and I have received. Continue to let us know your thoughts at (785) 296-7696 or steven. johnson@house.ks.gov.

Have a great week!