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Minutes for HB2627 - Committee on Welfare Reform
Short Title
Organizing requirements for public assistance program sections within the statute.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 1, 2024
Chairman Awerkamp called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. and invited members/guests to request bill introductions. Jason Watkins, Watkins Public Strategies, requested RS2796, which will create a $40 million match for a grant application for homeless infrastructure. Without object the proposed bill was accepted.
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2627.
Jessie Pringle, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, briefed the Committee on the bill. She explained that the bill proposes a reorganization of K.S.A. 39-709 as a section addressing public assistance (Attachment 1). She traced the sub-sections dealing with eligibility, temporary assistance, food assistance, child-care subsidy, drug screening, and ancillary regulations; the requirements include income, citizenship, residency, and eligibility but do not amend subsections related to the Medicaid program. She noted that the bill also cleans up references to K.S.A. 39-709 in K.S.A. 39-757. She also provided a reference index to show the relation between the current statutes and the proposed statutes.
The Chair commented that the bill presents no policy changes but only reorganizes present statutes in a unified and more readable form.
Erin Melton, Economic Security Policy Advisor, Kansas Action for Children, testified as neutral regarding the bill (Attachment 2). She expressed appreciation for the Committee's interest in welfare, but commented that the bill does not address issues of concern for those affected by welfare regulations.
Speaking as an opponent of the bill, Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director, Kansas Interfaith Action, said that there was no reason for the bill if it does not offer improvements to the welfare system (Attachment 3).
The following individuals offered written-only neutral testimony on the bill:
- Donna Grinter, Director, Institute for Policy and Social Research, University of Kansas (Attachment 4);
- Haley Kottler, Campaign Director, Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Attachment 5);
- Kari Rinker, American Heart Association(Attachment 6);
- Kristy Baughman, Executive Director, United Community Services of Johnson County (Attachment 7); and
- Karen Siebert, Advocacy and Public Policy Advisor, Harvesters--the Community Food Network (Attachment 8).
The Chair closed the hearing on HB2627.
