• Continues investments in early childhood care and education: Governor Kelly’s budget provides about $13.4 million to expand child care slots and build child care workforce capacity. This includes $10 million to increase the availability of child care through the Childcare Capacity Accelerator Grant program and $1.3 million for Child Care Health and Safety Grants.
  
• Provides free school meals to qualifying children: Governor Kelly’s budget eliminates co-payments for students on reduced lunch, providing access to free school meals to over 35,000 Kansas students. 

• Fully funds Kansas’ public K-12 schools for the seventh year in a row: Governor Kelly’s budget fully funds K-12 public schools for the seventh consecutive year and includes $72.6 million in Special Education State Aid, fulfilling the second of a five-year plan to fully fund special education. This budget also includes $500,000 to cover the costs of certain Advanced Placement (AP) test fees for low-income students.   

• Prioritizes water: Governor Kelly’s budget makes a larger commitment to water funding, increasing annual spending by $30 million this year. This budget appropriates close to $90 million for water infrastructure projects in small towns, cost-share for farmers near the Ogallala Aquifer to implement water saving technology, clean-up of groundwater contamination near cities and parks, and more.
• Expands Medicaid to 150,000 Kansans: Governor Kelly’s budget brings more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars back to Kansas annually that is currently sent to other states. Medicaid expansion will provide access to affordable health care for 150,000 more Kansans and cut health care costs for everyone else. Through one-time federal funds and a delayed hospital surcharge, Medicaid expansion is revenue neutral – meaning it comes at no additional cost to Kansas taxpayers.

• Makes investments in higher education: Governor Kelly’s budget invests nearly $50 million in additional funding to support the postsecondary sector and lower higher education costs for Kansas students. This includes $14.4 million in additional state funding to increase need-based aid.This budget also invests in cybersecurity infrastructure across the postsecondary system. 

• Continues to repair Kansas’ foster care system: Governor Kelly’s budget includes $9 million for the Department of Children and Families
  to supplement the loss of funds that will be incurred due to Executive Order 25-01, which ensures that foster youth eligible for social security benefits receive the federal funding they are entitled to.This budget also includes $2.6 million to establish Behavioral Health Intervention Teams statewide for Child Welfare Providers to increase placement stability for youth in care who experience frequent placement disruptions.  

• Bolsters health care services and hospitals: Governor Kelly’s budget includes $2 million in funding towards capacity building to ensure hospitals and other health care facilities are safe and compliant for consumers. This budget also includes $1.5 million in bridge funding for education, on the ground supports, and training for minimizing infectious diseases.Governor Kelly also recognizes the importance of mental and behavioral health. This budget includes funding for additional psychologists at Osawatomie State Hospital to provide direct patient services including individual and group psychotherapy. 

The governor’s proposal to expand Medicaid has been rejected by the Republican majority in the Legislature, and it’s unlikely to be addressed again this year.  Legislative leaders have said they want to focus on property tax relief and reform of the tax code.