Kansas House Bill HB2090

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/23/25

Caption

Establishing the Kansas employee emergency savings account (KEESA) program to allow eligible employers to establish employee savings accounts, providing an income and privilege tax credit for certain eligible employer deposits to such employee savings accounts and providing a subtraction modification for certain employee deposits to such savings accounts.

Summary

HB 2090 would create the Kansas employee emergency savings account program (KEESA) for taxable years 2025 through 2027. Under the program, eligible employers with 250 or fewer employees could apply to participate through the secretary of commerce and then help employees open federally insured savings accounts that are funded through payroll deductions and optional employer deposits. Participating employers would be required to make an initial deposit of at least $50 for each participating employee, allow employees to opt in or withdraw their authorization, provide online/mobile access, offer a mobile app with financial literacy tools, and report annual participation and deposit data to the state. The bill also creates tax incentives to encourage employer participation and employee saving. Eligible employers could claim an income or privilege tax credit equal to 50% of initial employer deposits and 25% of additional employer matching or other employer deposits, subject to per-account and per-employee caps. Employees could subtract up to $1,500 per year, or $3,000 for joint filers, for payroll deductions deposited into these accounts. The bill amends Kansas adjusted gross income law to add this new subtraction modification and makes the new program and tax provisions part of the Kansas income tax act.

Impact

HB 2090 would amend K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-32,117 to add a new subtraction modification for employee payroll deductions deposited into KEESA accounts and would create a new employer tax credit tied to employer deposits into those accounts. It would also establish a new state-administered program under the secretary of commerce, impose reporting and administrative requirements on participating employers, and authorize rulemaking to implement the program. The practical effect is to reduce state tax liability for qualifying employers and employees while encouraging the creation of emergency savings accounts for workers at small and mid-sized businesses.

Sentiment

Based on the bill’s stated purposes, the measure is framed positively as a workforce and financial-security initiative: it is intended to help employers recruit and retain workers, help employees build emergency savings, reduce reliance on high-cost borrowing, and promote financial literacy. The available context does not include committee testimony or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of opposition or support from hearings. The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is favorable toward voluntary savings incentives and employer participation.

Contention

The main policy questions likely to arise from HB 2090 are the cost and design of the tax incentives, the administrative burden on employers, and whether the state should subsidize employer-sponsored savings accounts through tax credits. Potential concerns could include the limits of the credit, the requirement that employers make an initial deposit, and the reporting obligations placed on participating employers. Because there are no transcripts or votes provided, no specific legislator, agency, or stakeholder objections are documented in the available record.