Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2185

Introduced
1/31/25  
Refer
1/31/25  
Report Pass
2/13/25  
Engrossed
2/18/25  
Refer
2/20/25  
Report Pass
3/12/25  
Enrolled
3/24/25  

Caption

Updating the Kansas national guard educational assistance act to include dependents of national guard members and the Kansas national guard educational master's for enhanced readiness and global excellence (EMERGE) program to include other advanced degrees.

Summary

HB2185 updates two Kansas National Guard education benefit programs. First, it amends the Kansas National Guard Educational Assistance Act to allow an eligible Guard member to transfer unused tuition assistance benefits to one eligible dependent, while also clarifying eligibility rules, school definitions, semester credit-hour limits, and repayment requirements if the service commitment is not completed. The bill continues to require members and dependents to meet academic standards, submit federal aid applications, and remain in good standing, and it preserves the state’s authority to recoup benefits if the service obligation is not fulfilled, with waiver authority for hardship cases. Second, the bill expands the Kansas National Guard EMERGE program beyond master’s degrees to include professional degrees and doctorates. It renames the program in a way that reflects this broader scope, defines advanced degree, master’s degree, professional degree, and doctorate, and sets different service commitments and academic standards depending on the degree level. The bill also maintains annual selection limits, tuition and fee coverage caps, and repayment provisions tied to unserved months of the required post-graduation service commitment.

Impact

The bill amends K.S.A. 74-32,145 through 74-32,149 and K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-32,305 through 74-32,309, repealing the existing versions and replacing them with updated eligibility, benefit, and repayment rules. It expands who may benefit from National Guard education aid by allowing unused assistance to be transferred to a dependent, and it broadens the EMERGE program to cover doctoral and professional degree programs in addition to master’s programs. The changes affect the state board of regents, the adjutant general, Kansas National Guard members, and eligible dependents, while preserving appropriations-based funding limits and service-obligation enforcement.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support. It passed the House 112-6 and the Senate 39-1, indicating strong agreement that the National Guard education programs should be modernized and expanded. The vote totals suggest the measure was generally viewed favorably as a benefit enhancement for Guard members and their families, with only limited opposition.

Contention

The main policy questions raised by the bill are the scope and cost of the expanded benefits, especially the ability to transfer unused tuition assistance to dependents and the extension of EMERGE to higher-cost professional and doctoral programs. Another point of potential concern is the service-obligation structure and repayment provisions, which require members to remain in good standing and can trigger recoupment if commitments are not met. Any opposition likely centered on fiscal exposure, program administration, or whether the expanded eligibility rules should be limited more narrowly, but the recorded votes show these concerns were not widespread.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2002

Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the cutting healthcare costs for all Kansans act.

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS SCR1602

Approving the creation of a port authority in Wyandotte County Kansas.

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS SR1702

A resolution honoring the life, career and trailblazing achievements of Kansas icon Ed Dwight.

KS SCR1603

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for residential property.

KS SCR1604

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for real property and personal property mobile homes.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

KS SB8

Exempting the sale of firearms, firearms accessories, ammunition, firearm safes and firearm safety devices from the retatilers' sales tax.

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