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What we’re watching: February 2023 legislative update in Kansas, Missouri

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Health Forward is supporting and building inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities by prioritizing people who experience the greatest injustices in health outcomes. We are working to remove those injustices through our leadership, advocacy, and resources

February saw an increase in the action of bills passing out of committees and chamber floors in both Kansas and Missouri. We encourage you to check out our video content to accompany this update which summarizes the main action that happened in each state in the past few weeks.

Kansas

People policy goal: People can easily access safe, quality, and affordable whole—person care.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
SB 6 – limiting the authority of public health officials to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. This bill takes away the authority of statewide and local public health officials to do their job: prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Passed the Senate 22 – 18 on February 23rd. We oppose this bill as currently written and will advocate against it should it be taken up on the House side.
SB 225 and HB 2415Expands KanCare Provide quality, affordable health insurance coverage to 150,000 Kansans. Introduced in Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare and House Appropriations. We support these bills as currently written.
SB 570% Food Sales Tax, Feminine Hygiene Products, and Diapers Makes healthy foods more accessible and affordable to all Kansans. It has only been introduced to the Assessment and Taxation Committee We support the legislation as currently written.
SB 45 and HB 2050Updating eligibility requirements for the state children’s health insurance program (SCHIP). Updates eligibility requirements that are outdated and which would result in more children being eligible for coverage under SCHIP. SB 45 received a hearing on February 13th and we submitted testimony in support. We support the legislation as currently written.
Other Bills We’re Tracking: HB 2330 on increasing support for local health departments. SB 246 and HB 2337 which would help broaden telemedicine access in Kansas in a number of ways. We support these bills.

 

Power policy goal: Participation in our democracy and policymaking process improves health outcomes.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
HB 2056Eliminates three—day grace period for advance mail—in ballots. SB 209 is a nearly identical bill. Kansas currently has a three—day grace period for ballots to arrive to be counted following election day. This would remove that grace period, which would mean many people’s valid votes would not count. It passed out of the House 77 – 45 on Feb. 23rd. The Senate bill passed out on the same day 23-17. SB 209 had a hearing on the House side on March 9 where we submitted written opposition testimony. We oppose both pieces of legislation and provided written and oral testimony against HB 2056 which extends to SB 209 as well.
SB 208Original bill was to add signage on ballot box returns and to close all boxes by 7pm on election day. The bill was amended on the floor of the Senate to ban ballot boxes entirely in Kansas. It passed out of the Senate, as amended, 21-19 on Feb. 23rd. SB 208 had a hearing on the House side on March 7th where we submitted written opposition testimony. We oppose this legislation, especially as amended. It would be a far-reaching infringement on the voting rights of all Kansans.
HB 2053 — Provides authority for the Secretary of State (SoS) to adopt rules and regulations for the use of remote ballot boxes. Provides sweeping authority to the SoS to adopt ‘rules and regulations’ for ballot drop boxes. There are no limitations on what these rules and regulations could be. It passed out of the House on Feb. 23rd 109-12, amended to include a required consultation with county elections officers. We opposed the unamended bill. The amendment to require consultation with county elections officers is a big improvement, but is still unclear how much authority is given to the SoS.
Other Bills We’re Tracking: HB 2057 which caps ballot drop boxes based on population. We opposed this legislation.

 

Place policy goal: Our communities are healthy place where people fully participate in the digital economy and build wealth through safe, quality, and affordable housing and homeownership.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
HB 2430 – requirements for the use of funds allocated to agencies to support unhoused people. This bill would criminalized public camping for people experiencing homelessness in Kansas. Moreover, it would strip state dollars from jurisdictions who are determined to be ‘out of compliance’ with the law. This bill was introduced on Feb. 20th and is scheduled for a hearing on March 2nd. We are opposed to this bill. It criminalizes being homeless and makes it more difficult for people experiencing homelessness to enter transitional or permanent housing. Missouri passed a similar law last year, which not only is proving confusing to enforce, but counterproductive to the goal of ending homelessness.

 

Platform policy goal: Community health is influenced by systems, policies, and stories that promote racial equity and economic inclusion.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
HB 2044 and SB 36Adds hair texture and protective hair styles to the Kansas Act against Discrimination These bills would make it unlawful to discriminate against someone based on their hairstyle typically associated with race, including braids, locs, and twists. It would ensure that people with afro—textured hair are not discriminated against based on their choice of hair style. HB 2044 had a hearing on Feb. 16th. Health Forward supports these bills as currently written. It ensures that people wearing natural or protective hair styles do not face discrimination, which disproportionately impacts Black women in the workplace. It aligns with our stance that racial equity should be pursued in all policies.
HB 2376makes restrictive covenants, including those by race, void and unenforceable. This bill nullifies restrictive covenants – which in the past were used for redlining and segregating neighborhoods by race – are now null and void. HB 2376 passed out of the House on Feb 23. The bill, as currently stands, receives our support. Health Forward supports any efforts that dismantle the legacy of codified and systemic racism in this county.

 

While these bills are some of the ones we’re most focused on, there are more included in our Kansas Bill Tracker.

Missouri

People policy goal: People can easily access safe, quality, and affordable whole—person care.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
SJR 4 — Puts on the ballot an initiative to subject Medicaid expansion to the annual appropriations process and to add work requirements. (An identical bill on the House side – HJR 63 – was introduced recently and we are monitoring that as well.)

 

This would put an initiative on a statewide ballot to put voter—approved Medicaid expansion to an annual appropriations process where it could be de—funded. It also adds work requirements. It passed out of the Senate Health and Welfare committee on Feb. 8th. It is not currently on the Senate Calendar. We are opposed to this legislation and provided opposition testimony. Furthermore, we stand against any work requirement provisions for access to safety net services as they are of racist origins.
SB 45/90modifies provisions to MOHealthNet services for pregnant and postpartum women. Please note that there are numerous bills on this issue. This is one that has received movement recently. Extends postpartum Medicaid coverage to new mothers and their babies from 60 days to one full year. It passed the Senate 27-4 on March 2nd and has been read into the House We support the original intent of the legislation, but problematic language about abortions – which is not germane to this legislation – was inserted. Other problematic provisions may lead to the federal government not approving the implementation of this language. We support a clean bill without the harmful provisions included.
SB 82modifies provisions for public assistance (TANF, SNAP, and low—income housing assistance) – The House filed a companion bill (HB 719). This bill addresses the “cliff effect” whereby benefits to programs like TANF, SNAP, and housing assistance are entirely cut off once a person’s income rises to a level that is not financially sustainable. This bill introduces ‘transitional benefits’ based on a sliding scale relative to income rather than a single cutoff threshold. It passed the Senate 30-3 on Feb. 23 and has been read into the House for consideration. We support this legislation and provided affirmative testimony. We will advocate for the passage of this bill in the House as well.
SB 313 – creates a restaurant meals program for SNAP beneficiaries. This legislation would let certain food assistance recipients, such as the elderly or disabled, use their benefits for prepared food, something that seven other states have done. It had a hearing on March 1st for which Health Forward provided testimony in support. We support this legislation and provided testimony in support. We also supported identical legislation that made it through the Senate but not the House in 2022.

 

Power policy goal: Participation in our democracy and policymaking process improves health outcomes.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
HJR 43 — Modifies the threshold for passage of citizen initiative petitions.*Please note there are numerous bills on this issue. This one has moved the furthest recently. This bill would increase the threshold for passing a citizen initiative petition from the current simple majority (50% + 1 vote) to a supermajority 60%. It passed out of the House of Representatives on Feb. 2nd, 108 — 50. It has been moved over to the Senate. We oppose this legislation and delivered oral testimony against it during the committee hearing on Jan. 24th.
SB 210 – To ‘cure’ absentee ballots if the statement has not been completed. Under current law, absentee ballots missing information are automatically thrown out. This bill would give elections officials the chance to ‘cure’ the ballot by reaching out to the voter to complete it before election day. It received a hearing on Feb. 27th. We support this legislation and provided oral testimony in support.
Other Bills We’re Tracking: HB 780 requiring initiative petition signature gatherers to be registered MO voters (HFF opposes).

 

Place policy goal: Our communities are healthy place where people fully participate in the digital economy and build wealth through safe, quality, and affordable housing and homeownership.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
Broadband — HB 461 — Establishing Broadband Development Council to collect data, report on, and provide recommendations to the Legislature. See brief description in the Legislation column. HB 461 was passed out of committee on Feb 27th. It has been read into the House calendar and is ready for consideration. We are observing this bill and may provide testimony at the appropriate time depending on if these or other bills advance or hinder digital equity.
Housing – SB 222 – Which bans localities (cities, counties, etc.) from having moratoria on evictions. (SB 239 is a similar bill) See brief description in the Legislation column. SB 222 passed out of committee on Feb. 23rd.It has been placed on the Senate calendar for perfection. We are opposed to this legislation.
Other Bills We’re Tracking: SB 71 — Authorizing electrical corporations to provide broadband.

 

Platform policy goal: Community health is influenced by systems, policies, and stories that promote racial equity and economic inclusion.

Legislation What it does Status Our stance
SB 410 and HB 489Establishes the “Do No Harm” act regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in institutions receiving state health care dollars. This bill would prohibit institutions educating medical professionals and whom receive state funding from including any curriculum on diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI) or risks losing that funding. While SB 410 remains introduced-only, HB 489 had a hearing on March 6. Health Forward is opposed to these bills as currently written. We provided opposition testimony to HB 489 during its hearing, along with dozens of other advocates, medical professionals, and citizens
SB 579 and SB 595Modfying the Pregnancy—Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) Board These bills would put emphasis on the PAMR board and includes provisions to ensure that data are disaggregated by race, ethnicity, language, and other dimensions. These bills were  introduced on Feb. 1st and 6th, respectively. Health Forward supports this bill as currently written. This bill would provide the data necessary to help make decisions to reduce racial disparities in maternal mortality.
Other Bills We’re Tracking: CROWN Act bills (HBs 326, 361, and 930): These bills would add protective hairstyles and hair texture to anti-discrimination claims (HFF supports).

 

These bills highlighted are ones we are keeping a focus on, but to see a full list of the bills we’re tracking in Missouri.