What we’re watching: May 2025 local and federal policy update

At Health Forward Foundation, we’re committed to providing timely updates on key local and federal policy developments that impact the health and well-being of our communities. This resource is designed to help our advocacy partners in and around Kansas City stay connected to the issues, opportunities, and decisions shaping our region — so we can continue working together toward a more just and equitable health outcomes.

Since our last update for April, there has been a lot of local and federal legislative activity impacting our service area and the outcomes we are seeking through our purpose plan and policy agenda.  Starting locally –

Many of the localities in our six county service area are in the midst of the municipal budgeting process. These budgets will provide funding for many of the programs that residents rely on for a good quality of life. Typically, there are community input opportunities and testimony opportunities for residents to give context to the need for funding support for housing, the health department, social services and the like. For example, in Wyandotte County, there will be public hearings on the budget through August. We hope that you will utilize our policy toolkit, available on our website, to support your advocacy.

In our Kansas service area

Wyandotte County 

• The Land Bank – the Neighborhood and Community Development Standing committee – continues to meet to discuss and refine Land Bank policy. For anyone interested in affordable housing, there is a tremendous opportunity through Land Banks to rehab homes at a lower cost that new construction and provide cities and counties with tax revenue by getting these homes into private ownership and off the municipality’s books. Conversations are ongoing related to how the $5M origination fee and $1.3M annual payment on the American Royal STAR Bond will be applied. Reach out to your county commissioners with your thoughts on what services these dollars could be used to support.

Allen County

• Mayoral elections are underway toward the November election. And at the end of April, Allen County Commissioners approved a 3% increase in funding for the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department to cover costs of inflation and rising operational costs.

Johnson County

• There was a great deal of debate and community public comment provided on Resolution No. 052-25 which would renew the public safety sales tax, first approved in 2016 for a 10 year period and is set to expire in 2027.  The county commission approved the issue of a sales tax and the issue will now go on the November 4, 2025 ballot. Proposed funds, amounting to 35M annually, would go toward emergency medical, ambulances, mental health interventions, emergency preparedness, district courts, the district attorneys office, the sheriffs office and the department of corrections. Much of the public comment centered on whether statute allows for sales tax dollars to go toward these purposes and encouraging the commission to employ a similar commitment to housing and homelessness, which contributes to crime and public safety issues.

In our Missouri service area

KCMO/Jackson County 

• The city is taking a hard look at how it handles its 17,000 vacant properties. On May 13, the Finance Committee launched a new vacant land activation initiative called the Kansas City Vacant Land Activation Initiative to develop coordinated, comprehensive strategies for transforming vacant land of all ownership types into community assets through administrative and legislative approaches, which was passed by the full council later that week. For reference, the initiative was passed as Resolution 250396. That same week, the City Council passed Resolution 250401, directing the City Manager to establish a domestic violence prevention and intervention task force and to develop and implement a public awareness campaign regarding resources for those impacted by domestic violence. And the prior week, the full council adopted an ordinance authorizing contracts with area health centers to provide health care services to uninsured residents of the city. This is great news particularly as cuts to Medicaid are being debated on the Federal level.
• In Jackson County, Missouri, efforts are underway to hire a new Executive Director for Combat. Combat is a key funding source for organizations providing mental health and other services. Funding is currently frozen and filling the ED position will set the county in the direction of allocating these much needed dollars into community.

Lafayette County 

• The City of Odessa Board of Alderman recently approved a contract for fiber internet services for city residents, bringing greater internet access to the rural area.

Platte County

• A lawsuit filed challenging the county commission’s decision to not move forward with establishing a Children’s Services Fund, despite having been voted into law by a majority of voters, failed in the lower court. An appeal of that court’s ruling is now underway.

Cass County

• Local elections were held in April in Raymore, Belton and Peculiar.  Raymore’s public safety one quarter of a cent sales tax question passed with 63.97 percent approval. Unlike Johnson County’s sales tax, where revenue will in part go toward mental health, revenue will be used exclusively to hire, pay, train and equip police officers.

On the Federal level

The House of Representatives recently passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or dubiously dubbed the SAVE ACT, which if adopted by the full Congress would significantly inhibit voting rights and access across the nation. The SAVE ACT must next be voted on by the US Senate to become law. This is harmful legislation that would negatively impact our democracy by requiring documentary proof of citizenship – like a birth certificate or passport – to vote. Many eligible US citizens do not have ready access to these costly documents that are only available at state offices inaccessible across our states. We hope the Senate votes it down.

Also on the federal level, legislation being called the Big Beautiful Bill is working its way through Congress. It is everything but beautiful in that it would tax nonprofits, cut federal funding and enact work requirements for the Medicaid program, shift responsibility for funding SNAP to the states, among many other things. The House passed its version of the bill on May 22nd and the next step is Senate reconciliation. Cuts to Medicaid would impact both states that have and have not expanded Medicaid – including Kansas and Missouri – and would result in job losses and the loss of many health care services for our seniors, children, folks that are differently able. Nursing home and extended care facilities would be negatively impacted, and many seniors could lose the places they call home. Cuts to SNAP would reduce access to food for many families. The states economies would be impacted due to job losses, rural hospital closures, and strains on emergency rooms were care is costly and born by the states. And other state services would be cut, as federal funding allows states to use their dollars for other necessary services in education, public safety, and the like. This is an urgent matter that requires you to speak out loudly to ensure your federal representatives know the harms this bill will inflict on voters.

Funding for digital equity under the Digital Equity Act has been cancelled, leaving organizations that had been anticipating that funding in a lurch. Health Forward is proud to have deployed $515,000 in digital equity support this Spring, hoping to support local organizations in providing access to the equipment and skills to participate in the digital economy.

And the Eighth Circuit federal appellate court, with jurisdiction over Missouri, blocked an alternative path for private plaintiffs to sue to enforce racial discrimination protections under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In a May 14 decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis ruled that private plaintiffs can’t sue under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act to contest redistricting that allegedly diluted Native American voting strength in a 2-1 decision. The ruling is considered a doubling down on a 2023 ruling that held that only the U.S. Department of Justice is authorized to file lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act.

As always, we remain here to inform and serve you and our communities as we continue to work each day to support and build inclusive, powerful and healthy communities that prioritize people that face the greatest injustices in health outcomes. Never hesitate to reach out to our team with your policy concerns.