SESSION OF 2023
SECOND CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT BRIEF
HOUSE BILL NO. 2094
As Agreed to April 6, 2023
Brief*
HB 2094 would continue the existing statutory requirement that parents cooperate with
child support services administered by the Department for Children and Families (DCF) as a
condition of receiving a child care subsidy and maintain the periods of ineligibility for a child care
subsidy for non-cooperation. The bill would require the Secretary for Children and Families
(Secretary), or the Secretary’s designee, to review a parent’s child support compliance at certain
specified times. The bill would also amend law pertaining to eligibility requirements for the food
assistance program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) to require work
registrants ages 50 through 59 without dependents who are not exempt under federal law to
participate in an employment and training program.
The bill would also make technical amendments to remove duplicative language defining
“non-cooperation” and to replace references to “child care benefits” with “child care subsidy” in
continuing law that governs the assignment of support rights to the Secretary by applicants and
recipients of a child care subsidy when cooperating with child support services.
Non-cooperation with Child Support Services; Child Care Subsidy Disqualification
Timing of Child Support Compliance Reviews
The bill would require the Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, to review the child
support compliance of parents applying for or receiving a child care subsidy, upon application
for a child care subsidy, after 12 months of continuous eligibility for the subsidy and following
such 12 months of continuous eligibility when the Secretary renews or redetermines a parent’s
eligibility for the subsidy.
Periods of Ineligibility
The periods of ineligibility for a child care subsidy for a parent’s failure to comply with child
support services would be the same as in current law, with an additional condition that non-
compliance reviews would occur at the specific times outlined in the bill.
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*Conference committee report briefs are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express
legislative intent. No summary is prepared when the report is an agreement to disagree. Conference committee
report briefs may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.kslegislature.org/klrd
1 - 2094 The periods of ineligibility for a child care subsidy for non-compliance with child support
services in continuing law are:
●First penalty, three months and cooperation with child support services prior to
regaining eligibility;
●Second penalty, six months and cooperation with child support services prior to
regaining eligibility;
●Third penalty, one year and cooperation with child support services prior to regaining
eligibility; and
●Fourth penalty, ten years.
Employment and Training Requirements for Food Assistance
The bill would amend law pertaining to eligibility requirements for the food assistance
program. The bill would require DCF to assign work registrants ages 50 through 59 without
dependents who are not exempt under 7 USC § 2015(d)(2) to an employment and training
program as a condition of participation in SNAP. Under current law, only able-bodied adults
ages 18 through 49 without dependents and individuals who are not employed at least 30 hours
per week are required to participate in an employment and training program to receive SNAP
benefits.
[Note: 7 USC § 2015(d)(2) is a federal law that exempts the following work registrants
between the ages of 16 and 59 from a work requirement:
●An individual currently subject to and complying with a work registration requirement
under another federal program or the federal-state unemployment compensation
system;
●A parent or other member of a household with responsibility for the care of a
dependent child under six years of age or of an incapacitated person;
●A bona fide student enrolled at least half-time in any recognized school, training
program, or institution of higher education (except that any such person enrolled in an
institution of higher education must meet additional requirements);
●A regular participant in a drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
program;
●An individual employed a minimum of 30 hours per week or receiving weekly
earnings that equal the federal minimum hourly rate, multiplied by 30 hours; or
A person between the ages of 16 and 18 who is not a head of a household or who is
attending school, or enrolled in an employment training program, on at least a half-
time basis.]
2 - 2094 Second Conference Committee Action
The second Conference Committee agreed to remove the contents of HB 2094 and to
insert the provisions of HB 2179, as amended by the House Committee of the Whole, and HB
2140, as amended by the House Committee on Welfare Reform.
Background
HB 2094 contains only the provisions of HB 2179, as amended by the House Committee of
the Whole, and HB 2140, as amended by the House Committee on Welfare Reform.The content
of the companion bill for HB 2094 (SB 26, pertaining to requirements for health maintenance
organizations and medicare provider organizations applying for certificates of authority to
demonstrate fiscal soundness) was placed in the Conference Committee Report on SB 119.
HB 2179 (Non-cooperation with Child Support Services; Child Care Subsidy
Disqualification)
HB 2179 was introduced by the House Committee on Appropriations at the request of
Representative Ballard.
House Committee on Welfare Reform
In the House Committee hearing on March 14, 2023, the Deputy Secretary for Children
and Families provided proponent testimony, stating the bill would address a conflict between
state and federal law. The Deputy Secretary noted, under current state law, families are
disqualified from receiving child care assistance benefits for progressive periods of time if they
fail to cooperate with child support services. She noted, under federal law, DCF must provide 12
full months of continuous eligibility following the determination and issuance of child care
assistance benefits. The Deputy Secretary stated the disruption of benefits if an individual is
found non-cooperative with child support services is in violation of the federal requirement. The
Deputy Secretary noted DCF requested introduction of this bill in response to a letter of
Preliminary Notice of Possible Non-compliance from the federal Administration for Children and
Families (ACF) and to avoid a penalty resulting in the loss of federal funds.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by representatives of Child Care Aware of
Kansas, Kansas Action for Children, Kansas Children’s Service League, The Family
Conservancy, and United Community Services of Johnson County.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative of Opportunity Solutions Project,
stating mandatory child support enforcement as a condition for receiving benefits is good policy.
The representative noted the letter sent to DCF by the federal ACF in March 2022 contained
several options for compliance with federal regulations, including the option of assessing the
penalty for non-compliance after the full 12 months of eligibility. The representative noted that
option would allow for a continuity of benefits, while complying with state regulations.
The House Committee amended the bill on March 16, 2023, to maintain the periods of
ineligibility for a child care subsidy based on a parent’s non-cooperation with child support
3 - 2094 services in current law, with the exception that reviews to determine child support compliance
would be limited to specific times. [Note: The Conference Committee retained this amendment.]
[Note: At the time the House Committee took action on the bill, the Deputy Secretary
indicated this amendment would address the agency’s concerns regarding compliance with
federal law.]
The House Committee also returned to the language in current statute stating that child
care subsidy applicants and recipients are deemed to have assigned rights to child support
payments to the Secretary when cooperating with child support services, replacing references to
“child care benefits” with “child care subsidy” in that statute for the consistent use of terms.
[Note: The Conference Committee retained this amendment.]
House Committee of the Whole
The House Committee of the Whole made a technical amendment, on March 28, 2023, to
the title of the bill to ensure the title accurately reflects the bill content. [Note: The Conference
Committee retained this amendment.]
HB 2140 (Employment and Training Requirements for Food Assistance)
HB 2140 was introduced by the House Committee on Welfare Reform at the request of
Representative Humphries.
House Committee on Welfare Reform
In the House Committee hearing on February 7, 2023, a representative of Opportunity
Solutions Project testified as a proponent of the bill, stating the bill would move individuals from
poverty to self-sufficiency through work requirements or work-related training and participation,
help address the state’s labor shortage, and help build on the success of DCF’s SNAP
Employment and Training Services Program.
Opponent testimony was provided by representatives of AARP Kansas, Kansas Action for
Children, and Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, who generally stated the bill would
destabilize children’s care networks, punish Kansans who already face age discrimination in the
workforce by making it more difficult for them to afford food, and add administrative cost and
complexity for state agency staff and older Kansans.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a representative of Harvesters – The
Community Food Network, the Kansas Food Bank, and Second Harvest Community Food
Bank; and representatives of the American Heart Association; Community Health Council of
Wyandotte County; DCF; Flint Hills Breadbasket; Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging
and Disabilities; Kansas National Education Association; University of Kansas Institute for Policy
and Social Research; and Wyandotte County Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Program.
No other testimony was provided.
4 - 2094 The House Committee amended the bill on February 16, 2023, to replace references to
able-bodied adults ages 18 through 59 without dependents with ages 18 through 49, which is
current law, and add language to specify work registrants ages 50 through 59 without
dependents not exempt under federal law would be required to participate in an employment
and training program to receive SNAP benefits. [Note: The Conference Committee retained this
amendment.]
On February 22, 2023, the bill, as amended by the House Committee on Welfare Reform,
was withdrawn from the House Calendar and referred to the House Committee on
Appropriations. On March 1, 2023, the bill was withdrawn from the House Committee on
Appropriations and rereferred to the House Committee on Welfare Reform. On March 9, 2023,
the House Committee on Welfare Reform had further discussion on the bill and recommended
the bill be passed with the amendments previously recommended.
Fiscal Information
HB 2179 (Non-cooperation with Child Support Services; Child Care Subsidy
Disqualification)
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget on HB 2179, as
introduced, DCF indicates elimination of child support cooperation would have an effect on the
child care assistance caseload. Families who have previously been denied benefits due to non-
cooperation would now be eligible to receive this assistance. On average, DCF has closed or
denied 13 cases (22 children) per month for not cooperating with child support services. The
effect of these closures becomes cumulative each month as benefits are approved for a 12-
month period.
DCF indicates the fiscal effect of these changes on the projected child care caseload
would be total additional child care benefits for FY 2024 of $865,488 and $2,576,902 for FY
2025. DCF notes the requirement to cooperate with child support may have kept some eligible
families from accessing child care subsidy benefits. It is unknown how many families may not
have applied because of this cooperation requirement, so these families are not included in
these estimates.
DCF notes the bill would change the eligibility requirements and would require changes to
the Economic and Employment Services eligibility system. DCF estimates the one-time cost of
changes to the eligibility system would be $500,000. The bill is not expected to have a
significant effect on costs related to child support services. Federal funds from the Child Care
Development Fund are available to fully cover the additional expenses based on the current
federal award amounts. Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is not reflected in
The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
5 - 2094 HB 2140 (Employment and Training Requirements for Food Assistance)
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget on HB 2140, as
introduced, DCF indicates states cannot impose additional limitations on federal SNAP benefits.
Failure to comply with federal regulations and definitions could result in federal funds being at
risk of being withheld. This could include federal funds to administer the SNAP program and
benefits passed to families.
In FY 2022, Kansas received over $30.0 million in federal funding to administer the SNAP
program. Additionally, annual SNAP benefits in excess of $500.0 million are provided to
approximately 95,000 Kansas families. Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected in
The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Public assistance; child care assistance; non-cooperation with child support; disqualifications; child care subsidy; food assistance;
supplemental nutrition assistance program; work registrants; employment and training program
ccrb_hb2094_02_4052023pm.odt
6 - 2094