Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam C. Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor
Division of the Budget
February 12, 2024
The Honorable Adam Thomas, Chairperson
House Committee on Education
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 218-N
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Thomas:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2539 by House Committee on Education
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2539 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2539 would amend the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act. Under current law, to be
eligible for the Kansas Promise Scholarship, a student is required to be a Kansas resident and have
been a resident of Kansas for three or more consecutive years when applying for the scholarship.
The bill would remove both requirements. The bill would also modify the definition of “part-time
student” by allowing a student who is enrolled in a five-credit hour certification program to be
eligible for the scholarship.
Estimated State Fiscal Effect
FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026
Expenditures
State General Fund $80,000 $82,000 $85,000
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- -- --
Total Expenditures -- -- --
Revenues
State General Fund -- -- --
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- -- --
Total Revenues -- -- --
FTE Positions 1.00 1.00 1.00
The Honorable Adam Thomas, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2539
The Board of Regents notes that the bill still retains the requirement that to be eligible for
the scholarship a student must have attended a Kansas public, private, or non-accredited private
school to qualify, which would allow students who have attended a Kansas secondary school for
less than three years to now qualify where they would not have before.
The Board states enactment of the bill would increase costs to both the scholarship awards
and in staff time to administer the program. The increase in scholarship awards would be based
on both the allowance of students who do not live in Kansas, but who have attended a Kansas high
school in the prior 12 months and the allowance of students in five-credit hour certification
programs. The Board indicates it cannot estimate the number of additional students who would
qualify.
With the addition of the five-credit hour certification program, the Board states some of
the programs that would now be eligible for the scholarship include certified nurse’s assistants and
certified medication aides. The Board estimates an additional $1.4 million could be awarded to
students in the additional programs, assuming a portion of the students are eligible for Pell grants.
Because the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act is limited to $10.0 million per year, the agency states
more eligible applicants could be denied an award, rather than increasing the overall cost. The
additional cost for the five-credit certification program provision is estimated based on 2023
enrollments in the newly eligible programs.
The Board estimates additional State General Fund expenditures of $80,000 in FY 2024,
$82,000 in FY 2025, and $85,000 in FY 2026 for an additional FTE position to implement the
bill’s provisions. Of the FY 2024 amount, $72,000 would be for salaries and wages and $8,000
would be other operating expenditures. The additional position would administer the changes for
the scholarship. According to the Board, the addition of the five-credit certification program
provision could double the volume of students being served and current staffing levels cannot
absorb the additional workload. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2539 is not reflected in The
FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
Sincerely,
Adam C. Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: Becky Pottebaum, Board of Regents