SESSION OF 2025
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2172
As Amended by House Committee of the Whole
Brief*
HB 2172, as amended, would create the Water Program
Task Force (Task Force) that would consist of 23 voting
members and 10 non-voting ex officio members.
Voting Members (23)
The voting members would include:
●The chairpersons of the House Committee on
Water, House Committee on Agriculture and
Natural Resources, House Committee on
Appropriations, Senate Committee on Agriculture
and Natural Resources, and Senate Committee on
Ways and Means (5);
●The ranking minority members of the House
Committee on Water and Senate Committee on
Agriculture and Natural Resources (2);
●One Kansas resident appointed by each of the
following (6):
○Speaker of the House;
○Speaker Pro Tem;
○House Minority Leader;
○President of the Senate;
○Vice President of the Senate; and
○Senate Minority Leader;
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
https://klrd.gov/ ●One member of a Kansas agricultural commodity
organization appointed by the Secretary of
Agriculture (1);
●One member appointed by each of the following
organizations (7):
○Kansas Farm Bureau;
○Kansas Groundwater Management Districts
Association;
○Kansas Livestock Association;
○Kansas Municipal Utilities;
○Kansas Association of Counties;
○Kansas Rural Water District Association; and
○Kansas Association of Conservation Districts;
and
●Two members appointed by the Kansas Chamber
of Commerce (2):
○One appointment would represent a business
that is reliant on groundwater; and
○One appointment would represent business
that is reliant on surface water.
Non-voting Ex Officio Members (10)
The non-voting ex officio members would include:
●Secretary of Agriculture, or the Secretary’s
designee;
●Director of the Division of Environment, Kansas
Department of Health and Environment, or the
Director’s designee;
●Director of the Kansas Water Office, or the
Director’s designee;
2- 2172 ●Secretary of Revenue, or the Secretary’s designee;
●Director of the Kansas Geological Survey, or the
Director’s designee;
●Chairperson of the Kansas Corporation
Commission, or the Chairperson’s designee;
●Director of the Kansas Water Institute, or the
Director’s designee;
●Secretary of Wildlife and Parks, or the Secretary’s
designee;
●Director of the Kansas Biological Survey, or the
Director’s designee; and
●Chief Engineer, Division of Water Resources,
Kansas Department of Agriculture, or the Chief
Engineer’s designee.
Task Force Requirements
Stakeholder Representation
The bill would require each non-legislative member of
the Task Force to represent at least one of the following
stakeholders:
●Kansas employer with a vested water right;
●Commercial user of a municipal or industrial water
right;
●Agricultural producer;
●Economic development organization;
●Water utility;
3- 2172 ●Resident Kansas Indian tribe, Potawatomi,
Kickapoo, Iowa, or Sac and Fox;
●Rural water district;
●Local conservation district;
●Organization that focuses on environmental or
wildlife protection or conservation;
●Local water management entity, including, but not
limited to, a groundwater management district,
water assurance district, or ditch district;
●Kansas agricultural banking or appraisal industry;
●Student at a state educational institution engaged
in a course of study related to water;
●Kansas municipality;
●Provider of natural resources education;
●Kansas agricultural commodity associations;
●Kansas Water Authority or regional advisory
committee;
●Kansas livestock industry; or
●Kansas grain and feed industry.
Membership Requirements
The bill would require each Task Force member to be a
Kansas resident, the Task Force to consist of at least one
member from each of the five conservation regions of the
state, and no more than two members of the Task Force
could represent the same stakeholder listed above.
4- 2172 The bill would require the Speaker of the House and
President of the Senate to ensure these requirements are
met.
Appointments; Vacancies
The bill would require members of the Task Force to be
appointed by April 30, 2025. Any vacancy in membership of
the Task Force would be filled in the same manner as
provided for in the original appointment.
Co-chairpersons
The bill would require the Speaker of the House to
select one member of the House of Representatives who is a
member of the Task Force, and require the President of the
Senate to select one member of the Senate who is a member
of the Task Force. Each selected person would serve as co-
chairperson of the Task Force.
Task Force Meetings; Actions
The bill would authorize the Task Force to meet at any
time and any place within the state upon call of either co
-chairperson.
The bill would define a quorum of the Task Force to be
the majority of voting members, and all actions of the Task
Force could be taken by a majority of members present when
there is a quorum.
Payment
The bill would authorize Task Force members to be paid
amounts for expenses, mileage, and subsistence as provided
in state law, if approved by the Legislative Coordinating
Council.
5- 2172 Staffing
The bill would require the Division of Legislative
Administrative Services, Kansas Legislative Research
Department, and the Office of Revisor of Statutes to provide
assistance as requested by the Task Force.
Task Force Charge
The bill would require the Task Force to:
●Evaluate major risks to the quality and quantity of
the state’s water supply, including any impact on
current and future economic growth and population
stability;
●Determine steps the state must take to define and
achieve an ongoing, multi-generational promise of
water for Kansans; and
●Evaluate current funding for water in the state and
determine whether such funding is sufficient to
address the water issues included in the State
Water Plan, including the state’s current and future
water infrastructure needs.
Report to the Legislature
The bill would require the Task Force to prepare and
submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on or
before January 31, 2026. The report would be required to
include:
●The water program’s long-term structure to address
the state’s current and future water needs,
including, but not limited to:
○The roles and responsibilities of the state,
municipalities, and regional entities;
6- 2172 ○How the program’s investments and
successes should be evaluated, including
gathering any stakeholder input; and
○Criteria to determine program investments,
including geographic diversity of such
investments; and
●Funding for the water program, including, but not
limited to:
○New dedicated moneys or investments for the
State Water Plan Fund;
○Changes to any existing fees or moneys
dedicated to the State Water Plan Fund; and
○Any additional funding sources or tools
necessary to ensure that the financial
resources are adequate to address the state’s
water issues.
The bill would sunset this section of the bill on July 1,
2027.
Effective Date
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Agriculture at the request of Representative Rahjes.
House Committee on Agriculture
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by former legislator Carolyn McGinn, on behalf
of herself and former legislator Rich Proehl; a former
Secretary of Transportation; and representatives of the
7- 2172 Kansas Livestock Association; Kansas Municipal Utilities;
Kansas Rural Water Association; League of Kansas
Municipalities; and The Water Assurance Districts of Kansas.
The proponents generally discussed the importance of water
policy, stakeholder input, and funding for water projects
moving forward.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of Kansans for Conservation; Kansas
Agribusiness Retailers Association and Kansas Grain and
Farm Association; Kansas Association of Counties; Kansas
Chamber; Kansas Cooperative Council; Kansas Farm
Bureau; Kansas Society of Professional Engineers; and
WaterOne.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
●Decrease the voting members from 29 to 23;
●Replacing the Kansans for Conservation with the
Kansas Association of Conservation Districts;
●Replacing “state conservation district” with “local
conservation district”; and
●Clarify that the Task Force shall consist of at least
one member from each of the five conservation
regions of the state.
House Committee of the Whole
The House Committee of the Whole adopted a technical
amendment to address a spelling error in the bill.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, Legislative
Administrative Services indicates HB 2172, if enacted, would
8- 2172 increase expenditures by $15,111 for one meeting in FY 2025
and $90,667 for six meetings in FY 2026,including $60,484
for Legislator pay, $25,872 for non-Legislator pay, $4,221 for
committee assistant pay, and $90 for publication in the
Kansas Register. Additionally, for FY 2027, Legislative
Administrative Services indicates an increase of $93,387 in
expenditures, or 3.0 percent above FY 2026, with the
provisions of the bill sunsetting afterward. Legislative
Administrative Services notes that the nonvoting ex officio
members would be paid by their respective state agencies.
The Kansas Geological Survey indicates that enactment
of the bill would not have an immediate effect on the State
General Fund, state revenues, and local revenues; however,
the work of the Task Force could significantly affect future
appropriations for how water would be allocated.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment
indicates there could be a fiscal effect associated with
meetings at an estimated cost of $1,000 per meeting held
outside of Topeka. For meetings in or around Topeka, there
would be no cost. However, a precise fiscal effect cannot be
estimated.
The Kansas Department of Revenue and the Kansas
Corporation Commission indicate that enactment of the bill
would have a minimal fiscal effect on operations, with
expenditures anticipated for mileage and subsistence for
meetings which could be absorbed within existing resources
by the agencies.
The Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of
Agriculture, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and
Kansas Board of Regents indicate enactment of the bill would
have no fiscal effect on operations. Any fiscal effect
associated with the bill is not reflected in The FY 2026
Governor’s Budget Report.
9- 2172 The League of Kansas Municipalities and Kansas
Association of Counties indicate enactment of the bill would
have no fiscal effect on operations.
Water Program Task Force; water; funding
10- 2172