January 17, 2024
Week of Jan. 15: K-State Legislative Update
Submitted by Government Relations
This Monday, Jan. 15, marked the return of legislators to Topeka to kick off the 2024 Kansas legislative session.
The Government Relations team had a busy week engaging with legislators to discuss K-State's priorities for this year. The significant development of the week was the unveiling of Gov. Laura Kelly's budget recommendations. Notably, the governor has included three of our key K-State priorities in the recommendations — the Biosecurity Research Institute debt payoff, the Agriculture Innovation Initiative and the Kansas Water Institute — with a combined allocation of $32.2 million. Additionally, several other higher education items of systemwide impact were unveiled, further influencing K-State.
This development is the first step of the process, as the budget now awaits approval from the legislature before the governor's final endorsement at the session's conclusion. K-State's primary objective is to successfully navigate these priorities in the legislative process, maintaining their inclusion in the budget along with other items that were approved by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Throughout the session, the Government Relations team will host in-person biweekly legislative updates. The first meeting is scheduled for noon on Jan. 19 in Room 181 of Hale Library. Please join the team at this first legislative update, and feel free to bring a lunch if you wish.