Legislative Agenda 2025

2025 Priorities

Local funding needs include: frequent bus service between World Cup sites in KCK to other regional locations. Safety enhancements such as sidewalk installation adjacent to Sporting KC stadium. Overtime for police and fire services. Funding for the Visit KCK visitors bureau to maximize tourism opportunities and wayfinding in multiple languages. Renovations to KCK Memorial Hall and Azura Amphitheatres to host events during the World Cup.

The Unified Government supports expansion of the Kansas Medicaid program which will improve access to care for those most vulnerable in Wyandotte County. It is estimated that expansion would provide insurance for thousands of uninsured Wyandotte County residents who would become eligible for KanCare. It would bring tens of millions of dollars in compensated healthcare spending to Wyandotte County and create hundreds of new healthcare jobs.

Cities should be authorized to approve revenue sources which best suit the individual community in order to maintain appropriate levels of funding for the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens. This includes a land-value tax, local earnings/income taxes, special highway funds, property tax, e-commerce delivery fees, and other local taxes and fees. Sales tax exemptions should only be applicable to the state portion of sales taxes.

The Unified Government is strongly supportive of state funding for a infrastructure needs. There is urgent need for funds to repair or replace bridges such as the Central Avenue Bridge.

Strengthening and enhancing the child care subsidy program so that more families can access child care and more providers will participate in the program.

The Unified Government supports paying prevailing wage on public works projects and economic development projects where tax incentives are given, and strongly urges the repeal of the law banning the use of prevailing wage on these projects.

The Unified Government supports full state funding for mental health services, including additional bed space for patients. This will reduce the number of people with behavioral or substance abuse issues who are inappropriately incarcerated in county jails or who end up unhoused. Kansas also needs to expand the education and training pipeline for mental health providers.

The Unified Government supports the creation and expansion of programs that encourage access to housing that is affordable such as the Housing Investor Tax Credit Act, the Kansas Affordable Housing Tax Credit Act, the Historic Kansas Act, and the Kansas Housing Incentive District Act. Provide funding for permanent supportive housing, supportive housing for youth that age out of foster care, and emergency shelter; and for services that connect the unhoused to available housing.

STAR Bonds have proven to be one of the most effective economic development and job creation tools in the State of Kansas. The Unified Government encourages the Kansas Legislature to continue a workable STAR Bond policy with maximum flexibility and without unnecessary restrictions.

The Unified Government supports the funding formulas for public education, which provides vital funding and an even playing field for children in Wyandotte County. Fully funding special education would reduce the burden on local taxpayers and provide increased services to students most in-need. Restore a higher state funding share for capital projects to help modernize school facilities.

The Unified Government supports de-criminalizing marijuana, removing the felony charge for a third possession, and lifting the ban on sale. Marijuana sales should be subject to existing state and local sales tax and cities should be able to levy their own excise fees and receive a portion of any state funds. Cities should have the ability to opt-in to allowing dispensaries in their city, and the cultivation and processing of marijuana and THC should be limited to licensed facilities.

The Unified Government supports increasing state funding for substance abuse in-patient and out-patient treatment.

1) Provide State financial support to youth who age out of the foster care system at age 18. Additional financial support improves the likelihood of successful transition from foster care to being a productive resident and reduces risk of people who age of foster care ending up in the criminal justice system.

2) Expand Child-in-Need-of-Care Support Services to provide cognitive behavioral counseling and enhanced support for youth to prevent future incarceration or violence.

The UG opposes making it more difficult for Wyandotte County residents to access SNAP. Approximately 19,000 people in Wyandotte County experience food insecurity. Research demonstrates that greater access to SNAP results in reducing hunger and poverty; and improving dietary intake, academic performance, mental health, economic self-sufficiency, and local job growth.

Legislation authorizing the creation of a Kansas City, Kansas Riverfront Authority or Port Authority to develop the Kansas and Missouri riverfronts into a premier attraction.