‘Stare or Kansas Caro. Baton, Roow 241 Sours Pons: (185) 296-3282 ‘Torts, KS 66612 COERRORASSAS.COY Govervor Laura Keuty MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR, REGARDING SENATE BILL 25 ‘Senate ill 25 includes many worthy bipartisan initiatives, ineluding increased Funding for ‘mental health, eonomic development, intrastructue, and higher education. Ihe state matching funds and technical assistanc> that [proposed in my budget for communities applying for federal ‘grant programs could ead to transportation, energy, water, and broadband improvements that ‘will benefit Kansans for yeas to come if administered effectively. The Omnibus Budget also contains well deserved pay increases for public employees who work every day to ensure the cfficient and effective delivey of public safety, education, health care, emergeney response, and ‘business and family services throughout Kansas ‘Many of the appropriations and related provisions contained in Senate Bill 25 were passed through the regular process, in which public hearings are followed by debate and amendment in ‘committee and the full House and Senate. Tis process provides needed scrutiny and input. “However, there are many items in tis bill that were added after this process ended, some of Which I have line-item vetoo! below. ‘Adding sections of funding nd related policy atthe last minute does not provide legislators with the opportunity to understand and weigh the merits of each proposal. For the sake ofall Kansans having a voice in the budget through their elected representatives, we should return to greater adherence tothe regular process. ook forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to provide fiscally responsible budgets that invest in our future and protect us from returning to the days when, in order to take eare of ‘one group, we had to sacrifice the needs of another. ‘Therefore, pursuant to Article 2, Section 14(b) ofthe Constitution ofthe State of Kansas, 1 hereby return Senate Bill 25 with my signature approving the bill except for the items ‘enumerated below. Board of Pharmacy Provises See. Sand See. 6 have been line-item vetoed in their entirety. ‘As Ihave suid proviousy, lopslators can address rules and regulations they disagree with through the regular legislative process. This ensures that any law enacted inthe state of Kansas ‘has received proper input ftom interested parties and that Kansas taxpayers are guaranteed transparency. The funding restiction in See. 5(a) and Sec. 6(a) impedes the Board of Pharmacy’s ability to regulate issues related to the practice of pharmacy. This language was not properly ‘vetted by any stakeholder, including patients and providers, who would be most affected by the ‘changes inthis line item,Excluding Providers of Mental Health Treatment from Mental Health Intervention Team Program The provisions of See. 37(a) that read as follows have been line-item vetoed: And provided further, Tat the purposes of the mental health intervention team program are to: Provide greater aocess o behavioral health services for students enrolled in Kindergarten or any ofthe grades one through 12 and establish a coherent strctare between school districts and comunity mental health centers to optimize searce ‘behavioral health resources and workforce; identify students, communicate with families and link students and theie families tothe statewide behavioral health systems and resources within the network of community mental health centers; alleviate the shortage ‘of staff with specialized degrees or training such as school counselors, psychologists and social workers and ede the competition for such staff between school districts and other private and governmental service providers to provide broad-based and collaborative services to students, especially in rural distrets that do not have enough ‘students to justify a fl-time staff position; provide and coordinate mental health services to students throughout the calendar year, not only during school hours over nine months ‘af the school year; and reduce barriers that families experience to aecess mental health services and maintain consistency fora child to attend recurring sessions and provide ‘coordination betwecs the child's classroom schedule and the provision of such services: And provided further, That the program shall focus onthe following students: Any student who has been adjudicated asa child in need of care und i in the custody ofthe secretary for children and families of has been referred fora families first program or family preservation rogram; and any other stdout who is in nood of mental health ‘support servives: And provided further, Tat the state department of education shall ‘oversee and implement the mental health intervention team program in accordance with ‘the requirements of tis subsection and the policies and procedures established by the department pursuant to such subsection: And provided further, That, in each school year, the board of educatien of a school district may apply to the department to establish or _maintsin a mental health intervention team program within such schoo! district; Amd ‘provided further, That the application shall be in such form and manner asthe department requires and submitted at atime determined and specified by the department: And provided further, That each application submitted by a school district shall specify the ‘community mental health center thet the school intends to coordinate with to provide school-based services to students who need assistance during the applicable school year: And provided futher, That, iFa school dstict is approved to establish or maintain a ‘mental health intervention team program, the school district shall enter into a ‘memorandum of understanding with s partnering community mental health center: And rovided further, That, ifthe school district chooses to partner with mote than one ‘community mental health center, the school district shall enter into a separate ‘memorandum of understanding With each such community mental health center: And provided further, Thal the department may establish requirements for a memorandum of ‘understanding, inlung contractual provisions that are required to be included in each 2‘memorandum of undetstanding and that are optional and subject to agreement between the school district ani the community mental health center: And provided farther, That ‘each memorandum of understanding shall be submitted to the department for final ‘approval: And proviced further, That, subject to appropriations therefor, a school district that has been approved by the department to establish or maintain a mental health iervention team pregram shall be eligible to receive a mental health intervention team. ‘program grant and a community mental heath center pass-through grant: And provided “further, That, exceptas otherwise provided in this subsection, the amount ofa school ‘distiet’s mental healh intervention team program grant shall be determined in each school year by ealeuating the total amount of the salary and fringe benefits paid by the school district to each school liaison, not to exceed $50,000 for any such schoo! liaison: And provided further, That the amount ofa school district's community mental health center passthrough grant shall be an amount equal to 33% of the amount ofthe school district's mental healh intervention team grant, and moneys provided toa schoo! dstret forthe community mental health center pass-through grant shall be paid to any community mental health center that partners withthe school distit: And provided Farther, Tat, if the amount of appropriations are insufficient to pay in full the amount of all grants that school districts are entitled to receive forthe school year, the departinent shall prorate dhe amount appropriated among al districts: And provided further, That the ‘department shall be responsible forthe allocation and distribution of grants in accordance ‘with appropriation acts: And provided further, That the department may make grant payments in installments and may provide for payments in advance or by way of bursement and may make any necessary adjustments for any overpayment fo a tshool dietiets And provided further, That the department shall not award any grant toa school district unless such schoo! district has entered into a memorandum of | ‘understanding with apartnering community mental health center in accordance with this subsection: And prosided further, That the department may waive the requirement that & school distriet employ a school liaison and may instead authorize a community mental health center that pasners with the school district to employ a schoo! liaison: And provided further, Tht such waiver shall only be granted by the department in limited circumstances: And provided further, Tat a school district that is granted a waiver pursuant to this subsection shall continue tobe eligible to receive the mental heath {intervention team program grant and the community mental health eenter pass-through grant authorized pursuant to this section: And provided further, That the amount of the ‘mental health intervention team program grant shall be determined in the same manner as provided under this subsection as though the schoo! liaison was employed by such school Aistict: And provided further, That upon receipt of any moneys awarded pursuant to the ‘mental health intervention team program grant to any such school district, the school istrict shall direct payment of such amount to the community mental health center that employs the school laison: And provided further, That, on or before January 8, 2024, the department shall prepare and submit a report on the mental health intervention team program forthe preceding school year tothe house of representatives standing committees on appropriations socal services budget and K12 education budget and the 3senate standing committees on ways and means, public health and welfare and education: And provided further, That such report shall provide a summary of the program, including, but not lnited to, the school distriets that applied to participate or continued participating under the program, the participating community mental health centers, the ‘grant amount each such sehoo! dstit received andthe payments made by school districts from the mental health intervention tear program fund of each school district: And provided further, That the staff requied forthe establishment and maintenance of ‘mental health intervention team program shall include a combination of one or more ‘behavioral health liaisons employed by the school district and one or more ease managers ‘and clinical therapists employed by the partnering community mental health center: And provided further, Tat al staff working together under a school distiet's program shall be ‘kxovin as the behavioral health intervention team ofthe school district: And provided farther, That the school district andthe community mental health center shall cooperate ‘and work together to identify needs specific tothe students in the school district and the families of such students and shall develop an action plan to implement a school-based ‘rogram that is tailored to meet such needs: And provided further, That a school district ‘that participates in the program shall employ one or more school liaisons who will help students in need and soordinate services between the schoo! district, the student, the student's family and the community mental health center: And provided further, That a school liaison shall havea bachelor’s degree in any field of study. A schoo! liason's roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Identifying appropriate student referrals for which th team shall engage; act asa liaison between the school district and the community mental health center and be the primary point of contact for ccomtnications between the school distrit and the community mental health contr assist with community mental health center staff understanding of the school distrit's system and procedures, including the school calendar, professional development, drills ‘and crisis plan protacols; triage prospective student referrals and help decide how to prioritize interventions; help the community mental health center and other school personnel understand the roles and responsibilities of the behavioral health intervention ‘eam; facilitate communications and connections between families of identified students and the community mental health center's staff; coordinate a student's treatment schedule ‘with building administrators and classroom teachers to optimize clinical therapist's productivity; troubleshoot problems that arise and work with the community mental health center to resolve such problems; track and compile outcomes to monitor the effectiveness of the programs; maintain and update the mental health intervention teams database as directed by the department; follow up with child welfare contacts ifa student has moved schools te get the child's educational history; be an active pat of the school imervention team and relay information back to community mental health center staf including student observations, intervention feedback from teachers, communications with family and other relevant information; work with school administration to identify and provide confideetal space for @ community mental health center therapist and assist in planning continuity of care through summer services: And provided further, That a ‘community mental health center thet parners with a school district shall employ one or 4‘more master’s level c nical therapists wh will collaborate with the school district to assist students in need and provide services to such students under the program: And ‘provided feather, The a elnical therapist's roles and responsibilities under the program include, bt are not limited to: Assisting the school liaison with the identification of| appropriate student referrals tothe program; triaging student referrals withthe school liaison to prioritize treatment interventions for identified students; working with the school liaison to connect with families or child welfare contats to abtain consent to ‘commence treatment; conducting a clinical assessment ofthe identified student and make ‘appropriate treatment recommendations; engaging withthe student, family or eild \welfare contacts in clinical interventions as identified on the treatment plan and providing individual and family therapy; administering scales or tests to detect areas of concern with depression, anxity, sel harm or other areas as identified; making referrals to other treatment modalities as appropriate; communicating educationally appropriate information tothe school liaison, such as interventions and strategies for use by classroom and schoo! staf; gathering outeome data to monitor the effectiveness of the program; coordinating withthe ease manager by the student's treatment plan to identify ‘way to support the sudent and family; providing therapy services as determined by a students reatment plan; and maintaining the treatment plan and necessary treatment protocols required by the community mental health centet: And provided further, That a ‘community mental health center that partners with a school dstret shall employ one or ‘more case managers who will collaborate with the school district to assist students in need and coordinate services under the program: And provided further, That a case ‘managers roles and responsibilities under the program include, but are not limited to: ‘Working with the schoo! liaison and clinical therapist to identify students and tage priorities for treatmert; providing outreach to students, families and child welfare contacts to help engage in treatment; participating in the treatment planning process; ‘communicating with ‘the schoo! liaison and other school district personnel about student reeds, interventions and progress; helping maintain communication between all entities, including the family, student, school, clinica therapist, child welfare contacts and the community; maintaining the treatment plan and necessary treatment protocols required by the community mentl health center, making referrals to appropriate community resources; helping reconnect students and families when they are not following through \with the treatment process; helping families negotiate bartiers to teatment; and engaging with the student in the classroom, the home or the community to help build skills ‘wherever needed And provided further, That, as used in this subsection, "community ‘mental health center" means a center organized pursuant to article 40 of chapter 19 of the Kansas Statutes Annetated, and amendments thereto, ora mental health clinic organized prsuant to article 2 of chapter 65 ofthe Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, The Legislature should workin a bipartisan manner to codify and make permanent the current ‘Mental Health Intervention Team Pilot Program. This program is vital to ensuring Kanses children have the mental health support they need as they progress through our publie school system, I'm proud to support this program, and I have routinely increased its funding so that 5‘more sehools can provide these services to our students. As written, this proviso would limit the type of mental health providers and practitioners who can participate in the programming hampering our school districts’ ability to contrat with a variety of professionals and preventing certain mental health professionals from assisting our students, If we truly want to address the youth mental health criss and support our young people, we need to ensute that students have access to every resource available, We cannot leave dedicated, experienced mental health professionals onthe sidelines as our students remain in need of care Quindaro Ruins ‘Sec, 40 is line-item vetoed itis entirety Tis request for funding for a master plan forthe Quindaro Ruins historie site was not considered by the Legislature until the final moments of the 2023 session. As a result, there was no ‘opportunity to vet this proposal to ensure that it uly serves the needs of the community for ‘whom the site is named. My administration recognizes the importance of this culturally significant site, and I will support efforts to elevate this fundamental piece of Kansas history and honor the surounding community. Advocates should work through the proper channels to seek funding for this measure andl ensure that it receives the recognition it deserves. tribution of Need-Based Aid Inequitable ‘The portion of See. 47(a) that reads as follows has been line-item vetoed: Independent colleges comprehensive grant program, $5,000,000 Provided, That all exxenditures from such account shall be made to provide that ull ‘moneys shall be cistrbuted inthe same proportionate amount as such moneys were distributed to each such independent college in fiseal yeat 2023 from the comprehensive ‘grant program accoust (561-00-1000-4500): Provided further, That, as used inthis subsection, "independent college" means a not-for-profit independent institution of higher education which is aceredited by the north central association of colleges and secondary schools accrediting agency based on its requirements as of April 1, 1985, or by the higher learning commission of the north central association of colleges and schools based oni requirements us of Jawwary 1, 2006, is operated independently and not controlled oF administered by the sate or any agency or subdivision thereof, maintains open enrollment and the main eampus or principal place of operation of which is located in Kansas ‘Sec. 47(e) has been line-item vetoed in its entry ‘The Kansas Comprehensive Grant already provides a significant financial advantage for Kansas independent colleges on a per pupil basi. Publicly funded student financial aid should be targeted for its intended purgose by all institutions that receive it—providing aid to qualified Kansas residents who show exceptional financial need. Its vital that this funding is allocated in ‘a manner that provides acceso higher education for as many Kansas students as possible. State Fire Marshal Proviso‘Sec, 53 has been line-item vetoed in its entirety. ‘Completely prohibiting the State Fire Marshal from ensuring adequate safety regulations on an entire category of businesses is a heavy-handed approach to addressing state and local fie safety requirements and is bound tc have unintended consequences. Stakeholders should work together to identity a regulatory solution that balances the business needs of farm wineries with fire safety. ‘THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE BY THE GOVERNOR. \oue \ DATED, $