Chairperson Humphries opened the Hearing on HB2521.

Jason Thompson, Office of Revisor of Statutes, presented the Bill Brief.  (Attachment 1)

Proponents:

Patrick Murphy, Chief Revenue Officer, The Miller Group, testified there is a growing and urgent problem affecting child placement agencies (CPAs) that contract with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF): the inability to secure affordable liability insurance coverage. He listed 3 main reasons for this problem and sees that this bill could be a solution.  (Attachment 2)

Linda Bass, President of KVC Kansas, testified this bill would bring CPAs into parity within the existing Kansas Tort Claims Act framework. It does not expand liability, reduce accountability or create immunity from negligence. Also, child placement agencies are experiencing growing challenges in accessing affordable liability insurance after seeing high premium increases in the last few years. She also shared lessons learned from legislation in other states as well as a proactive and preventive solution for Kansas.  (Attachment 3)

Amy Harmon, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, Calm Foster Care, testified that this bill could have a good impact on their small company, due to the fact that they work with children with many kinds of special needs, creating a lot of risk for liability insurance. The rising costs of this type of insurance has become prohibitive.  (Attachment 4)

Kristalle Hedrick, Chief Executive Officer, Children's Alliance of Kansas, shared that this bill makes a narrow but important clarification to the Kansas Tort Claims Act by extending its coverage to child placement agencies that contract with the Secretary for Children and Families. In doing so, it aligns legal liability with the reality of how Kansas delivers child welfare services today.   (Attachment 5)

The Proponents stood for questions.

The Chairperson drew attention to the Proponents Written Only testimonies:

Matt Stephens, Vice President of Advocacy, Saint Francis Ministries  (Attachment 6)

Justin Horton, Chief Programs & Innovation Officer, Cornerstones of Care  (Attachment 7)

Chris Conrade, President, Conrade Insurance Group, Inc.  (Attachment 8) 

Opponent:

Richard Budden, Attorney at Law, Private Citizen, testified that this bill is inconsistent with the goals of the Kansas Tort Claims Act. He feels children in foster care will be the losers and CPAs will benefit. He also challenged the constitutionality of this bill.  (Attachment 9)

The Opponent stood for questions.

The Chairperson drew attention to the Opponent Written Only testimony:

Michaela Shelton, Attorney at Law, Private Citizen  (Attachment 10)

The Chairperson closed the Hearing on HB2521.