# Kansas HB 2045: Reducing certain license fees and training requirements for child care staff, creating a process for day care facility licensees to apply for temporary waiver of certain statutory requirements, authorizing the secretary of health and environment to develop and operate pilot programs to increase child care availability or capacity, transferring certain child care programs to the Kansas office of early childhood and creating day care licensing duties of the director of early childhood. Kansas HB 2045, Reducing certain license fees and training requirements for child care staff, creating a process for day care facility licensees to apply for temporary waiver of certain statutory requirements, authorizing the secretary of health and environment to develop and operate pilot programs to increase child care availability or capacity, transferring certain child care programs to the Kansas office of early childhood and creating day care licensing duties of the director of early childhood., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Committee on Insurance; status signed, last action 2025-04-24 (Approved by Governor on Thursday, April 24, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2045-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Kansas HB 2045 - State: Kansas - Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session - Title: Reducing certain license fees and training requirements for child care staff, creating a process for day care facility licensees to apply for temporary waiver of certain statutory requirements, authorizing the secretary of health and environment to develop and operate pilot programs to increase child care availability or capacity, transferring certain child care programs to the Kansas office of early childhood and creating day care licensing duties of the director of early childhood. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-21 - Last action: 2025-04-24, Approved by Governor on Thursday, April 24, 2025 - Sponsor: Committee on Insurance - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: senate committee on financial institutions and insurance, house committee on insurance - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 8 (544 yes, 86 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 29 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Some foster homes gain licensing exception: benefit, low. The health and environment secretary can license a family foster home despite a person's specified juvenile-offender finding, after finding no safety concern. The person must have been placed there by the secretary while a child in the secretary's custody. The person must now be at least 18 and liv… - Child care complaints get an advocate: benefit, low. The law creates a child care ombudsman overseen by the deputy director of child care licensure and finance. The ombudsman addresses public concerns and advocates for parents, families, and providers. After a complaint, the ombudsman reviews license revocations and can appeal to the director. Provid… - Families get public day care histories: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, a public online system must show day care applicants, licensees, citation histories, and confirmed findings. Other facility records generally remain confidential when disclosure identifies people, with named-party and legally authorized disclosure exceptions. Specified gover… - Licensing exemptions cover camps and families: benefit, low. People or groups providing educational activities to their own children, from pre-K through high school, need no child care license or permit. This does not create a general exemption for care provided to other families. Summer instructional camps run by nonprofits, schools, verifiable nonpublic sc… - Transferred state workers keep earned benefits: benefit, low. By July 1, 2026, employees doing transferred work move to the Kansas Office of Early Childhood. Employees identified by the director as providing essential support also transfer. Covered workers keep applicable classified job status, earned retirement benefits and leave, and continuous-service cred… - Child care pilots allow alternative licenses: benefit, low. The health and environment secretary can run pilots intended to increase day care availability or capacity. Pilots can use alternative licensing requirements, but cannot approve facilities, programs, or staff arrangements that endanger children. Licenses can last up to five licensure years, with up… - Day care operators get transition relief: benefit, low. The high school diploma or equivalent requirement for maintaining a day care facility expires June 30, 2026. Beginning July 1, 2026, existing licenses, registration certificates, and temporary permits remain valid until their original expiration dates. They must still be in effect that day and can… - Faster child care licensing across states: benefit, low. Child care facility applicants can use Kansas's occupational credential portability process, including its out-of-state license and experience requirements. Qualifying military servicemembers and spouses must receive credentials within 15 days; other qualifying applicants have a 45-day deadline. Qu… - Fewer licensing hurdles for youth programs: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, qualifying school-age and youth programs gain protection from license denial, suspension, or revocation for environmental deficiencies. The problem must pose no imminent danger, be outside the operator's immediate authority to correct, and be reported to the school or public… - More licensing flexibility for child care providers: benefit, low. The law directs updated rules exempting care for fewer than 35 hours for up to four unrelated children, including no more than two infants. The secretary can raise the time limit. Separate exemptions cover care in a child's own home and irregular care arranged between friends and neighbors. License… - Providers gain freedom over care operations: benefit, low. The health and environment secretary cannot require child care home licensees to live in the licensed home. The secretary also cannot restrict day care operators' use of 15-passenger vans bought on or before July 1, 2025. The early childhood director cannot require providers licensed under the act… - Child care programs move under one office: benefit, low. The Kansas Office of Early Childhood takes over subsidies, licensing, quality programs, and specified Head Start and home-visiting programs. Funding remains subject to state and federal appropriations. The office can arrange for the Department for Children and Families to handle subsidy payments an… - Families get yearly day care inspections: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, every day care facility must be inspected at least once every 12 months. Inspections are also required after complaints and before a new facility receives a license. The yearly rule also covers facilities serving military families receiving military child care assistance. Fa… - Kansas brings early childhood programs together: benefit, low. The law creates the Kansas Office of Early Childhood, led by a governor-appointed director confirmed by the Senate. The transition team deadline is July 1, 2025; program transfers must start by January 1, 2026, and finish by July 1, 2026. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Children's Cabinet reviews grant… - Day care violations bring fines: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, licensees must make corrections within five days after receiving an authorized agent's written notice. Serious health, safety, or sanitation violations can bring civil fines up to $500 each after notice and a chance to respond. Each continuing day counts separately; civil fi… - Child care centers face space standards: cost, low. Licensed child care centers must provide at least 28 square feet of indoor activity space per child. Kitchens, passageways, storage areas, and bathrooms do not count. Centers must provide outdoor play space on the premises of at least 60 square feet per child using it at once. Centers must also mee… - Providers lose payments for empty slots: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, agencies cannot use covered child care funds to reimburse providers for unfilled slots. The restriction covers funds subject to federal requirements and legislative appropriations. It does not apply when a child is temporarily absent because of illness or another reason and… - Existing parent education grant laws end: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the law repeals existing statutes governing school-district parent education programs, grants, and related administration. The broader law also transfers Parents as Teachers administration to the Kansas Office of Early Childhood. The repeal does not establish how much fundin… - Child care vaccines require documented exceptions: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, children in day care need state-required immunizations, including the operator's own children. A licensed doctor can certify that a vaccine endangers a child's life or health. A parent or guardian can instead submit a signed statement of sincerely held religious opposition.… - Day care screening adds fees: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, the director can review court, criminal, diversion, and child-abuse records and conduct national employee checks requiring fingerprints. Fingerprinting fees are set by regulation, may fall on employees, and support a dedicated law-enforcement processing fund; no amount is se… - Day care safety brings provider duties: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, covered facilities must meet building, water, sanitation, hygiene, and fire standards; referral agencies must follow applicable fire rules. The director's operating rules cover supervision, safe sleep, emergency plans, transportation, and maintenance. Children must sleep in… - Unsafe providers face suspension and bans: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, the director can limit, change, or suspend licenses and temporary permits for listed violations, crimes, or unsafe conduct. Emergency action before a hearing is allowed to protect children from abuse, abandonment, or another substantial threat, using Kansas emergency procedu… - Day care licensing adds temporary options: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, covered day care providers serving children under 16 need a license or temporary permit, with listed exceptions. A regular license requires an inspection and a finding that the facility follows the law. Initial applicants can receive a 90-day permit, plus one 90-day extensio… - Child records protected, vaccine sharing expands: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, covered child care records cannot be made public in a way that identifies a person. Their Kansas Open Records Act exemption expires July 1, 2031, unless lawmakers review and renew it. Specified recipients can exchange immunization information without written parental permiss… - Parents get notices about license problems: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, facilities and referral agencies must notify enrolled children's parents in writing about specified license actions. These include license limits, changes, suspension, revocation, or denial. The director must notify specified public agencies and relevant licensed placement a… - Day care homes face smoking limits: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, smoking is banned inside day care homes while children unrelated to the operator are in care. The family relationship exception covers blood, marriage, and legal adoption. Smoking remains allowed elsewhere on the property, including outdoors, and licenses must display the ba… - New hiring and training rules for providers: mixed, low. Center directors or lead teachers must be at least 18, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and meet a state-set qualification. Qualification options must include a non-academic experience path. Assistant teachers can be 16, must meet state-set skills standards, and cannot face educational req… - Lower license fees, possible paper charges: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the law sets annual day care license fees at $0 and resource and referral agency fees at no more than $150. Existing fees stay in place until the director sets different fees by regulation. Amended-license fees cannot exceed $35. Renewing more than 30 days after expiration a… - Youth programs gain licensing flexibility: mixed, low. The rule excluding qualifying youth development programs from the day care definition expires July 1, 2026. Beginning that day, the director can set safety and staff rules and change occupancy or gathering limits within building and fire codes. Kansas cannot deny, suspend, or revoke qualifying scho… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Committee on Insurance ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-23 | House | Yea: 99 Nay: 23 | pass | 99 | 23 | | | 2026-04-23 | House | Yea: 30 Nay: 10 | pass | 30 | 10 | | | 2026-04-23 | House | Yea: 39 Nay: 0 | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-04-23 | House | Yea: 104 Nay: 10 | pass | 104 | 10 | | | 2025-04-11 | House | Conference Committee Report was adopted | pass | 99 | 23 | | | 2025-04-10 | Senate | Conference Committee Report was adopted | pass | 30 | 10 | | | 2025-03-13 | Senate | Final Action - Passed as amended | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2025-02-07 | House | Final Action - Passed | pass | 104 | 10 | | ## Actions (29) - 2025-04-24: Approved by Governor on Thursday, April 24, 2025 (House) - 2025-04-11: Motion to suspend Joint Rule 4 (k) to allow consideration adopted (House) - 2025-04-11: Conference Committee Report was adopted; Yea 99, Nay 23, Absent 3 (House) - 2025-04-11: Engrossed on Monday, April 14, 2025 (House) - 2025-04-11: Enrolled and presented to Governor on Friday, April 18, 2025 (House) - 2025-04-10: Conference committee report now available (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Motion to suspend Joint Rule 4 (k) to allow consideration adopted (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Conference Committee Report agree to disagree adopted; Sen. Beverly Gossage, Sen. William Clifford and Sen. Dinah Sykes appointed as second conferees (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Conference Committee Report agree to disagree adopted; Rep. Sean Tarwater, Rep. Adam Turk and Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton appointed as second conferees (House) - 2025-04-10: Conference committee report now available (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Conference Committee Report was adopted; Yea 30, Nay 10 (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Rep. Sean Tarwater, Rep. Adam Turk, and Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton are appointed to replace Rep. Bill Sutton, Rep. Brian Bergkamp, and Rep. Cindy Neighbor on the Conference Committee (House) - 2025-03-27: Sen. Dinah Sykes is appointed to replace Sen. Cindy Holscher on the Conference Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Sen. Beverly Gossage, Sen. William Clifford, and Sen. Cindy Holscher are appointed to replace Sen. Brenda Dietrich, Sen. Michael Fagg, and Sen. Marci Francisco on the Conference Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Nonconcurred with amendments; Conference Committee requested; appointed Rep. Bill Sutton, Rep. Brian Bergkamp and Rep. Cindy Neighbor (House) - 2025-03-17: Motion to accede adopted; Sen. Brenda Dietrich, Sen. Michael Fagg and Sen. Marci Francisco appointed as conferees (Senate) - 2025-03-13: Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 39, Nay 0, Absent 1 (Senate) - 2025-03-12: Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-12: Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended (Senate) - 2025-03-06: Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate) - 2025-03-04: Hearing: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 9:30 AM — Room 546-S (Senate) - 2025-02-26: Hearing: Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 9:30 AM — Room 546-S (Senate) - 2025-02-10: Referred to Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate) - 2025-02-07: Final Action - Passed; Yea 104, Nay 10, Absent 11 (House) - 2025-02-07: Received and Introduced (Senate) - 2025-02-04: Committee Report recommending bill be passed and placed on Consent Calendar by House Committee on Insurance (House) - 2025-01-29: Hearing: Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 3:30 PM — Room 218-N (House) - 2025-01-21: Introduced (House) - 2025-01-21: Referred to House Committee on Insurance (House) ## Bill text - As Amended by Senate Committee: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_01_0000.pdf) - As Introduced: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_00_0000.pdf) - Enrolled: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_enrolled.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes in the Kansas criminal code. (signed) - SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage and the retail sale of higher ethanol blends of fuel, discontinuing the tax cred… (signed) - SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholic liquor depending on whether the taxpayer is a qualifying Kansas investor or a… (signed) - HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes. (signed) - HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a religious assembly, providin… (became law) - HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts received as compensation for members of the armed forces. (failed) ## Sources - [As Amended by Senate Committee (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_01_0000.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_00_0000.pdf) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2045/hb2045_enrolled.pdf) ## Related - [SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and r…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB430-2025-2026) - [SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB82-2025-2026) - [SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholi…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB300-2025-2026) - [HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2029-2025-2026) - [HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2018-2025-2026) - [HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts rece…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2036-2025-2026) - [Kansas bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/kansas/bills) - [Kansas state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kansas) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2045-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-17).