Legislative Priorities

Support of Public Education 

• Full funding of public education. Any support of private or parochial education should not come at the expense of the public education system. Public money should not be used for unregulated, unaccredited home- or faith-based schools. Vouchers, tax-free scholarship funds, and other such schemes undermine our ability to fund our public schools and, studies show, have no positive outcome on student achievement. 

• The student’s right to learn. We oppose book bans and limits on the teaching of history or literature, particularly that of historically marginalized communities. Parents have the right to direct their children’s education, but not the right to restrict other students’ learning.

Economic Justice 

• Housing. KIFA is a member of the Kansas Housing Advocacy Network (KHAN), which this year will advocate for establishing and enforcing housing protections for renters. Our commitment to KHAN informs our support for accessible and affordable housing for working Kansans. 

• Healthcare. Medicaid Expansion would help over 150,000 working Kansans access affordable healthcare. It would bring millions of dollars in tax money back to the state and help keep rural hospitals open. This moral imperative is long overdue. Expansion is particularly needed because of the massive premium increases many Kansans will experience beginning in 2026.
  HCBS. Home and Community Based Services allow people with disabilities to receive care in their homes instead of being institutionalized. We are concerned that proposed budget cuts will require cuts or waiting lists for vital services. The first responsibility of state government is to the poor and elderly, and we urge the legislature to fully fund these services. 

• SNAP. It is estimated that 1-in-8 Kansans are food insecure. SNAP is the most successful food-assistance program in the nation’s history, but it is under attack: HR 1 – the “big bad budget bill” – sends much of the cost back to the states.  KIFA urges the legislature to appropriate the funds necessary to keep open this vital lifeline for food-insecure Kansans, and not to take actions that would further suppress the number of SNAP recipients. 

• Fairness in property tax relief. The state chronically underfunds municipal- and county-level services, forcing them to rely on property taxes. Cutting such taxes by state fiat will starve these vital services. Property tax hikes are due to soaring valuations, which in turn are caused by our chronic lack of affordable housing. This must be addressed; in addition, any property tax relief should be targeted toward working and moderate-income people. 

Identity-based Discrimination

• Human rights for LGBTQ+ people. Denominations that support KIFA are open and affirming of LGBTQ+ people, considering them children of God like everyone else. The state has no compelling reason to inflict legal harm to people, no matter who they are. We urge the legislature to reject any further discriminatory legislation targeting our LGBTQ+ siblings.

• Supporting our immigrant neighbors. People of faith stand in solidarity with our immigrant and refugee neighbors. We oppose dehumanizing rhetoric and harmful policies and actions, and decry the violent and lawless enforcement measures undertaken by the Trump administration. We oppose SB 254, which would, among other measures, prohibit undocumented students from accessing in-state tuition. 

• You can’t spell Imago Dei (image of God) without DEI. In keeping with a goal of building a more just and inclusive society, we affirm the importance of programs and policies designed to make our public institutions more inclusive of racial, religious, and gender/sexual orientation minorities.

Climate and Clean Energy. 

Motivated by our concern for God’s Creation and the worsening effects of human-caused climate disruption, we support the transition away from fossil fuels toward 100% renewable energy, including expanded energy efficiency programs and increased distributed energy (home-based solar, heat pumps, etc.). In addition: 

• AI and Data Centers. Data centers take up massive amounts of energy (usually not renewables) and water, don’t provide many permanent jobs, and could very well be serving a sector (AI) that is a bubble that will pop, leaving assets stranded and ratepayers on the hook. We will oppose any further development in this sector without taking these important issues into account.  

• Third-party PPAs. Allow customers to enter into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with renewable providers by removing the “retail” sale prohibition for systems located on customer-controlled property. This would make it easier for houses of worship and other non-profits to move their facilities to renewable energy. 

In addition:

• Fair maps. As a member of the Fair Maps Coalition, KIFA opposes mid-decade efforts to redraw federal district maps. 

• Voting rights. We support efforts to expand the ability of Kansas citizens to vote, and oppose efforts to restrict this right, such as restricting the use or location of election drop-boxes.  

• Immunization. KIFA opposes efforts to expand so-called moral or philosophical objectives to childhood immunizations. Protecting public health, especially that of our children, is the most godly thing we can do, and we urge the legislature not to undermine that effort with ill-advised and scientifically discredited measures. 

KIFA is a State Public Policy Office (SPPO) of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In addition, we partner with the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Kansas Diocese of the Episcopal Church, the Fellowship of Unitarian Universalist Congregations in Kansas, and the Mercy & Justice Team of the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). We are also supported by dozens of individual congregations and thousands of people of faith and conscience throughout the state.

Registered lobbyists:
Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director • Email
Sagi Rudnick, Program and Advocacy Associate