**UPDATE** The Same Old Greenie Slush Fund Returns – Even Republicans Can't Resist Expanding Government
Republicans line up to expand government with new spending to unaccountable greenie non-profits
***UPDATE*** This bill (HB 2063) was not taken up before the legislative deadline, and is considered “killed”. That is not to say that it clearly had GOP support to get out of committee this year, and that is something to clearly watch as these legislators are waiting for their opportunity to move this forward in the future.
Fellow Kansans, here we go again. For the third straight year, the same tired scheme is rearing its head in Topeka, this time as HB 2063 – now amended to a “modest” $16 million annual transfer from the State Gaming Revenues Fund to create unchecked conservation slush funds for NGOs (non-government organizations AKA: non-profits organizations). If this sounds eerily familiar, that’s because it is. Last year it was HB 2063 with a whopping $60 million demand from the general fund. The year before that:
HB 2541 tried to drain $23 million in its first year alone for the same elite-driven “conservancy” nonsense.
Rising States of America has been sounding the alarm since day one. In 2024, we exposed how HB 2541 packed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing with bird-watchers and PhD advisors who had never set foot on a real farm or ranch. They lectured rural Kansans on eco-tourism, trails across private land, and the need for “experts” to tell property owners how to manage their own dirt – all while begging for taxpayer handouts to fund their NGOs. The fiscal note revealed a $23 million hit right out of the gate. Thanks to you – the citizens who flooded committee inboxes with emails and calls – that bill died without the votes to move forward.
In 2025, they rebranded it as HB 2063 and jacked the ask to $60 million annually from the general fund as a negotiating tactic, creating four new funds: the State Conservation Fund as the main piggy bank, plus the Working Lands, Wildlife, and Kansas Outdoors Funds. The hearing room was again stacked with Sierra Club, Audubon, Nature Conservancy types, and pseudo ag lobbies pushing for grants that would subsidize their radical agendas – often tied to federal matching funds that impose Green New Deal-style restrictions. We called it what it was: a persistent push by leftist NGOs for an automatic, annual taxpayer-funded slush fund with almost no real oversight.
Citizens rose up again, and the bill stalled in committee without advancing.
Now, in 2026, they’re back with the same bill number but a new trick: amend it to pull $16 million yearly from the State Gaming Revenues Fund (SGRF) instead of the general fund (a complete shell game, as that money goes to the general funds now). The supplemental fiscal note confirms the change – a transfer from SGRF starting in FY 2026. It still creates the same four funds, with toothless annual self reporting, and requires funds to be obligated within 12 months. Proponents claim it’s “scaled back,” but make no mistake: this was their plan all along given prior bill’s wording and still new spending and ZERO new revenue to pay for it.
And here’s the frustrating truth – even with super majority of Republican control of the House, this bill, HB 2063, got a committee recommendation to pass on February 6, 2026. It seems a few members of the committee were absent, and it was a great time to pass this bill with conservatives not being there. When you stop watching, even Republicans seem to love expanding government, especially for their pet projects. They talk limited government and fiscal responsibility, but when special interests and feel-good “conservation” come knocking, suddenly it’s okay to create new funds, empower unaccountable NGOs, and siphon off millions without strong safeguards.
This is government expansion plain and simple. The bill ramps up roles for KDA and KDWP in grant administration (new full time employees at $80K/year will be needed to decide which of their friends will receive grants) – more bureaucracy, more overhead, more red tape – all while Kansas families struggle with skyrocketing property taxes and inflation. Gaming revenues aren’t “free money”; they’re public funds that could lower taxes or fix roads instead of funding NGO pet projects.
The cronyism hasn’t changed either. Half the money goes to “working lands” easements and incentives – a boon for big ag and connected landowners – while the rest props up wildlife and outdoors programs pushed by the same lobby groups that dominate testimonies. Property rights? Forget it. This dangles government cash to influence how owners use their land, undermining the freedom we fight for.
Worst of all, oversight on NGOs receiving grants remains pathetically weak: annual reports to the Governor and Legislature, basic audits, no dedicated watchdog or upfront vetting. Funds get rushed out in 12 months, inviting hasty giveaways. This is a fraudster’s dream – straight out of the Minneapolis “Feeding Our Future” scandal, where an NGO stole over $250 million in grants by faking “learning centers” under lax state monitoring. Luxury purchases, convictions, and taxpayers left holding the bag. Kansas can’t risk even $16 million vanishing into NGO black holes for “conservation” that delivers nothing – especially when taxpayers are furious about high taxes already.
No money in this bill will go to a rancher or farmer directly, no, it will go to hand picked non-profits to “lear” them. Yes, at the moment we are uncovering waste fraud and abuse in government, especially with federal matching funds, politicians in Topeka are attempting to create their own hog trough in the name of conservation.
Republicans in Topeka need to rediscover their backbone. While President Trump works to dismantle federal slush funds in D.C., why are Kansas Republicans entertaining state-level versions? This bill is RINO behavior at its finest – selling out voters for handouts.
Conservatives, it’s time to speak up again. Contact your legislators and the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee members. Demand they kill HB 2063 once and for all. Kansas should stick to principles: less government, real accountability, protected property rights, and tax relief for hardworking families. Let’s stop these persistent NGO schemes before they drain our state dry with their leftist agendas.
Find your legislators by clicking:
Tell them to vote “NO on HB2063!” and remind them where you live and that you are their constituent.
