I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground
Will things ever be the same?
It’s the final countdown
Editor’s note: I’m literally writing this from an airport, and am traveling on business. Topeka coverage will unfortunately be short and to the point this week, but that’s ok; most of the outcomes for these bills are already baked into the cake.
Table of Contents
Where do things go from here?
Four days from now, the conservative supermajority in the Kansas Legislature will have either succeeded or partially succeeded in their strategic aims for this session:
to lock in reduced taxes in a regressive design that would require a non-Republican majority to overturn;
to shift public education funding towards private education options; and
to set in motion changes in electoral and judicial processes to (1) further consolidate political power and (2) enable overturning Vote No (and institute abortion bans) without another citizen vote.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve participated in multiple community discussions (some public, some private) that, regardless of where they started, all arrive at the same question: where do we go from here? It bears repeating: this year’s legislation was baked in November 2024. Advocates and citizens have valiantly engaged with their elected officials since then, and there have been a handful of victories, but for the most part there has been limited opportunity to rewrite the narrative.
A much better question is who decides what happens next? (hint: it’s you.)
Bills on the Governor’s Desk
There are now 11 House bills and 15 Senate bills that have been sent to the Governor’s office for signature or veto. That list will continue to grow rapidly this week, as the legislature holds its final five days of the 2025 session.
House Bills with Governor Kelly:
Child Welfare, Family Services, and Social Assistance:
🐝🐝 HB 2027: Updates Kansas public assistance eligibility and regulations.
Government Organization, Elections, and Public Administration:
🐝🐝 HB 2261: Reclassifies Kansas highway patrol employment positions.
🐝🐝 HB 2106: Bans foreign contributions in Kansas campaign finance.
🐝🐝 HB 2166: Amends public records disclosure exceptions in Kansas.
🐝 HB 2238: Updates legislative staff agency responsibilities and functions.
🐝 HB 2117: Revises business entity filing and dissolution requirements.
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources:
🐝🐝 HB 2085: Extends livestock water pollution permits from five to ten years.
Uncategorized:
🐝 HB 2145: Establishes the Butler County Fair Board.
Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Corrections:
🐝🐝 HB 2182: Prohibits sheriff fees for protection order process services.
Agriculture:
🐝 HB 2254: Protects milk producers' payments from processors.
Labor, Employment, and Workers’ Rights:
🐝🐝 HB 2092: Regulates professional employer organizations' registration and audits.Senate Bills with Governor Kelly:
Senate Bills with Governor Kelly:
Healthcare and Public Health:
Uncategorized:
Government Organization, Elections, and Public Administration:
🐝🐝 SB 5: Prohibits federal funds for election activities without approval.
🐝🐝 SB 4: New deadlines for advance voting ballot returns.
🐝🐝 SB 194: Void discriminatory real estate covenants for educational institutions.
🐝🐝 SB 7: Increases township bonding limits based on population.
🐝🐝 SB 6: Ban on ranked-choice voting in Kansas elections.
Education:
🐝🐝 SB 2: Validates school bond election results in Greeley County.
Transportation and Infrastructure:
🐝🐝 SB 8: Regulates traffic near stationary vehicles with penalties.
Taxes, Fiscal Policy, and Economic Development:
🐝🐝 SB 14: Establishes a continuous budget for state appropriations.
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources:
Looking Forward to Summer 2025
Attention should rapidly shift from the legislature to Governor Kelly, where we will learn which bills will still require a veto override fight. As has been oft-repeated in these newsletters, conservatives have a veto-proof majority–if they choose to use it. If it made it to the governor’s desk, they very likely will.
Soon thereafter, expect a flurry of formal declarations for statewide office. These campaigns are expensive affairs, and any serious candidate will need every possible moment between now and the August 2026 primary (particularly on the Republican side, where it could be a fairly crowded roster). Municipal and school district races will come into focus. The national political story will likely continue to project its chaos.
For Capitol Bee, we’ve been receiving more feedback on Strategy vs. Tactics than anything else published. I’ll be peeling back the layers on what it means to act strategically, whether that’s at the political party level or for an advocacy group or an individual campaign…or for each of us as individuals.
Capitol Bee in the Community
To my surprise, I’ve been seeing an increasing volume of requests to venture out of the beehive and speak about Capitol Bee in different forums. These have been delightful conversations! I’ll be thinking some more about what it means, exactly, that this little ol’ newsletter is somehow keynote-worthy, but here’s my initial hypothesis: we are all starved for direction.
It’s also been a reminder of how fragmented things are at the moment. I must be in 20-30 different private Facebook groups, with some (but not uniform) overlapping memberships, but considerable overlap in goals and frustrations. There’s a huge organizing challenge in front of us–a need for consolidation, or at least more consistent coordination.
Campaign (Technology) Consulting
Lastly, a small sales pitch: if you’re involved in a campaign in 2025 and would like to tap into some of our technology, reach out. We’re reserving a limited amount of bandwidth this year to work with like-minded candidates and organizers that want to lean into AI and scalable automation tactics.
Thank you for reading! If you have any ideas or comments, please write.
