Topeka Buzz: February 17, 2026

Senate guts a Seward County sales tax bill to fast-track federal welfare data-sharing; voter photo ID heads for the constitution; short-term rental preemption rides the World Cup wave with permanent tax changes attached.

Author

Jason Anderson
February 17, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 17 minutes

Topeka Buzz 🐝
Tuesday, February 17, 2026

NOTE: The pile of bills and documents being analyzed has grown rapidly over the past week, which forced us to rebuild some of our tools yesterday…they couldn’t keep up any more! Things are on stable footing now, and should resume their morning schedules with tomorrow’s newsletter. Thanks for your patience!

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Senate Guts Seward County Sales Tax Bill, Passes Federal Data-Sharing Mandate for SNAP and Medicaid

The Senate passed HB 2004 28 Yes, 9 No, 3 Absent Monday—but the bill that cleared the chamber bears no resemblance to the one the House approved. HB 2004 originally authorized a countywide sales tax for road and bridge work in Seward County, passing the House 116-1 in January 2025. The Senate Committee on Government Efficiency stripped that language entirely and substituted new federal data-sharing mandates for Kansas welfare agencies.

The substitute bill amends K.S.A. 39-760 to require the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to execute a memorandum of understanding with the USDA upon written request and deliver requested Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data within 30 days—and separately requires the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to do the same with HHS for Medicaid data. The key phrase: both agencies must comply "without conditions or limitations," language that could limit Kansas's ability to negotiate scope, format, or protective terms on individual data requests beyond what federal law already requires.

The substitute is narrower than SB 363, the committee's broader welfare-overhaul bill that drew 40 opponents and just one proponent (FGA Action, a Florida-based conservative think tank) during Senate testimony earlier this month. That broader bill would add quarterly eligibility checks, ban self-attestation for benefits applications, expand work requirements, and cost the state an estimated $18.5 million in FY2027 to implement, according to the Kansas Department of Administration's fiscal note. The substitute HB 2004 appears to extract the federal data-sharing piece from that larger effort and move it on a faster vehicle.

Because the Senate rewrote the bill, it now returns to the House, which must decide whether to concur with the substitute or request a conference committee. Given that the House passed the original Seward County sales tax bill nearly unanimously, the gut-and-stuff guarantees a fresh debate…and the "without conditions or limitations" language is likely to be the central point of contention.

Elections Committee Advances Voter Photo ID Constitutional Amendment to the Full House

The House Elections Committee reported out HCR 5021 Monday, sending a proposed constitutional amendment to the full House that would enshrine a photo ID requirement for voting directly into the Kansas Constitution. If the legislature approves it, the question goes to voters at the August 4 special election.

Kansas already requires voters to show photo identification under state statute. Embedding the requirement in the constitution would make it far harder to challenge or repeal through the courts or future legislation—effectively locking it in as a permanent feature of Kansas election law. The amendment would accept photo IDs issued by Kansas, the U.S. government, or recognized tribal governments. Notably, the amendment itself does not specify what happens when a voter lacks qualifying ID: no provisional ballot process, no cure period, no exceptions. It states that "implementation and administration shall be prescribed by law," leaving those details entirely to current and future legislatures.

The resolution needs a two-thirds vote in both chambers to land on the ballot.

Committee Advances Short-Term Rental Bill With Temporary World Cup Preemption (and Permanent Tax Changes)

HB 2481 advanced out of the Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee Monday, and it's really two bills in one. The headline provision temporarily bars Kansas cities and counties from capping or limiting short-term rentals and imposes a 15-day permit-decision deadline (with missed deadlines triggering automatic approval) during a May 15 through July 25, 2026, window timed to the FIFA World Cup. Kansas City is one of 16 North American host cities for the tournament, and demand for short-term lodging is expected to surge. That temporary preemption sunsets automatically when the window closes.

But buried beneath the World Cup provisions are permanent changes to Kansas lodging-tax law. The bill amends the statutory definition of "hotel, motel or tourist court" by raising the bedroom threshold from more than two bedrooms to more than three—potentially pulling some three-bedroom short-term rentals out of the local transient guest tax base depending on how local ordinances incorporate that definition. It also adjusts the "accommodations broker" definition to cover inventories as low as one room, which could expand who has tax-collection obligations.

The temporary piece is drawing attention, but the permanent tax-definition changes may matter more in the long run. Local governments that rely on transient guest tax revenue to fund tourism promotion could see their taxable base shift, and traditional hotels may raise tax-parity concerns. The bill heads to the full House, where the World Cup urgency will compete with questions about whether permanent lodging-tax rewrites belong in a time-limited preemption bill.

New Bills Introduced

Senate

  • 🐝🐝 SB 512: Removes 8-week layoff limit; exempts SUB payments

  • 🐝 SB 511: Legislature must approve KDWP reorganizations

  • 🐝 SB 510: Credit park fee interest to parks fund monthly

  • SR 1726: Congratulating and commending award-winning educators in Kansas.

House

  • 🐝 HB 2779: Requires a Reno County resident on State Fair Board

  • HCR 5031: Ratifying and providing for the continuation of the state of disaster emergency declaration issued on February 9, 2026, for Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

Floor Votes

Monday, February 16

Senate (1)

  • HB 2004: PASS — Passage (28 Yes, 9 No, 3 Absent). Kansas DCF and KDHE must sign written data-sharing agreements and provide requested SNAP/Medicaid data to USDA and HHS within 30 days, with no state conditions. This affects public assistance recipients and will increase agency legal and IT work.

Committee Actions

Bills Reported Out

Agriculture and Natural Resources

  • HB 2114 (substitute bill be passed): Raises dam and stream permit fees; tightens inspections

  • SB 465 (bill be passed as amended): Adds LLPs to county approval for dairy/swine farms

  • HB 2582 (bill be passed as amended): Pays up to $100K to vets who serve rural Kansas

  • SB 407 (bill be passed as amended): KDHE may adopt hazardous waste monitoring and fee rules

Appropriations

  • HB 2434 (substitute bill be passed): Sets FY2026–29 state spending and policy changes

Assessment and Taxation

  • SB 303 (bill be passed as amended): Allows county sales taxes to fund local public projects

  • SB 319 (bill be passed): Creates property tax rebates when sales show overvaluation

  • SB 498 (bill be passed): New $0.05/gal credit for E15 sales; ends vehicle credits

  • SB 402 (bill be passed as amended): Changes homestead income rules and SAFESR limits

  • SB 332 (bill be passed as amended): Exclude buyer’s auction fees from sale price

Commerce

  • SB 334 (bill be passed): Sets nursing instructor degree minimums for program approval

  • SB 429 (bill be passed): Extend angel investor tax credit through 2031

  • SB 418 (bill be passed as amended): Streamlines housing permits with 15-day approvals

Commerce, Labor and Economic Development

  • HB 2481 (bill be passed as amended): Limits local short‑term rental rules, speeds approvals

  • HB 2737 (bill be passed as amended): Allows taxpayer agreements with tax-lien security

  • HB 2346 (bill be passed as amended): Creates Kansas sports tourism matching grant program

Corrections and Juvenile Justice

  • HB 2655 (bill be passed as amended): Specialty court completion opens municipal expungement

Education

  • SB 382 (bill be passed as amended): Virtual schools may proctor statewide tests

  • HB 2717 (bill be passed): Require school attendance starting at age 6

  • SB 384 (bill be passed as amended): Extends application deadline, auto-approves if review late

  • HB 2420 (bill be passed as amended): Requires parental consent for school mental health services

Elections

  • HB 2569 (bill be passed): Moves statewide election challenges to Shawnee County

  • HB 2453 (bill be passed as amended): Moves Kansas voter deadlines earlier

  • HB 2491 (bill be passed as amended): State agencies must report noncitizen benefit data

  • HCR 5021 (resolution be adopted as amended): Constitutional Photo ID Required to Vote

Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications

  • HB 2435 (substitute bill be passed): Allows utilities to recover more gas infrastructure costs

Federal and State Affairs

  • HB 2502 (bill be passed as amended): Discount senior hunting & fishing pass; youth fee cut

  • HB 2505 (bill be passed as amended): Blocks public release of exact locations for at-risk wildlife

  • HB 2573 (bill be passed): Grants practice privileges to out-of-state CPAs

  • HB 2504 (bill be passed): Blocks local limits on landlord screening and vouchers

  • HB 2507 (bill be passed): Removes signature rule; raises waterfowl stamp fee cap

  • HB 2727 (bill be passed): Allows capped damages for certain abortion consent suits

  • HB 2729 (bill be passed): Requires KDHE forms and notices for abortions

  • HB 2635 (bill be passed): Protects pregnancy centers from abortion-related mandates

  • HB 2511 (bill be passed as amended): Let wildlife agency use farm revenue across state lands

Financial Institutions and Insurance

  • SB 472 (bill be passed): Sets annual insurance/securities fees; ends 10% GF credit

  • SB 412 (bill be passed as amended): Conservators must notify asset holders within 15 days

  • SB 422 (bill be passed as amended): Faster license revocation for nonresident agents

  • SB 410 (bill be passed): Extend data-security rules to earned wage access providers

Government Efficiency

  • SB 450 (bill be passed as amended): Authorizes cash awards to state employees who report fraud

  • SB 432 (bill be passed): Removes dentist 20% in‑office presence rule

Health and Human Services

  • HB 2368 (bill be passed as amended): Licenses anesthesiologist assistants under state board

  • HB 2509 (bill be passed as amended): Adds APRNs to state malpractice insurance system

  • HB 2520 (bill be passed as amended): Raise Home Plus resident limit from 12 to 16

Higher Education Budget

  • HB 2374 (bill be passed as amended): Creates specialty loan program; consolidates funds

Insurance

  • HB 2703 (bill be passed): Requires reports on how health bills affect consumer costs

  • HB 2564 (bill be passed): Dentists keep control of claim payment methods

Judiciary

  • SB 463 (bill be passed as amended): Limits negligence claims and narrows security duty

  • SB 374 (bill be passed as amended): Sets new rules for competency restoration and forced meds

  • SB 481 (bill be passed as amended): Municipal judges can order competency exams

  • SB 480 (bill be passed): Restores court control over estates of missing Kansans

  • SB 462 (bill be passed as amended): Narrows public nuisance claims, centralizes AG authority

  • SB 459 (bill be passed as amended): Expand parole board; postpone hearings if victims not notified

  • HB 2594 (bill be passed as amended): Broadens blackmail law to cover nude images, deepfakes

  • HB 2460 (bill be passed as amended): Limits searchable online home-address info for officials

  • HB 2537 (bill be passed as amended): Tougher penalties for sexual extortion of minors

  • HB 2521 (bill be passed as amended): Treats child placement agencies as state for lawsuits

  • HB 2747 (bill be passed): Require courts to use DUI comparability factors

K-12 Education Budget

  • HB 2482 (bill be passed as amended): State board can pick any college/career test

  • HB 2618 (bill be passed as amended): State Board must report federal education funding

  • HB 2672 (bill be passed): Updates outdated disability terms in state law

Local Government

  • HB 2698 (bill be passed): Allows courts to permanently seize animals after convictions

  • HB 2634 (bill be passed): Sets default rental maintenance code where none exists

Local Government, Transparency and Ethics

  • SB 436 (bill be passed as amended): Raise county construction bid threshold to $100K

Public Health and Welfare

  • SB 431 (bill be passed): Allows Kansas pharmacies to use remote pharmacy staff

Transportation

  • HB 2647 (bill be passed as amended): KDOT may build and run statewide fiber network

Veterans and Military

  • HB 2626 (bill be passed as amended): Give hiring preference to Guard, reservists and spouses

  • HB 2732 (bill be passed): Show veteran service-connection on Kansas death certificates

  • HB 2627 (bill be passed as amended): Expands private hiring preference to servicemembers, spouses

  • HB 2758 (bill be passed): Directs creation of Capitol kiosk honoring Kansas fallen

  • HB 2214 (bill be passed as amended): Limits fees and referrals for paid veterans help

Welfare Reform

  • HB 2738 (bill be passed as amended): Limits SNAP purchases of candy and soft drinks

  • HB 2731 (substitute bill be passed): Requires DCF and OIG to share fraud-related records

Bills Referred

Agriculture and Natural Resources

  • SB 344: Allows shelters to foster sick and newborn animals

Assessment and Taxation

  • HB 2470: Allows small towns to designate entire city as revitalization area

  • HB 2440: Removes filing step for exempt oil lease owners

Committee of the Whole

  • HCR 5031: Ratifying and providing for the continuation of the state of disaster emergency declaration issued on February 9, 2026, for Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

Education

  • SB 387: Requires income proof to count free-meal students

  • HB 2468: Joins federal SGO tax credit and doubles state credit cap

Federal and State Affairs

  • SB 355: Licenses e-cigarette makers; bans youth-focused marketing

  • SB 364: Discounted senior hunting & fishing license

  • HB 2779: Requires a Reno County resident on State Fair Board

  • SB 508: Double lottery transfers for crisis centers and clubhouses

  • SB 507: Bars immigration enforcement within 400 ft of polling sites

Judiciary

  • HB 2479: Allows pretrial electronic monitoring with victim alerts

Local Government

  • SB 396: Removes Ohio Township from Clearwater cemetery district

Public Health and Welfare

  • HB 2557: Adopts updated interstate compact for child placements

  • HB 2132: Limits child removals for poverty; tightens custody rules

Taxation

  • HB 2757: Ends many tax credits after 2025, extends angel credit

  • SB 434: Expands veterans' sales tax exemption

Transportation

  • HB 2579: Designates part of K-49 as Pvt. Michael E. Gerber Memorial

Ways and Means

  • SB 439: Standardizes utility crossings of railroad rights-of-way

  • SB 509: Sheridan County may add 0.25% sales tax for jail

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