Topeka Buzz 🐝
Monday, February 2, 2026
Table of Contents
Race to the Primary?
Three weeks into the 2026 Kansas legislative session, the numbers tell a story of a Legislature in a hurry. Over 350 bills introduced. One measure already on the Governor's desk. And a turnaround deadline (February 19!) barreling toward lawmakers in less than three weeks.
But the numbers make sense in context, and this year's context is unlike anything Topeka has seen in a generation:
A term-limited Democratic governor who can't run again
A Republican supermajority that just got bigger
The House Speaker, Senate President, and Senate Minority Leader running for other offices
An election year with all 125 House seats and statewide seats on the ballot
A primary election in August with a critical constitutional amendment vote on the state supreme court and competitive rosters for Governor from both parties
A fast start, even by Kansas standards
The Legislature introduced 357 bills in its first three weeks—115 in week one, 107 in week two, and 135 in week three. That's roughly 9% above the first three weeks of the 2025 session, which itself was considered brisk.
For broader perspective, Kansas legislatures typically introduce between 600 and 800 bills per full session. The 2025 session ended with 707 introductions and 129 bills signed into law—an 18% passage rate that legislative leaders called one of the most productive sessions in recent memory. If 2026 maintains its current pace, total introductions could approach the upper end of that historical range.
The 2025-26 biennium is on track to approach a record number of new bills introduced
What the supermajority is building
Look past the individual bills, and the agenda comes into focus through three priorities that leadership has stated plainly: tax relief, deregulation, and fiscal restraint.
Senate President Masterson has made property taxes the centerpiece of his legislative agenda—and, not coincidentally, his gubernatorial campaign. (Note: before becoming a legislator, Masterson was a Realtor.) He has been blunt about the disconnect with Governor Kelly, noting after her State of the State address that she failed to mention property taxes at all. "Everywhere I've gone, property taxes are the number one thing, by far," he told reporters.
Speaker Hawkins has framed the House agenda as a "people-first" platform built around affordability. His specific targets include deregulating single-family home construction, modifying tort law to lower insurance costs, and addressing utility rates. (Note: Hawkins is an insurance agent.) He's also proposed roughly $200 million in budget cuts—telling an ALEC conference last August that Medicaid in particular had "lots of opportunity" for savings.
Kelly's priorities, as outlined in her final State of the State, center on passing a balanced budget, standing up the new Office of Early Childhood by July 1, and finalizing a statewide water strategy. Notably, her speech leaned heavily on bipartisan accomplishments and legacy-building rather than new policy fights—the posture of a governor running out her clock.
The ideological pattern across the 414 active bills reinforces what leadership has been saying. Business and commerce leads all policy areas with 108 bills, followed by elections and government (101) and healthcare (80). Taxation accounts for 69 bills. Within those categories, business regulation (61 bills), government operations (54), and consumer protection (43) dominate—all areas where the Republican caucus is focused on reducing government footprint and lowering costs.
An exceptional share of bills are focusing on elections and business deregulation
What's largely absent from the Republican leadership agenda is equally revealing. Medicaid expansion, despite polling showing 72% of Kansans support it, has no pathway. The financial case has weakened further since the federal enhanced matching incentive for new expansion states expired in January. On abortion, HB 2010 proposes a near-total prohibition.
Property taxes: the issue that unites everyone (in theory)
If there's one issue where voter frustration has genuinely reached both parties, it's property taxes. Between 2021 and 2024, Kansas assessed property valuations jumped 32% while per capita income rose only 19.5%. The Fort Hays State Docking Institute found roughly a third of Kansans consider property taxes a moderate or serious threat to staying in their homes.
The frustration is real. The consensus on a solution is not.
The highest-profile proposal is SCR 1616, a constitutional amendment that would cap annual increases in assessed property values at 3%. Masterson backs it, as do at least 16 Republican senators. The Senate tax committee endorsed it on January 22. If it passes both chambers with two-thirds majorities, Kansas voters would decide the question at an August 4 ballot election.
But the path is treacherous. A similar amendment—HCR 5011, with a 4% cap—fell one vote short in the Senate last March when five Republicans joined Democrats to oppose it. The Kansas Farm Bureau is against the cap, warning it would shift tax burden to agricultural land. School board associations cite Legislative Research Department projections showing $1 billion in lost school revenue over five years. And some of the bill's own supporters acknowledge its limitations: Senator Stephen Owens noted during 2025 debate that the amendment would not actually lower property taxes, only slow their growth.
SCR 1616 isn't the only approach in play. SCR 1619 would reduce the residential assessment rate from 11.5% to 9%. HB 2457 would freeze property taxes for homeowners 65 and older. HB 2011 would cut the statewide school levy rate. And HB 2575 takes the most radical approach of all: eliminating motor vehicle registration fees, sales tax on transfers, and vehicle property tax entirely.
The variety of proposals reflects both the depth of voter frustration and the difficulty of the underlying problem. Property taxes in Kansas are set locally by counties, cities, and school districts, making state-level solutions inherently complicated. Capping valuations doesn't cap mill levies. Freezing one category shifts burden to another. Every approach creates winners and losers, and in an election year, the losers will be loud.
Bill Hearings in Committee This Week
Monday, February 2
Financial Institutions and Pensions (House): 9:00 AM • 582-N
HB 2590 🐝: Authorizes Kansas community property trusts
Joint Committee on Information Technology (Joint): 9:00 AM • 218-N
HB 2574 🐝🐝: Extend cybersecurity oversight and tie it to budgets
Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate): 9:30 AM • 546-S
SB 409 🐝🐝: Eliminates patient cost-sharing for certain breast imaging
Federal and State Affairs (Senate): 10:30 AM • 144-S
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (House): 1:30 PM • 346-S
Transportation (House): 1:30 PM • 582-N
HB 2542 🐝: Designate portion of U.S. 56 as Bill Tucker Memorial
Corrections and Juvenile Justice (House): 1:30 PM • 546-S
HB 2527 🐝🐝: Bars work and education release for registrants
Health and Human Services (House): 1:30 PM • 112-N
Insurance (House): 3:30 PM • 218-N
Judiciary (House): 3:30 PM • 582-N
Tuesday, February 3
Transportation (Senate): 8:30 AM • 546-S
SB 403 🐝: Kansas allows pheasant and quail specialty license plates
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (House): 8:30 AM • 546-S
SB 403 🐝: Kansas allows pheasant and quail specialty license plates
Agriculture and Natural Resources (Senate): 8:30 AM • 144-S
SB 364 🐝: Creates discounted senior hunting & fishing combo license
Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications (House): 9:00 AM • 582-N
HB 2586 🐝🐝: Includes certain broadband revenues in city franchise fees
Federal and State Affairs (House): 9:00 AM • 346-S
HB 2567 🐝🐝: Requires producers to fund battery recycling program
Appropriations (House): 9:00 AM • 112-N
HB 2513 🐝: State pays named property claims from general fund
Veterans and Military (House): 9:00 AM • 281-N
HB 2214 🐝🐝: Limits fees and sets rules for paid veterans benefits helpers
Government Efficiency (Senate): 9:30 AM • 144-S
SB 428 🐝🐝: Requires Kansas agencies to share program data with federal agencies
Assessment and Taxation (Senate): 9:30 AM • 548-S
Local Government, Transparency and Ethics (Senate): 9:30 AM • 142-S
SB 124 🐝🐝: Tightens city annexation limits, expands lawsuits
Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate): 9:30 AM • 546-S
SB 232 🐝🐝: Allows limited KPERS investments in foreign sovereign debt
Federal and State Affairs (Senate): 10:30 AM • 144-S
SB 261 🐝🐝: Allows some felons to get alcohol licenses after 10 years
Judiciary (Senate): 10:30 AM • 346-S
Health and Human Services (House): 1:30 PM • 112-N
Commerce (Senate): 1:30 PM • 159-S
Education (Senate): 1:30 PM • 144-S
Child Welfare and Foster Care (House): 1:30 PM • 152-S
HB 2557 🐝🐝: Adopts updated interstate compact for child placements
Transportation (House): 1:30 PM • 582-N
HB 2522 🐝: Allow expanded flashing lights on highway work vehicles
Education (House): 1:30 PM • 218-N
Agriculture and Natural Resources (House): 3:30 PM • 112-N
HB 2547 🐝🐝: Requires upland game bird stamp and funds bird releases
Elections (House): 3:30 PM • 218-N
Wednesday, February 4
Agriculture and Natural Resources (Senate): 8:30 AM • 144-S
SB 317 🐝🐝: Requires 25‑year water supply for water grants
Transportation (Senate): 8:30 AM • 546-S
SB 321 🐝: Names I-35/US-69 & 18th St interchange for Rep. Tomlinson
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (House): 8:30 AM • 546-S
SB 321 🐝: Names I-35/US-69 & 18th St interchange for Rep. Tomlinson
Local Government (House): 9:00 AM • 281-N
Federal and State Affairs (House): 9:00 AM • 346-S
Financial Institutions and Pensions (House): 9:00 AM • 582-N
Assessment and Taxation (Senate): 9:30 AM • 548-S
Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate): 9:30 AM • 546-S
SB 330 🐝🐝: Standardizes electronic prior authorization for healthcare
Judiciary (Senate): 10:30 AM • 346-S
Federal and State Affairs (Senate): 10:30 AM • 144-S
SB 356 🐝: Shields dealers from suits for returning stored guns
Health and Human Services (House): 1:30 PM • 112-N
Commerce (Senate): 1:30 PM • 159-S
SB 335 🐝🐝: Requires mutual waiver of consequential damages
Education (House): 1:30 PM • 218-N
Child Welfare and Foster Care (House): 1:30 PM • 152-S
HB 2589 🐝🐝: Bars anonymous DCF abuse reports; law enforcement may accept
Education (Senate): 1:30 PM • 144-S
Judiciary (House): 3:30 PM • 582-N
HB 2480 🐝🐝: Limits mandatory reports by social workers on legal teams
K-12 Education Budget (House): 3:30 PM • 546-S
HB 2482 🐝🐝: State may use any provider for college and career exams
Taxation (House): 3:30 PM • 346-S
HB 2469 🐝🐝: Expand rail maintenance credit to more state taxes
Insurance (House): 3:30 PM • 218-N
HB 2550 🐝🐝: Hospitals must report 340B drug costs and payments
Thursday, February 5
Public Health and Welfare (Senate): 8:30 AM • 142-S
SB 271 🐝🐝: Updates income limits for Kansas children's CHIP
Federal and State Affairs (House): 9:00 AM • 346-S
HB 2504 🐝🐝: Blocks local limits on landlord screening and vouchers
Assessment and Taxation (Senate): 9:30 AM • 548-S
SB 368 🐝🐝: Allows Kansas tax subtraction for health-sharing fees
Financial Institutions and Insurance (Senate): 9:30 AM • 546-S
SB 55 🐝🐝: Bans post-loss contractor assignment of insurance benefits
Judiciary (Senate): 10:30 AM • 346-S
Senate Select Committee on Veterans Affairs (Joint): 12:00 PM • 144-S
HB 2274 🐝: Expand military access to faster occupational licenses
Transportation and Public Safety Budget (House): 12:00 PM • 144-S
HB 2274 🐝: Expand military access to faster occupational licenses
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (House): 1:30 PM • 346-S
Education (House): 1:30 PM • 218-N
Utilities (Senate): 1:30 PM • 548-S
SB 380 🐝🐝: Limits utility cost recovery for public EV fast chargers
Health and Human Services (House): 1:30 PM • 112-N
Transportation (House): 1:30 PM • 582-N
Elections (House): 3:30 PM • 218-N
Judiciary (House): 3:30 PM • 582-N
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