Topeka Buzz: February 24, 2026

Are there really only 4 weeks left in the session?

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Jason Anderson
February 24, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 25 minutes

Topeka Buzz 🐝
Tuesday, February 24, 2026

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The House Passed 65 Bills on Turnaround Day

The Kansas House voted on 65 bills Thursday in its Turnaround Day marathon, clearing dozens of measures to the Senate before the deadline for non-exempt bills to pass their chamber of origin. Most sailed through with broad support, but a handful revealed sharp divisions—and two bills failed outright.

The tightest margins came on HB 2503 and HB 2738, both passing 72-50. HB 2503, sponsored by Rep. Pat Proctor (R-Leavenworth)—who chairs the House Elections Committee and is running for Secretary of State—repeals Kansas' Mail Ballot Election Act, eliminating the framework that allowed local entities to conduct elections entirely by mail. County election officers, local governments, special districts, and voters in local question elections will be directly affected; because the bill doesn't create a statewide funding source, any cost changes fall to local election budgets. HB 2738 directs the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to seek a USDA waiver to ban candy and soft drinks from SNAP purchases…a bill the legislature passed once before in 2025, which Gov. Kelly vetoed but then submitted the waiver herself anyway through a budget proviso. DCF applied for the waiver in May 2025, and it remains pending. The House Appropriations budget separately withholds $10 million in State General Fund dollars from DCF until the waiver is approved and implemented. Also passing on a divided vote: HB 2569 (74-48), which requires anyone challenging the constitutionality of a statewide Kansas law to file the case in Shawnee County District Court. The Secretary of State's office testified in support, saying the bill would prevent voting rights groups from "forum shopping" legal challenges to election laws. Democrats accused supporters of cherry-picking a favorable venue, noting the burden on plaintiffs who live hours from Topeka.

On the losing side, HB 2736—which would have required certain hospitals to screen uninsured patients for financial assistance eligibility—went down in a 20-102 blowout, the most lopsided vote of the day. And HB 2366, which would have expanded the scope of practice for naturopathic doctors to include prescribing certain drugs and performing IV therapies, failed on a 58-58 tie.

All 65 bills that passed now head to the Senate. Both HB 2503 and HB 2738 face uncertain paths: the Senate has shown less appetite for election restrictions in recent sessions, and the SNAP waiver still requires federal approval that has been slow in coming. HB 2569's venue-centralization requirement is likely to draw immediate legal scrutiny.

Eighteen Bills Fail to Cross Turnaround

Not every bill got a floor vote. At least 18 House bills were stricken from the calendar under Rule 1507 on Turnaround Day, meaning they were removed without a vote and are dead for the 2026 session. (The full list appears in the Failed Bills section below.)

Several notable proposals were among the casualties. HB 2452, which would have consolidated local elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years beginning in 2028, was stricken; it would have shifted municipal primaries to August of even-numbered years and consolidated races that currently happen in lower-turnout odd-year cycles. HB 2558, which would have raised annual State General Fund transfers to the State Water Plan from $35 million to $60 million and extended local water project funding through 2031, was also removed—a significant loss for small cities and water districts. And HB 2717, which would have lowered Kansas' compulsory school attendance age from seven to six, was stricken after clearing the Education Committee.

These bills were not "blessed" by leadership (a distinction that matters). As explained below, several other high-profile bills that also lacked the votes for floor passage were kept alive through a different procedural route.

Leadership Blessed Seven Bills Through the Interstate Cooperation Maneuver

While some bills were stricken and others were voted on, a third category of bills survived Turnaround through a procedural move that most Kansans have never heard of: the "blessing."

Here's how it works. Under the Kansas Legislature's joint rules, the Turnaround deadline only applies to "non-exempt" bills. A bill becomes exempt if it is "sponsored by, referred to, or acted upon by" an exempt committee—the list includes House and Senate Federal and State Affairs, Senate Ways and Means, Senate Assessment and Taxation, and House Appropriations, Taxation, and Calendar and Printing. But there's a loophole: the House Interstate Cooperation Committee, which is chaired by Speaker Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) and includes top leadership, can serve as a blessing vehicle. By withdrawing a bill from its original committee and referring it to Interstate Cooperation before the Turnaround deadline, leadership changes the bill's procedural status. Once the bill has been "referred to" this leadership-controlled committee, it is no longer subject to the requirement that it pass its house of origin by Turnaround Day. Leadership can then re-refer it back to a substantive committee, where it sits until they decide what to do with it.

On Thursday, seven bills took this route—withdrawn from Interstate Cooperation and re-referred to substantive committees:

  • HCR 5026: A constitutional amendment declaring "life from conception" as an inalienable natural right. Re-referred to Federal and State Affairs, which is independently exempt—making this bill doubly alive.

  • HB 2009: A near-total abortion ban enforced through private civil lawsuits (modeled on Texas' SB 8). Re-referred to Health and Human Services.

  • HB 2010: A near-total abortion ban enforced through criminal prosecution, including a severity level 1 person felony. Re-referred to Health and Human Services.

  • HB 2375: The Healthcare Access for Working Kansans (HAWK) Act—Medicaid expansion with work requirements and a 90% federal match trigger. Re-referred to Health and Human Services. This bill has been bounced between HHS and Interstate Cooperation six times across two sessions.

  • HB 2600: The Affordable Healthcare for Kansans program—a simpler Medicaid expansion bill without the work requirements in HB 2375. Re-referred to Health and Human Services.

  • SB 284: The Defense of Drug Delivery Act, which bars drug manufacturers from restricting 340B drug distribution to qualifying hospitals and clinics. Already passed the Senate 34-6 in 2025, so it was alive regardless—but the blessing provides an additional procedural cushion. Re-referred to Health and Human Services.

  • HB 2328: Allows the secretary of corrections to deliver prison-made housing units to communities with minimal building activity. Re-referred to Health and Human Services.

The pattern is striking. Leadership chose to keep alive both the most conservative social policy bills in the chamber (two abortion bans and a life-at-conception amendment) and two Democratic-sponsored Medicaid expansion proposals. Meanwhile, bills on conservation funding, water infrastructure, election consolidation, and lowering the school age were allowed to die.

Being blessed does not mean a bill will pass—it means leadership has preserved the option to move it. The content of these bills is more likely to surface through other vehicles: a gut-and-stuff into a Senate bill, an amendment during conference committee, or insertion into budget legislation. Whether any of these blessed bills actually reach the governor's desk will depend on how leadership chooses to play its hand over the next four weeks before the scheduled March 27 adjournment.

Floor Votes

Thursday, February 19

Budget & Appropriations (1)

Business & Commerce (7)

Civil Rights (1)

Criminal Justice (10)

Education (3)

Elections & Government (7)

Energy & Environment (1)

Healthcare (11)

Housing (1)

Infrastructure (4)

Natural Resources (3)

Public Safety (2)

Social Services (14)

Committee Actions

Interstate Cooperation

Bills Re-referred

  • HCR 5026: Adds 'life from conception' to Kansas constitution

  • HB 2600: Expands Medicaid to adults up to 138% FPL

  • HB 2328: Allows prison-made housing in designated areas

  • HB 2375: Expands Medicaid for low-income Kansans, adds work checks

  • SB 284: Stops manufacturers from blocking 340B drug delivery

  • HB 2009: Prohibits nearly all abortions and allows private lawsuits

  • HB 2010: Bans abortion; creates felonies for providers

Failed Bills

House

  • HB 2736: Hospitals must screen all uninsured patients for charity care and financial help, apply any qualifying discounts before sending a bill, and may not garnish wages or report medical debt to credit bureaus until eligibility is verified. (Final Action - Not passed; Yea: 20 Nay: 102)

  • HB 2424: Adds a new license for pump installation contractors and tightens rules for water well contractors. The bill sets exam and experience requirements, requires 30-day pump and well reports, and directs fees to the water program fund. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2404: Adults convicted of sexual offenses against minors could be banned from entering school grounds or attending school events, and some lifetime registrants could be barred from living within 1,000 feet of K-12 schools; repeat violations become felonies. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2218: If the FDA approves a crystalline form of psilocybin, this bill treats that specific drug as a Schedule IV medicine in Kansas, allowing regulated medical use while keeping other psilocybin forms controlled. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2063: Creates time-limited conservation funds paid from state gaming revenue to fund grants for working lands, wildlife, and outdoor access. Up to $16M/year may transfer in FY2026–FY2030, split 50/25/25; funds cannot buy land outright and sunset in 2031. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2447: Kansas will hold a statewide presidential preference primary on the first Tuesday in March every four years starting in 2028. Voters get a predictable date, but registration deadlines move earlier and some mail‑ballot local elections may need rescheduling. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2180: Provides on-demand audio, electronic text, and braille services for Kansans who are blind, visually impaired, deafblind, or print disabled. The state librarian will contract the service and the Kansas Universal Service Fund will transfer certified yearly funds into a new state fund. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2420: Parents must get direct verbal and written notice and give written consent before schools provide most school-based mental health services. Schools must include the service purpose, timeline, and plan; violations carry a $5,000 penalty. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2717: The bill lowers Kansas’s required school-start age from 7 to 6 for children who turn 6 on or before August 31, requiring enrollment each year until age 18 unless a high school credential is earned. Public, qualifying private, or home instruction options apply; a one-year religious exemption is allowed. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2493: Requires anyone returning another person’s advance ballot to include their Kansas driver’s license or nondriver ID number on the ballot’s written statement. Could make it harder for some voters who rely on helpers while improving traceability. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2765: Kansas updates drug schedules to add many fentanyl analogs and other synthetic opioids, clarifying which compounds count as "fentanyl-related." The change may affect prosecutions, lab testing, and anyone charged in related cases. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2634: If a city or county has no or only a partial rental maintenance code, landlords must follow the International Property Maintenance Code (2012). Tenants get clearer safety standards; some landlords may face added repair costs. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2734: HB2734 requires faster court action for children under age 2 in child‑in‑need‑of‑care cases, aiming for permanency within 12 months, earlier hearings, and yearly DCF reports to the Legislature. It tightens rules that delay cases. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2672: Changes Kansas law to remove outdated, stigmatizing words and use person-first language for people with intellectual disabilities. It updates two statutes (a 0.5 mill property tax levy and Winter Veterans Hospital wording) without changing taxes or services. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2486: This bill requires children to be toilet trained to enroll in Kansas public kindergarten and asks parents for a written assurance. Children with IEP/504 plans or verified medical conditions are exempt. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2465: Gives Kansas professionals and businesses protection from license or association penalties for expressing sincerely held religious beliefs outside work and lets harmed people sue for damages and attorney fees. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2452: Starting in 2028, Kansas will hold city, school, community college, and many local district elections in even-numbered years. Local officials will serve either two- or four-year terms, and some 2027 terms are extended to January 2029 to make the change. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2698: If a county allows it, a judge can order that an animal not be returned to an owner found guilty of violating county animal care, custody, or control rules. Counties decide how to dispose of the animal; local shelters and counties likely absorb costs. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2582: The bill offers up to $100,000 to veterinarians who commit to four years of full-time food-animal practice in rural Kansas to boost local vet services. Awards are subject to funding and must be repaid with interest if service commitments are broken. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2585: Kansas drivers can choose a Delta Waterfowl specialty plate starting Jan. 1, 2027. They pay regular registration fees plus an annual $25–$100 logo royalty and must agree to share certain vehicle record details with Delta Waterfowl to get or renew the plate. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2584: Lets Kansas drivers request a Kansas mailing address on their driver's license instead of their home address. This can improve privacy or convenience but may affect using the card as proof of residence in some cases. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2558: The bill raises annual transfers to Kansas’ State Water Plan and increases grants for technical help and construction, boosting aid for small towns by raising yearly transfers from $35M to $60M for listed years. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2270: The bill requires legislative IT audit reports be sent to branch CISOs and gives the state IT office more control over cloud, telecom, device inventories, and large IT purchases. It mainly affects executive agencies, OITS, and security staff. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2544: Creates a state fund to reimburse certain telecom and video providers for costs to move equipment in public rights-of-way when a city, county, or township orders the move. Fund gets annual transfers from insurance tax receipts plus monthly interest credits. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2450: The bill lets campaign accounts that hold more than $1,000 in funds or have over $1,000 in debts avoid automatic closure, and it clarifies which contributions and expenses count for the primary versus the general election. It may extend reporting for some accounts. (Stricken from Calendar by Rule 1507)

  • HB 2366: Gives Kansas naturopathic doctors wider clinical and prescribing authority, while adding 10-year recordkeeping, 25 hours of annual continuing education, and higher malpractice insurance. Affects patients, naturopaths, and state regulators. (Emergency Final Action - Not passed; Yea: 58 Nay: 58)

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