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The 🐝 Rating System
Each bill is evaluated based on four key factors: Scope of Impact, Financial Impact, Urgency, and Controversy. These factors are weighted to reflect their influence on the bill's overall importance. Here's how the ratings break down:
🐝 Minimal Impact: Legislation with limited reach or lower urgency and controversy.
🐝🐝 Moderate Impact: Proposals with a broader or more notable influence, addressing issues of medium urgency or financial significance.
🐝🐝🐝 High Impact: Bills with widespread consequences, urgent needs, or significant public and political attention.
Daily Legislative Update 🐝
Friday, February 7, 2025
Below is today’s morning update on published activities in the Kansas Legislature.
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Major tax and budget proposals pass the Senate
Two of the earliest items filed this session were SB 14 and SCR 1603. Both would have major financial impacts:
SB 14 creates a “continuous state budget” mechanism that makes all state appropriations automatically continue as-is into the next fiscal year, in the event the legislature does not pass an explicit budget. The proposal is strongly endorsed by Americans for Prosperity; it has the potential to be extremely destabilizing to some departmental operations, particularly in situations where there are disagreements between the legislature and the governor that lead to a budget negotiations deadlock.
SCR 1603 implements a California-style “Prop 13” limit on property tax valuation increases. It restricts residential assessed values from increasing more than 3% per year, including during the sale or transfer of property. This would disconnect property values from their assessed values; for example, home buyers whose lenders require assessed values to meet or exceed the negotiated purchase price of a home may find that much more difficult.
Should SCR 1603 clear the House as well, it will place the issue on the ballot (and likely trigger significant marketing campaigns, both for and against the measure).
New BillBee Feature: Bill Categories!
You may have noticed that the Topeka Buzz list of newly introduced bills has started organizing the bills into topical categories. You can now filter the bill list on billbee.ai with these same tags:
Category dropdown on billbee.ai makes it easier to find bills of interest
Bills and Resolutions
UPDATE: Summaries of these bills are now published on BillBee. The links below go directly to each bill’s writeup.
Bills Under Consideration
House Bills on the Floor for Consideration
Final Action on Bills and Concurrent Resolutions:
HB 2020 (PASSED) – Quarterly reporting of noncitizen driver's license information.
Consent Calendar (Bills Eligible for Fast-Track Approval):
Senate Bills on the Floor for Consideration
Final Action on Bills and Concurrent Resolutions:
Consent Calendar (Bills Eligible for Fast-Track Approval):
New Bills Introduced
House Bills:
Government Organization, Elections, and Public Administration:
🐝🐝 HB 2313: Prohibits AI platform access on state-issued devices.
Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Corrections:
🐝🐝 HB 2312: Excludes certain offenders from drug treatment programs.
Taxes, Fiscal Policy, and Economic Development:
🐝🐝 HB 2318: Income tax rate decreases hinge on revenue exceeding projections.
Healthcare and Public Health:
🐝🐝 HB 2310: Supports disability workforce development programs and services.
🐝🐝 HB 2314: Establishes peer support certification standards in healthcare.
🐝 HB 2315: Designates September 9 as FASD awareness day.
🐝 HB 2316: Establishes funds for civil penalty reinvestment.
🐝 HB 2317: Establishes the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders task force.
Child Welfare, Family Services, and Social Assistance:
🐝🐝 HB 2311: Prohibits conflicting child placement policies with religious beliefs.
Transportation and Infrastructure:
🐝🐝 HB 2319: Permits digital driver's licenses and identification cards issuance.
Education:
🐝🐝 HB 2320: Transfer and attendance rights for foster children in schools.
Senate Bills:
Taxes, Fiscal Policy, and Economic Development:
🐝🐝 SB 223: Authorize sales tax for school facility financing in Russell County.
🐝🐝 SB 224: Tax credit for healthcare training preceptors.
🐝 SB 225: Counties must buy certain homesteads at appraised value.
🐝 SB 226: Allows deductions for losses from wagering transactions.
🐝🐝 SB 227: Historic structures tax credit varies by city size.
Healthcare and Public Health:
Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Corrections:
Child Welfare, Family Services, and Social Assistance:
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources:
🐝🐝 SB 233: Establishes decommissioning requirements for wind and solar facilities.
Labor, Employment, and Workers’ Rights:
🐝🐝 SB 229: Terminates occupational licenses every five years unless extended.
Government Organization, Elections, and Public Administration:
Insurance and Financial Regulation:
Transportation and Infrastructure:
🐝🐝 SB 230: Allows digital driver's licenses and ID cards.
Agriculture:
🐝🐝 SB 235: Bans sale of neonicotinoid-coated seeds from 2028.
Senate Resolutions:
Education:
🐝 SR 1708: Designate February 5, 2025, as Early Childhood Advocacy Day.
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Session Highlights for February 6, 2025
House of Representatives
The House, presided over by Speaker pro tempore Carpenter, focused on legislative actions and committee recommendations.
Session convened at 11:00 a.m. and was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Roll Call:
117 members were present, with Reps. Huebert, Schlingensiepen, Seiwert, Sweely, and Weigel excused for illness; Reps. Ohaebosim and Willcott excused on legislative business; Rep. Corbet excused by the Speaker.
Bill Actions:
HB 2020: Passed, as amended.
Committee Actions:
Additional Notes:
Prayer Highlights: Chaplain Holmes delivered a prayer emphasizing discretion, wisdom, integrity, and support for the families of representatives.
Adjournment: The House adjourned until 11:00 a.m., Friday, February 7, 2025.
Senate
The Senate, presided over by President Ty Masterson, conducted sessions on legislative actions and confirmations.
Session convened at 2:30 p.m. and was adjourned pro forma until 1:30 p.m., February 7, 2025.
Roll Call:
39 senators were present, with Senator Ware excused.
Bill Actions:
Committee Actions:
Additional Notes:
Prayer Highlights: Guest chaplain Greg Fletcher delivered an invocation emphasizing wisdom, peace, understanding, and support for members and their families.
Adjournment: The Senate adjourned pro forma until 1:30 p.m., February 7, 2025.
Upcoming Actions
House of Representative
Session Time: 11:00 AM
Committee Updates:
Appropriations (9:00 AM): Daily session.
Federal and State Affairs (9:00 AM): Hearing on HB 2104 regarding the standardization of firearm safety programs in school districts.
Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications (9:00 AM): Presentation on Southwest Power Pool by Mike Ross, Sr VP, External Affairs & Stakeholder Relations.
Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications (9:00 AM): Hearing on HB 2110 eliminating state 911 board contracting requirements and rescheduling 911 fund establishment.
Water (9:00 AM): Presentation on Groundwater Management District #3 and #4 Annual Reports by Jason Norquest and Shannon Kenyon.
Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget (1:30 PM): Informational hearing on World Cup 2026.
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (1:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2119 to eliminate the Kansas Affordable Housing Tax Credit Act effective July 1, 2025.
Health and Human Services (1:30 PM): Presentation on the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, Community Mental Health System, and Kansas Behavioral Health Center of Excellence.
Higher Education Budget (1:30 PM): Presentation on University bonding requests.
Transportation (1:30 PM): Presentation on Kansas Motor Carriers Association by Travis Grauerholz, Vice President of Government Affairs.
Welfare Reform (1:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2101 prohibiting municipalities from adopting guaranteed income programs.
General Government Budget (3:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2063 establishing conservation funds.
Senate
Session Time: 2:30 PM
Committee Updates:
Agriculture and Natural Resources (8:30 AM): Hearing on SB 89 authorizing the animal health commissioner to adopt rules and regulations for the poultry disease control act.
Public Health and Welfare (8:30 AM): Hearing on SB 41 adding advanced practice registered nurses to definitions in the Kansas public employees retirement system act.
Transportation (8:30 AM): Presentation on Trucking 101 by Travis Grauerholz, Kansas Motor Carriers Association.
Financial Institutions and Insurance (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 64 adjusting the KPERS interest credit threshold.
Local Government, Transparency and Ethics (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 40 concerning the termination of candidate campaign accounts.
Federal and State Affairs (10:30 AM): Hearing on SB 105 requiring the governor to appoint persons from a legislature-approved list for vacancies.
Judiciary (10:30 AM): Hearing on SB 129 raising the mandatory retirement age for magistrate judges.
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