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- Topeka Buzz: Tuesday, January 28
Topeka Buzz: Tuesday, January 28
Good news! The Topeka Buzz has been streamlined: bill details are now published online in DataHive. Previously introduced bills are hitting committee hearings this week including school vouchers (senate education committee), the "help not harm" act (gender transition services ban), and the public school ad valorem tax cut.
Jason Anderson
January 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
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Introducing the 🐝 Rating System
To help you quickly understand the potential significance of proposed legislation, we've introduced 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 🐝
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Below is today’s morning update on published activities in the Kansas Legislature.
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Proposals Target Public Assistance Restrictions
The Kansas Legislature introduced several bills aimed at restricting or reducing public assistance and wildlife management. Notably, SB 79, introduced in the Senate, proposes restricting the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to prohibit purchases of candy and soft drinks, reflecting ongoing debates about nutrition and public health policy.
Besides focusing on welfare optimization, the bill introduces a requirement for Kansas benefits cards to include recipient photographs for identification, linking their use to eligibility and regulations compliance. It mandates comprehensive checks against false claims in welfare applications and ensures that benefits are distributed only to eligible individuals through responsible channels.
Debate Intensifies on Pronoun Use in Education
One of the more contentious bills introduced on January 27, SB 76, known as the "Given Name Act," would require school and postsecondary institution employees to use names and pronouns matching a student's biological sex as listed on their birth certificate. The bill, introduced by the Senate Education Committee, also includes provisions for legal action in cases of non-compliance.
Ban on Guaranteed Income Programs
House Bill 2101, introduced by the Committee on Welfare Reform, takes aim at guaranteed income programs in Kansas, which provide individuals with regular, unconditional cash payments. The proposed legislation prohibits cities and counties from implementing such programs and nullifies any pre-existing programs established before July 1, 2025. This bill represents a clear policy shift, steering public assistance away from unconditional cash support.
Bills and Resolutions
UPDATE: Summaries of these bills are now published on DataHive. The links below go directly to each bill’s writeup.
New Bills Introduced
House Bills:
🐝🐝 HB 2093: Extends filing limit for childhood abuse damages.
🐝🐝 HB 2098: The bill establishes tax exemptions for nonprofit services and goods.
🐝 HB 2095: Regulates water well and pump installation contractors.
🐝🐝 HB 2097: Tax credits for wildlife habitat management.
🐝🐝 HB 2101: Prohibited guaranteed income programs in Kansas cities/counties.
🐝🐝 HB 2091: Enhancing voter registration opportunities for discharged inmates.
🐝 HB 2092: Amends registration processes for professional employer organizations.
🐝🐝 HB 2094: Authorize e-cigarettes in vending machines.
🐝 HB 2096: Authorizes transfer of Kansas housing investor tax credits.
🐝 HB 2099: Mandates code inspections for subsidized rental housing.
Senate Bills:
🐝🐝🐝 SB 75: Education tax credit for private school children.
🐝 SB 77: Revise administrative rules regulation and agency review processes.
🐝🐝 SB 79: Prohibit food assistance for candy and soft drinks.
🐝 SB 80: Eliminates nonresident landowner deer permit issuance.
🐝🐝 SB 81: Restricts economic rates for large utility facilities.
🐝🐝 SB 82: Grants waivers for rural hospital nursing facilities.
🐝🐝 SB 83: Extends voting rights to extraterritorial residents.
🐝 SB 84: Expands criminal use of cards to include gift cards.
🐝🐝 SB 76: Mandates pronoun use based on birth sex, requires consent.
🐝 SB 78: Mandates accreditation policy reviews by postsecondary institutions.
House Concurrent Resolutions:
🐝🐝 HCR 5006: Amendment recognizing and extending right to bear arms.