Topeka Buzz: January 23, 2026

Kansas becomes the 20th state to call for an Article V constitutional convention. Also: The bill that passed isn't the bill that passed...

Author

Jason Anderson
January 23, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

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Topeka Buzz 🐝
Friday, January 23, 2026

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Three House floor votes that moved legislation forward

Yesterday, SCR 1604—a resolution introduced in January 2025—passed the House. It directs the Kansas Legislature to formally ask Congress to call a convention of the states to propose U.S. constitutional amendments. With the vote, Kansas has become the 20th state to do so; 34 states are required to trigger the convention.

The vote was essentially a party-line vote.

Meanwhile, HB 2065 also passed; this bill sets how Kansas would pick and oversee 10 delegates and 10 alternates to the Article V convention if one is called. Only current Kansas legislators may serve; legislative leaders and party caucuses appoint delegates, the Legislature can recall any delegate, and the Secretary of State must certify appointments and recalls. The bill now goes to the Senate.

AI child exploitation bill gutted, replaced with agency deference reform

HB 2183 passed the House 83-39, but it's not the bill that passed both chambers last session.

As introduced, HB 2183 would have updated Kansas criminal law to cover AI-generated child sexual abuse material. It passed the House 119-3 in February 2025 and the Senate 40-0 in March. When the House nonconcurred with Senate amendments, the bill went to a conference committee.

The conference committee report stripped out the entire original bill—all six pages of CSAM-related criminal code amendments—and replaced it with a single section codifying Kansas's version of Loper Bright, the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended federal Chevron deference.

The final bill does one thing: prohibit Kansas courts and administrative hearing officers from deferring to state agencies' interpretations of statutes and regulations. Courts must now interpret such documents "de novo" and resolve remaining ambiguity in favor of individual constitutional rights.

The agency deference language originated in SB 222, which passed the Senate but hadn't reached the House floor—though the conference committee softened it. The CSAM provisions were moved to SB 186, which Governor Kelly signed last year.

🐝🐝🐝 SB 363: Tightens benefit verification, expands SNAP work rules

This newly-introduced bill changes how Kansas checks eligibility for medical and food assistance. It requires DCF and KDHE to match data with other state agencies, run regular checks (including death, wages, incarceration, and out-of-state benefit use), and gives a 30-day notice before disenrollment. It expands SNAP work rules to apply up to age 64 and narrows some exemptions.

Implementation uses regular electronic reporting and new data-sharing agreements. KDHE must send monthly enrollment data to CMS starting in 2027 and will limit retroactive Medicaid coverage to two months. Agencies will need more staff and IT work to run quarterly redeterminations and frequent data matches.

This new bill creates an "App Store Accountability Act" that makes app stores and app makers check account age, link minor accounts to a verified parent account, and get verifiable parental consent each time a minor downloads an app, buys an app, or makes an in‑app purchase. It mainly affects minors and their parents, app store operators, app developers, and the Kansas Attorney General.

The bill requires app stores to collect an age category at account setup (or by a deadline for existing accounts) and verify it using commercial methods or rules set by the attorney general. Developers must ask for age-category data and parental consent at key events (downloads, purchases, first run of preinstalled apps, and when apps change significantly). The law limits how age data can be collected and shared, requires encryption for transmissions, and directs the AG to write verification rules.

🐝🐝 HB 2525: Bans remote drop boxes for advance ballots

HB2525 prohibits county election offices from using remote ballot boxes for returning advance ballots, while still allowing ballot boxes located inside the county election office. The change most affects voters who rely on local drop boxes—especially people with limited transportation, mobility, or tight work schedules—and county election staff who run drop-box networks.

Other New Bills Introduced

Budget & Appropriations

  • 🐝 HB 2513: State pays named property claims from general fund

Business & Commerce

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2515: Sets consumer rules for crypto kiosks in Kansas

  • 🐝🐝 SB 375: Make proxy advisors disclose analysis behind votes

Civil Rights

  • 🐝 HB 2519: Continues limited public-records exemptions

Criminal Justice

  • 🐝🐝 SB 374: Require more evaluation and treatment in competency cases

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2518: Increases penalties for privacy breaches against minors

  • 🐝🐝 SB 373: Limit police equipment on utility poles to 30 days

Education

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2523: Allows college affiliations; ends local community taxes

  • 🐝 SB 361: Host family exchange students enroll as district residents

Elections & Government

  • 🐝🐝 SB 362: State officers must publish travel locations and expenses

  • 🐝 HB 2514: Designates first Tuesday in May as precinct awareness day

Healthcare

  • 🐝🐝🐝 SB 360: Limits PBM practices and boosts pharmacy protections

Housing

  • 🐝🐝 SB 371: Gives tenants first chance to buy rental homes

  • 🐝🐝 SB 369: Cap late fees; require tenant cost and screening disclosures

  • 🐝🐝 SB 370: Lets tenants end leases faster after landlord breaches

Infrastructure

  • 🐝 SB 367: Cities may allow golf carts on sidewalks

  • 🐝 HB 2522: Allow expanded flashing lights on highway work vehicles

  • 🐝 SB 366: Names Sedgwick I-135 bridge the Don Snyder Memorial

Natural Resources

  • 🐝 SB 364: Creates discounted senior hunting & fishing combo license

Social Services

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2521: Treats contracted child placement agencies as state

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2524: Lets foster homes keep licenses when former youth live there

  • 🐝 HB 2520: Raise Home Plus resident limit to 16

Taxation

  • 🐝🐝 SB 365: Elect county appraisers statewide

  • 🐝🐝 SB 368: Allows Kansas tax subtraction for health-sharing fees

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2517: Leavenworth County may add emergency management sales tax

  • 🐝 HB 2516: Allows provisional county appraisers with training

Committee Actions

Assessment and Taxation

Bills Reported Out (1)

  • SCR 1616 (resolution be adopted as amended): Cap annual assessed value increases at 3%

Education

Bills Referred (2)

  • SB 349: Adjusts private school activity classifications

  • SB 350: Limits school device use by grade; adds parent opt-outs

Federal and State Affairs

Bills Referred (5)

  • SB 356: Shields dealers from suits for returning stored guns

  • SB 352: Creates state bitcoin and digital assets reserve fund

  • SB 353: Establish Kansas Railroad Hall of Fame at Wichita Museum

  • SB 355: Requires e-cigarette manufacturers to get Kansas license

  • SB 354: Updates Kansas Fire Service Training Commission rules

Judiciary

Bills Referred (3)

  • SB 358: Hold certain felony convicts without bond until sentencing

  • SB 351: Prisons and jails must provide free phone calls

  • SB 359: Raises judges' retirement age, boosts pensions

Ways and Means

Bills Referred (1)

  • SB 357: Creates state intercity passenger rail program

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