Topeka Buzz 🐝
Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Table of Contents

• Top Stories of the Day

  • 🐝🐝🐝 SCR 1619: Cut residential property assessme …

  • 🐝🐝 SB 381: Mandate K-12 lessons on communism; ci …

• New Bills Introduced

  • Budget & Appropriations

  • Business & Commerce

  • Criminal Justice

  • Education

  • Elections & Government

  • Housing

  • Infrastructure

  • Natural Resources

  • Public Safety

  • Taxation

• Committee Actions

  • Elections

    • Bills Reported Out (1)

    • Bills Re-referred (1)

  • Government Efficiency

    • Bills Referred (1)

  • Transportation

    • Bills Referred (1)

Top Stories of the Day

🐝🐝🐝 SCR 1619: Cut residential property assessment rate by 22%

SCR 1619 would permanently enshrine in the Kansas Constitution a 22% reduction in how residential property is assessed for tax purposes—dropping the rate from 11.5% to 9% starting in 2027.

The fiscal implications are enormous. Residential property represents a substantial share of the tax base for most Kansas counties and school districts. A 22% cut to that base means local governments and schools face a stark choice: raise mill levies to maintain current revenue, cut services and budgets, or hope the state steps in with aid.

The resolution includes no mechanism to backfill lost revenue.

For homeowners, the math looks appealing on paper; a $300,000 home's assessed value would drop from $34,500 to $27,000. But whether that translates to actual tax savings depends entirely on how local taxing entities respond. If your school district or city raises its mill levy to offset the loss, your bill could end up roughly the same.

Because this is a constitutional amendment, it requires two-thirds approval in both legislative chambers, then goes to voters in November. If it passes, future legislatures couldn't adjust the rate without another statewide vote.

The central tension: broad-based property tax relief that voters can lock in versus potentially destabilizing the funding base for schools and local services with no guaranteed backstop.

Read full analysis →

🐝🐝 SB 381: Mandate K-12 lessons on communism; civics test to graduate

SB 381 adds two new requirements to Kansas education law: schools must teach students about "communist and socialist regimes and ideologies" in every grade from kindergarten through 12th, and students entering high school after July 2026 must pass a 100-question civics exam to graduate.

Both requirements apply to public schools and accredited private and parochial schools.

The civics exam piece follows a national pattern (modeled on the U.S. naturalization test), with unlimited retakes allowed starting as early as 7th grade. Kansas already requires civics coursework; this adds the testing gate.

The communism/socialism curriculum mandate is where implementation gets murky. The bill requires the State Board of Education to develop "age- and developmentally-appropriate" materials for teaching kindergarteners through seniors about communist and socialist regimes. What does age-appropriate instruction on Stalinist collectivization look like for a six-year-old? The bill doesn't say. It requires districts to provide the instruction but gives them flexibility to use or ignore whatever KSBE develops.

The bill's vaguest language may also be its most consequential: instruction must provide students "an understanding" of these regimes and ideologies. Understanding what about them? Their historical atrocities? Their theoretical foundations? Their differences from democratic socialism or social democracy? The framing KSBE and districts adopt will determine whether this produces historical education or political messaging.

No funding accompanies either mandate. Districts absorb the costs of curriculum development, teacher training, and administering potentially hundreds of exam retakes per graduating class.

Read full analysis →

New Free Tool: Legislator Lookup

BillBee has added a new, free “Find Your Legislator” tool on the main menu!

If you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you have an above-average chance of already knowing who your state and federal representatives are. That said, if you look up your officials on BillBee and have a registered account, you can save that information to your profile. This will make it easier in the future to write and submit testimony and letters to your state senator and representative.

New Bills Introduced

Budget & Appropriations

• 🐝🐝 HB 2543: If lawmakers make hunting or fishing licenses free or discounted after July 1, 2027, the state must reimburse the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks for the lost fee revenue. Transfers come from the General Fund only if the Legislature appropriates the money.

Business & Commerce

• 🐝🐝 HB 2541: Creates a premium tax credit to draw private investment into Kansas rural businesses. Certified funds must meet experience and reporting rules; credits are capped at $7.5M per year and run through the Kansas Department of Commerce.

• 🐝 HB 2540: The bill removes certain statutory nonforfeiture rules for contingent deferred annuities and lets the Kansas Insurance Commissioner set required nonforfeiture benefits by rule. It affects insurers, annuity buyers, and the Insurance Department.

Criminal Justice

• 🐝 HB 2545: Raises the standard municipal court assessment from $22.50 to $28 per case, sending an extra $5 to the KCPOST training fund and $0.50 to the Crime Victims Assistance Fund. Most municipal defendants, including diversion participants, will pay the higher fee.

• 🐝 SB 376: Changes how Kansas treats antique slot machines in criminal cases: replaces a fixed 1950 cutoff with a rolling rule—machines made at least 50 years before the offense qualify. This mainly affects collectors, museums, and law enforcement.

Education

• 🐝🐝 SB 387: Families who apply for free school meals must show proof of household gross earned income each year, and schools must verify it. From July 1, 2026, districts cannot seek federal CEP special payments without the Kansas Legislature’s approval.

• 🐝🐝 SB 386: This bill doubles Kansas’ annual scholarship tax credit cap from $10M to $20M, adds an automatic rise up to $30M if use is high, and lets the state opt into a federal tax credit to make individual donations more attractive starting after 2026.

• 🐝🐝 SB 385: Starting 2026-27, requires annual teacher training and age-appropriate K-12 lessons on recognizing and reporting child sexual abuse, with a parent opt-out. Districts may use the no-cost Erin's Law curriculum or other approved resources; state funding not specified.

• 🐝🐝 SB 383: Expands who counts as a “special teacher” so districts can get state aid when they hire approved special education services from outside contractors. Keeps IEP rights and funding minimums but could change how aid is shared.

• 🐝 SB 382: Virtual school students can take required statewide tests online under strict proctoring and device rules. Virtual schools must run live sessions, monitor students by camera or a second device, use browser lockdowns, and verify results; costs come from existing state testing funds.

• 🐝 SB 384: Gives districts more time to apply to become public innovative districts by moving the deadline from Dec. 1 to May 1, and requires the State Board to act within 30 days or the application is automatically approved. No new funding is provided.

Elections & Government

• 🐝 HB 2539: Voters in the Eudora community library district will elect the library board instead of relying solely on appointments. City and township leaders must pass and file a joint resolution setting even-year elections, term lengths (up to 4 years), and vacancy rules.

Housing

• 🐝🐝 SB 388: Limits late rent fees in residential leases to a maximum of 5% of the periodic rent when the fee is written into the lease. Tenants face smaller penalties for late payments; landlords must follow the new cap.

Infrastructure

• 🐝🐝 SB 380: This bill stops utilities from including the costs of new public fast EV charging stations in customer electric rates and requires utility-run public chargers to offer fair, nondiscriminatory rates and services. Chargers before July 1, 2026 are exempt.

• 🐝🐝 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.

• 🐝 HB 2542: Designates a stretch of U.S. Highway 56 in Morton County as the "Bill Tucker memorial highway" and directs KDOT to install memorial signs after required steps. The change is honorary and does not affect traffic rules or road management.

Natural Resources

• 🐝🐝 HB 2547: You must buy a new upland game bird stamp to hunt grouse, pheasant, partridge, prairie chicken, or quail on public land in Kansas. Fees go into a dedicated fund to buy and release birds and to create a 10-day youth season.

Public Safety

• 🐝🐝 SB 379: Creates an optional statewide program to standardize emergency medical dispatch and dispatcher-led CPR instructions for 911 calls. Local 911 centers can opt in or keep their own systems; a new fund and limited liability rules back the program.

• 🐝🐝 SB 377: Requires non-school recreational youth facilities to adopt cardiac emergency response plans and place/maintain AEDs. Operators must train staff, run annual drills, and coordinate with EMS; costs likely fall to facility operators.

• 🐝 HB 2546: Labette County could ask voters to approve a countywide 0.125% sales tax to fund local fire departments for five years, with voter-approved renewals. If passed, the county keeps and spends the revenue only on fire department support.

Taxation

• 🐝🐝 SB 378: Kansas would give a one-time $250 credit against vehicle property tax for each eligible vehicle during FY2027 (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027). The credit applies at registration or renewal, is nonrefundable, and is paid from the state Budget Stabilization Fund.

• 🐝🐝 SB 389: Kansas would stop charging sales tax on tampons, menstrual cups, sanitary pads, children’s and adult diapers, and other incontinence products. Shoppers would pay less at checkout; state and local tax revenue would fall by an unknown amount.

Committee Actions

Elections

Bills Reported Out (1)

• HB 2452 (bill be passed as amended): 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.

Bills Re-referred (1)

• HB 2438: The bill limits online voter registration in Kansas to .gov sites or sites approved by the secretary of state, bans counties from accepting apps from other sites, and makes using a nonapproved site a misdemeanor. Rules due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Government Efficiency

Bills Referred (1)

• SB 387: Families who apply for free school meals must show proof of household gross earned income each year, and schools must verify it. From July 1, 2026, districts cannot seek federal CEP special payments without the Kansas Legislature’s approval.

Transportation

Bills Referred (1)

• SB 318: Kansas drivers must use turn signals when moving right or left within a roundabout or when exiting one. The bill defines “roundabout” and ties signaling rules to existing traffic laws to reduce confusion.

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