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- Topeka Buzz: January 29, 2026
Topeka Buzz: January 29, 2026
We've got the (fiscal and supplemental) documents! Also: bans on vehicle registration taxes, AI bots, and a requirement for commercial truck drivers to speak English.
Jason Anderson
January 29, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes
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Topeka Buzz 🐝
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Lots of interesting new bills today, plus a few floor votes yesterday, so this morning’s report is broader-but-shallower. Click into specific bills for more details.
We’ve got the (fiscal and supplemental) docs
Starting today, every fiscal note and every supplemental note published as part of a bill package is now available in BillBee. We’ve expanded our analysis of bill text to also analyze the notes and extract key information from each. Not all bills have these documents, but if they do, now they’re easier to understand.
🐝🐝🐝 HB 2575: End annual registration, fees, and taxes on personal cars
HB 2575 would eliminate annual registration renewals, registration fees, multiple surcharges, and—starting in 2027—motor vehicle property tax for personal passenger vehicles. It also exempts private-party vehicle sales from state sales tax. Your plates would stay valid until you sell the car. No more annual property tax bill at renewal.
The fiscal impact is massive: $850-900 million annually. That includes $471 million in motor vehicle property taxes that currently fund schools ($169M), counties ($152M), and cities ($108M). The State Highway Fund loses $263 million in registration fees. KHP staffing and DMV modernization lose their dedicated surcharge funding.
The bill includes no replacement revenue. Kansans hate the car tax; it's visible, annual, and feels like paying rent on something you own. But this creates a hole equal to 14% of total local government tax revenue with no plan to fill it.
🐝🐝 SB 405: Bans training AI to encourage self-harm or mimic humans
SB405 makes it illegal to knowingly train AI chatbots to encourage suicide or violence, act as health professionals, give open-ended emotional support, or convincingly mimic humans. The attorney general or affected people can sue for damages, fines, and injunctions.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: The health advice from your Oura ring, Fitbit, Apple Watch, Whoop, Garmin, Function Health, or any other hardware or software that uses AI to create personalized health recommendations would technically be at risk with this bill.]
🐝🐝 SB 419: Creates statewide free-speech rules for public colleges
The bill creates the Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge (KIRK) Act, treating outdoor campus areas as public forums and banning designated “free speech zones.” Students and student groups gain clearer protections while colleges must publish policies, train staff, and face possible lawsuits with set damages.
🐝🐝 HB 2583: Requires truck drivers to carry ID and prove English
Kansas would require commercial drivers to carry specific ID and show basic English ability before driving in the state. Employers face fines for allowing noncompliant drivers; driver fines go to a human-trafficking victim assistance fund.
New Bills Introduced
Agriculture
Budget & Appropriations
🐝 SCR 1620: Kansas calls U.S. national debt a security threat
Business & Commerce
🐝🐝 HB 2588: Creates statewide electrician licensing system
🐝🐝 SB 413: Bans lawyers from suggesting dollar amounts for pain and suffering
🐝 HB 2573: Grants practice privileges to out-of-state CPAs
🐝 HB 2580: Creates Kansas International Trade Commission
🐝 SB 410: Extend data-security rules to earned wage access providers
Criminal Justice
🐝 SB 414: Authorizes up to $2M for youth crisis services
Education
Elections & Government
Energy & Environment
Healthcare
Housing
Infrastructure
Natural Resources
🐝 HB 2568: Authorizes Wildlife & Parks to adopt fee rules
Taxation
Uncategorized
Floor Votes
House (3)
HB 2347: PASS (119 Yes, 4 No, 2 Absent). The bill makes stealing cars worth $500–$1,500 a felony and changes the law so someone can be guilty of possessing stolen goods if they 'knew or had reason to know' the items were stolen. This could lead to more felony charges for low-value auto theft.
HB 2413: PASS (120 Yes, 3 No, 2 Absent). Raises penalties so theft of certain livestock or farm implements becomes a severity level 5 felony and lets authorities forfeit vehicles and other property used in those crimes. Affects producers, defendants, co-owners, and law enforcement.
HB 2422: PASS (123 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent). Creates a specific felony for large grain thefts: stealing 400 or more bushels of listed grains becomes a severity level 6 nonperson felony in Kansas. This affects farmers, grain elevators, defendants, and prosecutors statewide.
Senate (3)
SCR 1615: PASS (30 Yes, 9 No, 1 Absent). Kansas will recognize October 14 each year as “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day,” honoring Charlie Kirk, condemning his assassination, and encouraging the Governor and residents to observe the day through free speech and civil debate. The resolution is symbolic and creates no new programs or major costs.
SB 184: PASS (37 Yes, 2 No, 1 Absent). Raises the consumer surcharge on drycleaning and laundry services from 2.5% to 5% to boost the state cleanup fund, and increases the reimbursement deductible from $5,000 to $10,000 for applications filed on or after July 1, 2025. Retailers collect the fee.
SB 254: PASS (30 Yes, 9 No, 1 Absent). The bill bars people unlawfully present in the U.S. from most Kansas state and local public benefits, requires adults to prove lawful status and uses federal SAVE checks, and adds immigration verification at first court appearance.
Committee Actions
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Bills Reported Out (1)
HB 2476 (bill be passed as amended): This bill says pesticides with certain EPA-aligned labels will count as meeting Kansas warning and labeling rules. That could limit some state-based labeling lawsuits while still allowing non-label claims.
Assessment and Taxation
Bills Referred (3)
SB 401: Homeowners get a new safeguard: counties may not raise a residential property's assessed value more than 15% in one year unless the county appraiser first completes a new on-site inspection. Taxpayers get written notice and can request an interior check.
SB 402: Starting tax year 2026, Kansas will use Kansas AGI to measure household income for homestead refunds and set a fixed $25,380 income cap for the SAFESR senior credit. The bill also protects some claimants who must live away for health or hardship and grandfathers prior recipients if home values later exceed $350,000.
SB 397: If you already got a Kansas homestead refund or SAFESR credit when your home's appraisal was under $350,000, this bill lets you keep eligibility later even if the appraisal rises above $350,000 — as long as you still meet other rules. Applies tax year 2026+.
Bills Reported Out (1)
SB 74 (bill be passed as amended): SB74 gives Kansas residents a refundable income tax credit equal to 25% (up to $250) of the cost of lockable gun and ammunition storage for tax years 2026–2028. The bill also repeals several other state tax credits starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Education
Bills Re-referred (1)
HCR 5015: HCR 5015 asks the U.S. Department of Education to convert most federal K‑12 education funds into no‑strings block grants to Kansas while keeping Title I and special education (IDEA) as pass‑through. The resolution is non‑binding and sends a copy to federal officials.
Federal and State Affairs
Bills Referred (5)
SB 392: SB392 limits when candidates can withdraw after filing and stops replacing a running mate on a filed governor/lieutenant governor ticket. Ballot removal is allowed by Sept. 1 for verified medical hardship, loss of residency, or death.
SB 394: If courts strike down Kansas’ mail-ballot signature checks, this bill would cancel most state mail advance voting rules while keeping federally required absentee voting. It also standardizes envelope signature blocks and adds an affidavit for proxy signers.
SB 391: SB391 bars cities and counties from requiring landlords to rent to people whose rent comes from Housing Choice Vouchers or other voluntary assistance. It also blocks local limits on screening, security deposits, and tenant first-refusal rules.
SB 395: If you give $50 or less to a Kansas candidate or to a campaign for/against a state constitutional amendment, your name and address must be sent to the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission but won’t appear in public reports.
SB 393: Kansas would temporarily let eligible bars, stores, and clubs sell alcohol from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m. daily during June 11–July 19, 2026 for the FIFA World Cup. Cities and counties can opt out; normal hours resume July 20, 2026.
Government Efficiency
Bills Referred (1)
SB 390: Starting in 2027–2028, Kansas schools that offer free or reduced-price meals cannot serve foods with 13 specified additives (including some dyes, titanium dioxide, and BVO). Schools must certify compliance during inspections and post corrective plans if they fail.
Health and Human Services
Bills Referred (5)
SB 284: SB284 bars drugmakers and distributors from denying or limiting delivery of drugs bought under the federal 340B program to qualifying hospitals and clinics. It also bans making access conditional on extra health or payment data, with state enforcement and fines.
HB 2010: Prohibits abortion at any stage in Kansas and makes performing or aiding an abortion a severity level 1 felony, including a separate felony for destroying fertilized embryos in assisted reproduction. Adds narrow medical exceptions, tax changes, and likely legal challenges.
HB 2009: Would ban almost all abortions in Kansas except to save the pregnant woman's life, bar state enforcement, and let any person sue providers or anyone who helps — with at least $10,000 in damages per violation.
HB 2328: Lets the secretary of corrections deliver prison-made housing units to local areas that have seen little building or home repair after consulting the community. Requires a 10-year report on housing impacts, private industry effects, and inmate outcomes.
HB 2375: Low-income adults could get Medicaid starting Jan. 1, 2026 if the federal government agrees to a 90% match. The plan requires work verification at enrollment with many exemptions, uses managed care, and stops new enrollments if the federal match drops below 90%.
Bills Reported Out (2)
HB 2218 (bill be passed as amended): 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.
HB 2436 (bill be passed): The bill expands Kansas' Good Samaritan immunity to cover using an expired emergency opioid antagonist (up to 10 years past expiration) when someone seeks or renders help during a suspected opioid overdose. It doesn't change medical guidance or add funding.
Judiciary
Bills Referred (2)
SB 399: Court staff can hand out court-approved standard forms without facing consumer-protection claims and may assume information users enter is accurate. The bill does not let staff give legal advice or draft custom legal documents.
SB 398: Kansas would require anyone offering expert testimony to show it is “more likely than not” the expert’s specialized knowledge will help the judge or jury. This may increase pretrial motions and scrutiny of experts in civil and criminal cases.
Local Government, Transparency and Ethics
Bills Referred (1)
SB 396: Allows the Clearwater cemetery board to remove Ohio Township, reshape the board to three members, and add a districtwide at‑large seat elected starting in 2026. Ohio Township and the district may negotiate cemetery care and sharing of existing tax funds.
Public Health and Welfare
Bills Reported Out (1)
SB 327 (bill be passed as amended): This bill lets the Bethell joint committee on home and community-based services and KanCare hold its required January and April meetings outside the legislature’s regular session. It does not change the committee’s duties, reports, or quorum.
Transportation
Bills Referred (2)
SB 404: The bill says a personalized license plate’s five-year period starts on the date it was first issued, clarifying when the $40 one-time fee applies. It also lets county treasurers raise registration service fees and charge local transaction fees.
SB 403: Kansas will offer optional Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever license plates beginning July 1, 2026. Drivers who choose them pay regular registration fees plus a $25–$100 annual logo royalty and must allow limited vehicle/owner info to be shared with the sponsor.
Utilities
Bills Referred (1)
SB 400: SB 400 bans open-loop (evaporative) cooling at very large data centers (20+ MW), requiring sealed closed-loop systems to cut on-site water use. Operators may face higher costs while nearby communities could see reduced water demand; enforcement uses injunctions.
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