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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 🐝
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Below is today’s morning update on published activities in the Kansas Legislature.
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Kansas Senate proposes replacing the State Supreme Court
A state constitutional amendment proposed by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs would drastically reengineer how the state supreme court is formed:
Supreme Court justices would no longer be appointed by the governor. Instead, they would be elected in statewide elections to 6-year terms. It specifies initial scheduling for the current justice seats in 2028, 2030, and 2032.
Justices would be allowed to be partisan (belong to political parties, and run campaigns with the support of their party).
In short, this amendment would explicitly remove the nonpartisan nature of the judicial system. The most obvious and immediate impact would be the threat to abortion rights that were previously reaffirmed by citizen vote in 2022, but the range of implications and at-risk regulatory and legislative topics is too long to fit in a paragraph.
Should this proposed amendment make it to a citizen ballot, expect loud and confrontational campaigns for and against the measure.
Turnaround Day approaches
This year’s legislative calendar is short by design: Thursday, February 20 is the last day that non-exempt1 bills can be voted on by their originating chamber.That means roughly nine days from now, the flow of new bills will stop and attention shifts to tracking the progress and providence of the existing 500+ pieces of proposed legislation.
We’re almost halfway through the 2025 legislative session—the current calendar shows the session ending on March 28, with a veto session estimated around April 10. After that: it’s off to the 2026 election races!
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:
Senate Bills on the Floor for Consideration
No bills currently reported on the floor.
New Bills Introduced
House Bills
Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Corrections:
🐝🐝 HB 2321: Limits appeals based on victims' rights violations.
🐝 HB 2322: Prohibits motorcycle profiling by law enforcement.
🐝🐝 HB 2324: Increases penalties for firearms on school properties.
🐝🐝 HB 2325: Reform juvenile justice, detention, and firearm offenses.
🐝🐝 HB 2326: Considers custody for sentencing and diversion decisions.
🐝🐝 HB 2327: Certifies employability for inmates; aids negligent hiring defense.
🐝🐝 HB 2328: Allows prison-made housing in low-activity areas.
🐝🐝 HB 2329: Increase juvenile placements in youth residential facilities.
🐝 HB 2331: Authorizes coroners to dispose of unclaimed remains.
🐝🐝 HB 2347: Increases penalties for motor vehicle theft.
🐝🐝 HB 2349: Authorize investigations, penalties for scrap metal theft violations.
🐝🐝 HB 2350: No juveniles prosecuted as adults under age 18.
🐝🐝 HB 2354: Exception for disabled veterans with medical marijuana cards.
🐝🐝 HB 2357: Seals and expunges eviction court records selectively.
🐝🐝 HB 2362: Report lottery winners claiming Medicaid assistance.
Insurance and Financial Regulation:
🐝🐝 HB 2323: Enhances procedures for handling fraudulent insurance acts.
🐝 HB 2333: Rename Kansas Insurance Department and Securities office.
🐝🐝 HB 2334: Regulates Kansas captive insurance companies' cell operations.
🐝 HB 2335: Adds maternity centers to healthcare provider definition.
🐝🐝 HB 2351: Invalidates insurance arbitration agreements with exceptions.
Miscellaneous / Commemorative and Cultural Acts:
🐝 HB 2330: Designate November 14 as Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.
Government Organization, Elections, and Public Administration:
Taxes, Fiscal Policy, and Economic Development:
🐝🐝 HB 2336: Reform Kansas tax law for businesses and financial institutions.
🐝🐝 HB 2337: Establishes fee for international wire transfers.
🐝 HB 2343: Permits no-impact home-based businesses with limited regulation.
🐝 HB 2344: Establishes Kansas-Ireland trade commission for mutual economic benefit.
🐝🐝 HB 2346: Kansas sports tourism grant program establishment.
🐝🐝 HB 2355: Allows consolidation of LLC and series for tax purposes.
🐝🐝 HB 2371: Amends regulations on LLCs, resident agents, and statutory fees.
Labor, Employment, and Workers’ Rights:
🐝 HB 2338: Authorize temporary cosmetology demonstration permits.
Healthcare and Public Health:
🐝🐝 HB 2339: Enhances care home services with childcare and scholarships.
🐝🐝 HB 2353: Require abortion drug liability notification to patients.
🐝🐝 HB 2361: Create Kansas healthcare service scholarship program.
🐝🐝 HB 2364: Mandates equal insurance coverage for non-opioid pain drugs.
🐝🐝 HB 2365: Bill revises mental health facility admissions and Kansas healthcare laws.
🐝🐝 HB 2366: Broadens practice scope for Kansas naturopathic doctors.
🐝 HB 2367: Authorizes naturopathic doctors for business practice certification.
🐝🐝 HB 2368: Establishes anesthesiologist assistant licensure in Kansas.
🐝🐝 HB 2369: Pharmacists can administer FDA-approved vaccines in Kansas.
🐝🐝 HB 2370: New certification for dementia care in assisted living.
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources:
Education:
🐝🐝 HB 2348: Tenure is not an entitlement or property interest.
Child Welfare, Family Services, and Social Assistance:
🐝🐝 HB 2352: Mandates clergy abuse reporting; exempts penitential privilege.
🐝🐝 HB 2356: Modifies nonparent visitation rights evidentiary standards.
🐝🐝 HB 2358: Require employment training for food assistance eligibility.
🐝🐝 HB 2359: Comprehensive reforms are proposed for guardianship, conservatorship, and digital asset management.
🐝🐝 HB 2360: Enhance public assistance eligibility through data verification.
Senate Bills
Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Corrections:
🐝🐝 SB 245: The bill outlines employment restrictions for offenders in health agencies.
🐝🐝 SB 246: Require criminal checks for Kansas school employees.
🐝 SB 247: Ends vehicle dealers' exemption from scrap metal regulations.
🐝🐝 SB 248: Enhancing criminal records access, industrial hemp regulations.
🐝🐝 SB 254: Restricts benefits to unlawfully present aliens.
🐝🐝 SB 255: Allows inmates to request sentence reevaluation.
Healthcare and Public Health:
🐝🐝 SB 249: Establishes FASD task force for prevention and support.
🐝🐝 SB 250: Allows investigational treatments for life-threatening illnesses.
🐝 SB 251: Annual newborn screening program report requirement.
🐝 SB 253: Establishes licensing and regulation for massage therapists.
🐝🐝 SB 257: Expands Medicaid eligibility for working Kansans.
Education:
🐝🐝 SB 252: Expands low-income student scholarship eligibility and tax credits.
Labor, Employment, and Workers’ Rights:
🐝🐝 SB 256: Requiring state employees to work in-office primarily.
Concurrent Resolutions
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Session Highlights for February 10, 2025
House of Representatives
The House, presided over by Speaker pro tem Carpenter, convened at 11:00 a.m. and adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Roll Call:
123 members were present.
Rep. Bohi was excused for illness, and Rep. Howe was excused by the Speaker.
Bill Actions:
HB 2057 was amended by the Committee on Elections to clarify appointment procedures for filling vacancies in statewide offices. The bill was passed as amended.
Committee Actions:
The Committee on Elections recommended amendments to HB 2057, refining language related to appointment certifications by the Secretary of State.
Additional Notes:
Senate
The Senate, presided over by President Ty Masterson, convened at 2:30 p.m. and adjourned until 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
Roll Call:
38 senators were present.
Senators J. R. Claeys and Faust Goudeau were excused.
Bill Actions:
No bills were voted on or passed during the session.
Committee Actions:
Additional Notes:
Upcoming Actions: Tuesday, February 11
House of Representatives
Session Time: 11:00 AM
Committee Updates:
Appropriations (9:00 AM): Request for bill introductions; possible action on bills previously heard.
Local Government (9:00 AM): Hearing on HB 2160 to enact the Municipal Employee Whistleblower Act.
Water (9:00 AM): Hearing on HB 2113 transferring funds for soil conservation and water projects; Final action on previously heard bills.
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (1:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2310 enacting the Career Advancement Act, HB 2343 creating the No-Impact Home-Based Business Fairness Act; Hearing on HB 2338 authorizing cosmetology permits and HB 2340 providing exemptions from remediation costs; Hearing on HB 2239 requiring meal and rest periods for employees and HB 2342 authorizing criminal history background checks.
Higher Education Budget (1:30 PM): Presentation on K-State 105 and Kansas State Veterinary Medicine budget processes.
K-12 Education Budget (3:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2303 establishing the Kansas Longitudinal Data Act.
Taxation (3:30 PM): Hearing on HB 2097 providing sales tax authority for Seward County.
Elections (3:30 PM): Hearing on SB4 requiring the return of advance voting ballots by election day.
General Government Budget (3:30 PM): Meeting on call of the chair.
Social Services Budget (3:30 PM): Meeting on call of the chair.
Transportation and Public Safety Budget (3:30 PM): Meeting on call of the chair.
Senate
Session Time: 2:30 PM
Committee Updates:
Agriculture and Natural Resources (8:30 AM): Hearing on SB 184 amending the Kansas Drycleaner Environmental Response Act.
Transportation (8:30 AM): Hearing on SB 119 increasing fees retained by county treasurers.
Assessment and Taxation (9:30 AM): Hearing on HB 2004 providing sales tax authority for Seward County.
Financial Institutions and Insurance (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 139 updating definitions related to the state banking code.
Government Efficiency (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 161 requiring legislative approval for public assistance program waivers.
Local Government, Transparency and Ethics (9:30 AM): Final action on SB 104 granting discretion to Shawnee County Commissioners.
Financial Institutions and Insurance (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 42 establishing an online insurance verification system.
Government Efficiency (9:30 AM): Hearing on SB 161 requiring legislative approval for public assistance waivers.
Local Government, Transparency and Ethics (9:30 AM): Final action on SB 104 granting discretion to Shawnee County Commissioners.
Have any ideas or feedback just let us know!
1 Bills running through specific committees are considered “exempt” and may continue to be worked on past the Turnaround deadline: House and Senate Federal and State Affairs, Senate Ways and Means, Senate Assessment and Taxation, House committees on Calendar and Printing, Appropriations, and Taxation.
