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- Topeka Buzz: Thursday, January 23
Topeka Buzz: Thursday, January 23
Two dozen more bills to introduce, taking up precious space in the newsletter...so today again, no committee coverage. We've made some automation optimizations to the bill analysis process with the goal of getting future issues posted earlier in the day, but appreciate your patience while we continue to get this up and running!
Jason Anderson
January 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 28 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 🐝
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Below is today’s morning update on published activities in the Kansas Legislature.
Table of Contents
Top Stories of the Day
Pushing Back on Gender-Affirming Care
Proposed bill SB 63 bans gender-affirming care for minors and creates significant civil penalities. The language of the bill is thorough and detailed in its definition of gender-affirming care (and the treatments that would be banned). Separately, HB 2062 provides for child support to become viable at conception (though the dollar amounts are limited only to medical and pregnancy-related expenses).
Election Changes in Preparation for 2026
A collection of proposals appears designed to make it easier for Republicans to retain their supermajority status, and their state office seats. HB 2054 would double the individual contribution limits to candidates (e.g. $500→$1,000 donations for State Representative, $2,000→$4,000 to governor or lieutenant governor candidates). This would appear to benefit all candidates, but mathematically it benefits candidates who have a greater share of their fundraising for donors that “max out.” This also doubles the amount of money that PACs and lobby groups are able to spend on candidates.
HB 2055 and HB 2057 require any vacancy appointments to be given to persons of the same political party as the prior incumbent. For example, if the insurance commissioner or treasurer were to choose to run for another office in 2026 and need to resign their position for campaigning, this would ensure that those seats are still held by people from the same party.
Bills and Resolutions
New Bills Introduced
House Bills:
🐝🐝 HB 2051: Requires Kansas legislative approval for any national heritage area or historic trail designation in the state and prohibits state funding without such approval.
🐝🐝 HB 2052: Updates firearm possession laws, particularly concerning concealed carry licenses, by revising eligibility criteria and procedures, and ensuring off-duty law enforcement officers' privacy rights when entering buildings while armed.
🐝 HB 2053: Proposes to allow municipalities more freedom to regulate political signs by repealing existing restrictions related to election periods.
🐝🐝 HB 2054: Proposes increasing campaign contribution limits for certain offices and eliminating contribution limits to party committees.
🐝 HB 2055: Mandates that the governor's appointees to vacancies in the state treasurer and commissioner of insurance offices must be from the same political party as the previous officeholders, requiring Senate confirmation before they assume duties.
🐝🐝 HB 2056: Modifies election procedures for nominations, detailing restrictions and requirements for filing and accepting nominations for elected office in Kansas.
🐝🐝 HB 2057: Requires Kansas vacancies for U.S. Senator, State Treasurer, and Commissioner of Insurance to be filled by gubernatorial appointees from the same political party as the incumbent, selected from nominees proposed by the legislature.
🐝🐝 HB 2058: Increases the eligibility income limit for senior citizens to qualify for the Selective Assistance for Effective Senior Relief tax credit in Kansas.
🐝 HB 2059: Proposes a subtraction modification for Kansans in the calculation of their adjusted gross income for amounts paid to health care sharing ministries.
🐝 HB 2060: Mandates certain information technology integration and reporting from the Information Technology Executive Council to various Kansas legislative committees, with specific cybersecurity measures being implemented by 2027.
🐝🐝 HB 2061: Seeks to amend the law concerning crimes related to trespassing and damaging critical infrastructure facilities, specifically defining such facilities to include telecommunications and video services infrastructure.
🐝🐝 HB 2062: Mandates child support for unborn children from conception by amending Kansas statute definitions and guidelines.
🐝🐝 HB 2063: Establishes several conservation funds to support natural resource management in Kansas through grants and state funding transfers.
🐝🐝 HB 2064: Aims to revoke the existing permit exemption for the disposal of solid waste from oil and gas drilling through land-spreading.
Senate Bills:
🐝🐝 SB 55: Prohibits the assignment of benefits for property and casualty insurance, classifying such assignments as unfair and deceptive acts or practices.
🐝🐝 SB 56: Authorizes the delivery of alcoholic beverages by licensed retailers, drinking establishments, and third-party delivery services under specified conditions in Kansas.
🐝🐝 SB 57: Mandates reimbursement for the relocation or modification costs of communications or video service facilities due to road or highway projects, by amending existing transportation statutes in Kansas.
🐝 SB 58: Proposes amendments to the Water Appropriation Act, specifically modifying the regulations governing multi-year flex accounts for groundwater rights in Kansas.
🐝🐝 SB 59: Provides sales tax exemptions for animal shelters, rescue network managers, and a variety of other entities and projects, contingent on obtaining exemption certificates and correct usage of materials.
🐝🐝 SB 60: Amends civil procedure laws to prohibit second or successive habeas corpus motions and ineffective counsel claims in certain circumstances, while ensuring direct appeals to the Kansas Supreme Court in death penalty cases.
🐝 SB 61: Requires electric public utilities to pay landowner attorney fees if they appeal appraiser awards and the landowner prevails in court.
🐝🐝 SB 62: Criminalizes engaging in 'street stunts' with motor vehicles, adds it to crimes of fleeing police, and prescribes penalties.
🐝🐝🐝 SB 63: Enacts the Help Not Harm Act, prohibiting healthcare providers from offering gender transition treatments to minors and establishes penalties for violations.
Senate Concurrent Resolutions:
🐝🐝 SCR 1605: Proposes a constitutional amendment to allow counties home rule power to legislate their local affairs unless restricted by uniform state laws.