Turnaround Week in the Kansas Legislature

Hello, Riley County Democrats,

This is an urgent message about what’s been happening in the Kansas Legislature. This coming week, February 16-20, is turnaround week–the midpoint in the session when bills that haven’t made it out of their original chamber must be voted on, and if passed, sent to the other chamber for consideration in the second half of the session.

Legislators will spend much of their time in their respective chambers debating, amending, and voting on bills. To the surprise of no one, Republicans are advancing a lot of horrible bills that will make life more difficult for Kansans. I urge you to read the following list of bills, select a few, and tell Republican lawmakers to oppose them. You may live in a district represented by a Democrat. But it’s Republicans who need convincing to reject these bills.

Note: Some bills have already passed their chamber of origin. And this list is by no means exhaustive. There are a lot of bad bills this year.

Human Rights

SB 244: Another anti-trans bathroom bill that undermines folks’ basic humanity. Governor Kelly vetoed this legislation, and the Legislature will likely vote on whether to override the veto this week. The state government should not be policing bathrooms. In addition, Governor Kelly perfectly articulated the far-reaching implications of the bill in her veto explanation: “This poorly drafted bill will have numerous and significant consequences far beyond the intent to limit the right for trans people to use the appropriate bathroom. Under this bill: If your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him. If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her. If your sister is living in a dorm at K-State, as a brother, you would not be able to visit her in her room. If you feel you have to accompany your nine-year-old daughter to the restroom at a sporting event, as a father, you would have to either enter the women’s restroom with her or let her use the restroom alone. I believe the Legislature should stay out of the business of telling Kansans how to go to the bathroom and instead stay focused on how to make life more affordable for Kansans. Therefore, under Article 2, Section 14(a) of the Constitution, I hereby veto House Substitute for Senate Bill 244.”

Tell Kansas legislators to sustain the Governor’s veto.

Education

SB 160: Expands the authority of the Attorney General, Kris Kobach, to prosecute crimes related to schools. Since he was elected AG, Kobach has persuaded the Legislature to expand the purview of his office at the expense of local attorneys.

SB 164: A performative bill that prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion at public schools, which is already protected, and authorizes the AG to investigate violations and assess penalties against school districts.

SB 496: Requires post-secondary institutions to provide annual training on free speech and the exercise of religion, developed in consultation with the AG, and authorizing the AG to enforce compliance.

HB 2451: The bill vaguely defines what public resources can be used by governmental bodies to educate the public on ballot questions. The lack of specificity in the bill may expose local governments to costly lawsuits.

HB 2468: Another school voucher bill. HB 2468 passed the House 70-49 and now heads to the Senate. On the bright side, Republican leadership would have to pick up 14 votes to override a veto.

Housing

SB 391: This bill undermines the power of home rule, a constitutional right of local governments to set policy that reflects their communities' interests. SB 391 was specifically written to undo a 2023 law in Lawrence that bans landlords from denying housing to renters who use public assistance, such as a housing voucher, to afford rent.

Elections

Rep. Pat Proctor, a Republican from Leavenworth, is chair of the House Elections Committee and also a candidate for Secretary of State. He’s introduced and pushed through a flurry of election bills that would expand the authority of the next Secretary of State and enact more voting restrictions, despite assurances from the current Secretary of State, Scott Schwab, that Kansas elections are safe and secure.

HB 2452: This bill would force local elections to occur simultaneously with state and federal elections. The goal is to amplify the nationalization and partisanship of local elections. Democrats have had a lot of success electing common-sense candidates to city councils and school boards in otherwise conservative communities. Republicans are betting that syncing local, state, and federal elections will weed out Democrats from non-partisan offices.

HB 2453: This bill shortens the timeframe for registering to vote, requesting an advance ballot, and voting early in-person. Seniors, disabled folks, home-bound individuals, and Kansans living away from home (e.g., college students) will be disproportionately impacted by this bill.

HB 2438: Imposes restrictions on which third-party sites Kansans can use to register to vote and gives the Secretary of State, who could be Rep. Proctor, the sole authority to arbitrarily decide which site may be used for voter registration. A future Secretary of State, for example, could single-handedly ban convenient registration sites like ksvotes.org and vote.org.

HB 2493: Requires individuals who collect and deliver absentee ballots on behalf of others to include their driver’s license number in a written statement when transmitting ballots. Many seniors and rural Kansans depend on “ballot harvesters” to collect their absentee ballots and deliver them to county election offices. This law would require harvesters to have a driver's license and be registered to vote. In practice, that means anyone who isn’t registered to vote can’t serve as a harvester. For example, a high school student couldn’t deliver their grandma’s ballot because they’re not old enough to vote.

HB 2490 & SB 394: These bills are exactly the same. There is an ongoing lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of absentee ballot signatures. If the court decision overturns a 2021 state law that requires signatures on absentee ballots, these “trigger” laws would instantly ban all mail-in voting.

HCR 5021: A constitutional amendment that would constitutionally require the presentation of a photo ID to vote. Photo ID is already required to vote in Kansas, pursuant to Kansas statute. HCR 5021 is duplicative and would preclude Kansas from changing voter ID requirements in the future as election technology continues to advance.

HB 2491: Requires state agencies to submit quarterly reports to the Secretary of State's office listing the names and addresses of noncitizens, regardless of legal status, who receive public benefits. The law does not clearly define the intended purpose nor the safeguards that should be established to protect such personal information.

HB 2569: This bill would arbitrarily require all lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of election laws to be heard in the Shawnee County District Court. This bill undermines and insults the ability of local courts to adjudicate election-related cases. Forcing plaintiffs to travel from as far as Liberal to Topeka also raises the cost of remedying bad election laws. Justice should not depend on geography.

HB 2449: Creates more circumstances under which the Secretary of State may remove someone from the voter rolls.

HB 2437: Expands the number of resources available to the Secretary of State's office to purge the voter rolls.

Food Access

SB 363: 40 opponents showed up to explain the detrimental effects of this bill. Meanwhile, there was only one proponent who represented a Florida-based conservative lobby firm. Despite the overwhelming in-state opposition to this bill, the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency (COGE) advanced the bill. SB 363 would codify in state statute many of the welfare eligibility requirements enacted by the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and cost the state millions of dollars to create an automated data-matching system. Such systems are known for increasing error rates and slowing down program administration.

SB 387: This bill would force local school districts to verify the eligibility of every family that applies for free school meals, which would be in violation of federal law and may cause a loss of federal reimbursement for school meals.

SB 428 & Senate Sub Bill for HB 2004: Requires the Department for Children and Families, which administers SNAP, and the Department for Health and Environment, which administers Medicaid, to share Kansans’ personal data with the federal government upon request. SB 428 is in response to Governor Kelly’s refusal to fulfill an USDA data request that sought the private information of all Kansans who applied (not necessarily received) since 2020. Governor Kelly joined a successful lawsuit with 20 other states in 2025. The plaintiffs pointed out that the USDA did not demonstrate any purpose or safeguards for the information, and discovered that such information (including names, addresses, and social security numbers) could be shared with foreign entities.

Reduced-Price Co-Pay: Democratic legislators in both chambers have introduced several amendments that would eliminate the reduced-price school meal co-pay, which would expand free meals to 37,000 Kansas students. Republicans have rejected these proposals every time.

Republicans hold incredible power in the state legislature. They have a supermajority in both the House and Senate, which means they could pass bills without any Democratic support, including the Governor’s. But instead of passing legislation that would improve the lives of all Kansans, for which they could claim credit, Republicans would rather expend public resources attacking vulnerable Kansans.

I implore you to heed this call to action. Contact Republican legislators and tell them to stop making life harder for Kansans.

In solidarity,

Kelm Lear, Chair