Kansas Legislature
The Kansas Legislature is the state's bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Entries naming it frequently record veto overrides rather than signed bills, so unlike most states here it generally appears without a signing governor alongside it. Its measures in the archive include restrictions on conduct near police officers and expanded local immigration-enforcement powers.
2026 Events (2)
Kansas Legislature overrode veto to enact 25-foot police buffer law and expanded local ICE detention authority
On April 10, 2026, the Kansas Legislature voted to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto and enact House Bill 2372, the "Halo Act," making it a misdemeanor to come within 25 feet of a law enforcement or first-responder officer performing official duties. Senate President Ty Masterson said the buffer would protect officers and bystanders, while critics including the Kansas Press Association warned the vague standard would be used to obstruct journalists and bystanders from documenting police and ICE conduct.
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB244 restricting transgender facility access and invalidating ID changes
On February 18, 2026, the Kansas Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto of House Substitute for SB244, enacting a law that requires multiple-occupancy facilities in government-owned or -leased buildings to be designated by sex assigned at birth and requires driver's licenses and birth certificates to reflect sex assigned at birth, invalidating documents previously amended by transgender residents. The House voted 87-37 to override, a day after the Senate voted 31-9. The law creates a private right of action with liquidated damages of at least $1,000 and directs the state attorney general to enforce compliance by non-complying agencies.
2025 Events (4)
Kansas Legislature passed a budget proviso barring state and university employees from listing pronouns and tying $4 million to ending DEI programs
On April 11, 2025, the Kansas Legislature gave final approval to Substitute for HB2007, the FY2026 omnibus budget, which included a proviso barring state agencies and state universities from permitting employees to include gender-identifying pronouns or "gender ideology" in email signature blocks or other communications and conditioning roughly $4 million in funding on ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, training, and positions. Gov. Laura Kelly subsequently signed the budget into law without line-item vetoing the proviso. Kansas Board of Regents institutions directed employees to remove pronouns from their communications by a July 31, 2025 compliance date.
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact HB2311, letting foster caregivers' religious beliefs override placement policy
On April 10, 2025, the Kansas Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto to enact HB2311, barring the state's foster-care agency from adopting or enforcing placement policies that conflict with a prospective caregiver's sincerely held religious or moral beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity. The law creates a private right of action allowing caregivers to sue the Department for Children and Families for damages and attorney fees. The House overrode 87-38 and the Senate 31-9 the same day, with enforcement provisions effective July 1, 2025.
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB4, ending the three-day mail-ballot grace period
On March 25, 2025, the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto to enact Senate Bill 4, eliminating the state's three-day grace period for advance mail ballots. The law requires rejection of any mail ballot not received by county election officers by 7 p.m. on Election Day, replacing a rule that had counted ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within three days.
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB63, banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors
On February 18, 2025, the Kansas Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto to enact SB63, the "Help Not Harm Act," barring healthcare providers from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgery for gender transition to minors. The law restricts state funds and Medicaid from being used for gender transition, bars state employees from promoting a minor's social transition, and exposes providers to professional discipline and civil suits. It took effect July 1, 2025, and required minors already receiving care to be weaned off by December 31, 2025.
2023 Events (1)
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact HB 2138 school overnight-lodging biological-sex mandate
On April 27, 2023, the Kansas Senate voted 30-9 to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Substitute for HB 2138, completing its enactment a day after the House overrode the veto 85-39. The law requires every school district to adopt a policy providing separate overnight accommodations "for students of each biological sex" during school-sponsored travel, defining "biological sex" by chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and genitalia at birth "without regard to an individual's psychological, chosen or subjective experience of gender." It took effect July 1, 2023, and was published as Chapter 87 of the 2023 Session Laws of Kansas.