Kansas Senate
The Kansas Senate is the upper chamber of the Kansas Legislature. It is recorded separately from the Kansas Legislature and the Kansas House of Representatives, and is named where a measure is specifically the chamber's.
2023 Events (3)
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB180, fixing legal sex to birth biology across facilities and vital records
On April 27, 2023, the Kansas Legislature enacted SB180, the "Women's Bill of Rights," by overriding Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, with the Senate voting 28-12 on April 26 and the House completing the override 84-40 the next day. The law defines "sex," "male," and "female" for all purposes of state law strictly by reproductive biology at birth and directs that this binary definition govern access to sex-segregated facilities and the recording of sex in state vital statistics. It took effect July 1, 2023.
Kansas enacted SB228 mandating that county jails house detainees by biological sex over the governor's veto
On April 26, 2023, the Kansas Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto to enact SB228, a county-jail bill that amended K.S.A. 19-1903 to define "sex" as an individual's biological sex at birth and to require sheriffs to keep separate jail spaces for each sex, male and female. The House overrode the veto 87-37 and the Senate 31-9, enacting the measure as 2023 Session Laws Chapter 83. The provision bars transgender and intersex women from female-designated jail housing.
Kansas legislature overrode veto to enact HB2238 transgender sports ban
On April 5, 2023, the Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of HB2238, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," enacting a ban on transgender girls and women competing on female athletic teams at public schools and colleges. The House voted 84-40 and the Senate 28-12 to override, both margins along party lines. The law defines team eligibility by biological sex determined at birth and takes effect July 1, 2023.