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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.

Jurisdiction
Kansas
Location
Topeka, Kansas

Abuses documented

Actors

On February 18, 2026, the Kansas Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto of House Substitute for SB244, enacting the measure into law. The House voted 87-37 to override, one day after the Senate voted 31-9; both chambers exceeded the two-thirds threshold required to override a gubernatorial veto. Kelly had vetoed the bill as "poorly drafted" and warned it would cost taxpayers millions to implement.

The law requires that multiple-occupancy facilities — restrooms, locker rooms, and similar spaces — in buildings owned or leased by government entities be designated for use by only one sex based on sex assigned at birth, while permitting single-occupancy unisex facilities as an alternative. It further requires that driver's licenses and birth certificates reflect sex assigned at birth, invalidating documents previously amended by transgender residents.

Enforcement runs through a private right of action allowing other facility users to sue for at least $1,000 in liquidated damages plus injunctive relief, with escalating penalties for repeat violations and state attorney-general enforcement against non-complying agencies. The enactment is distinct from the executive agencies' subsequent implementation of the document-recognition provisions, which is recorded separately.

Updates

2026-03-10 — Douglas County court denied a temporary restraining order [4]

On March 10, 2026, the District Court of Douglas County denied a temporary restraining order sought by transgender plaintiffs represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP in Doe v. State of Kansas. The plaintiffs challenged the law under the Kansas Constitution's protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality, due process, and freedom of speech; the ACLU said the case would continue to a temporary-injunction hearing.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under the law requires that government not single out people for disadvantage based on protected characteristics. Kansas enacted a statute that restricts transgender residents' access to public facilities and voids the corrected sex markers on their state-issued identity documents, backing it with a private right of action that lets members of the public sue suspected violators. This archive records when a government codifies differential treatment of a marginalized group into law, targeting a vulnerable community through legislation.

Sources

  1. House overrides veto: Bathroom bill that limits access to Kansas facilities will become law — Kansas Reflector primary accessed July 10, 2026
  2. H Sub for SB 244 — official bill page — Kansas Legislature primary accessed July 10, 2026
  3. Kansas Passes Legislation to Restrict Transgender Bathroom Access in Government Buildings — Ogletree Deakins secondary accessed July 10, 2026
  4. Kansas State Court Denies Temporary Restraining Order Against State Law Invalidating IDs and Restricting Bathroom Access for Transgender People — American Civil Liberties Union primary accessed July 10, 2026

See also