Kansas Bills

HB 2677 requires all Kansas health insurance plans (excluding small employer plans and limited-benefit policies) to cover hearing aids and related services for insured children under 18 with diagnosed hearing impairments, effective January 1, 2027. The coverage includes devices, evaluations, programming, repairs, ear molds, and auditory training, with a $5,000 maximum per child over 48 months. Insurers cannot deny coverage or terminate plans based on a child's hearing impairment. This applies to all plans issued, renewed, or modified in Kansas, excluding small employer group plans and certain specialized policies.

HB 2650 requires noncompete agreements between employees and employers to be reasonable and necessary for protecting the business. It makes such agreements automatically unenforceable if the business is sold or if ownership changes. This directly affects employees who might face restrictions after leaving a job, as well as employers who use noncompete clauses. The bill replaces the default enforceability of these agreements with these two specific conditions.

HB 2641, the Kansas Property Rights Protection Act, requires state and local governments to pay landowners compensation when government actions (like approving projects or enacting land-use rules) reduce property value. It mandates 110% compensation for temporary impacts (e.g., construction delays) and 150% for permanent value loss (including a buyout option if value drops over 10%). Governments must pay within 90 days or face daily penalties, and can later seek reimbursement from developers responsible for the project. The law excludes actions solely for public health/safety (e.g., nuisance abatement) but covers most development projects like wind farms or data centers.

HB 2669 prevents homeowner associations (HOAs) in Kansas from banning rooftop solar panels on individual units. It directly affects unit owners who want to install solar systems, ensuring associations cannot restrict or prohibit such installations. Associations may set reasonable placement rules, but these cannot block installation, harm system function, limit usage, or increase costs or reduce efficiency. The law does not apply to shared common areas like hallways or pools. This bill updates Kansas’ housing laws to support solar adoption while allowing limited, non-discriminatory HOA oversight.

HB 2657 requires social media platforms to block children under 16 from creating, maintaining, or accessing accounts without verified parental permission. Platforms must implement reliable age-verification systems that minimize data collection and suspend accounts of minors until consent is confirmed. Parents or guardians can revoke consent anytime or request account deletion. The Kansas Attorney General enforces this under the state’s consumer protection law, treating violations as deceptive acts without requiring proof of a transaction. The bill directly affects minors under 16, social media companies, and parents/guardians managing children’s online access.

SB 434 creates a new Kansas sales tax exemption for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It exempts purchases of tangible personal property or services (excluding motor vehicles, alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes) for personal use, up to $24,000 annually per veteran. Eligible veterans must obtain a state-issued exemption ID card and provide proof of their VA certification. The exemption also extends to surviving spouses until remarriage and covers purchases made on behalf of the veteran by authorized household members.

HB 2667 requires landlords to give tenants the first opportunity to purchase their rental home before selling it to the public. Landlords must send tenants a written notice with key terms (like price and closing date) and give them 30 days to submit a purchase offer. If the tenant’s offer matches the notice, the landlord must accept it; otherwise, they can counter or choose between multiple offers. The law excludes sales to family members, foreclosures, properties with four or more units, and certain other transfers. It directly affects tenants in qualifying single-family rentals and their landlords.

This Kansas bill (HB 2665) changes how rental agreements end when landlords fail to meet health/safety standards in the lease. It gives tenants the right to end their lease by giving 30 days' written notice after a serious landlord violation affecting health/safety, but allows landlords 14 days to fix the issue before termination. If the same problem happens again after the 14-day window, tenants can terminate without giving the landlord another chance to fix it. The bill directly affects Kansas renters and landlords under residential lease agreements.

HB 2674, the PFAS Protection Act, prohibits the sale in Kansas of certain consumer products containing intentionally added PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), including carpets, cookware, cosmetics, feminine hygiene products, firefighting foam, and children's items. It directly affects manufacturers and sellers of these products within Kansas by banning PFAS in their formulations and requiring them to disclose PFAS content and conduct product testing. Key mechanisms include a statewide prohibition on intentionally added PFAS in covered products, mandatory disclosure of PFAS information to the Department of Health and Environment, and testing requirements for products sold in the state. The bill excludes medical devices, federally regulated products, and used items, focusing on everyday consumer goods where PFAS are deliberately added for function.

SB 477 establishes the Kansas First Responder Scholarship Program, providing tuition assistance at Kansas postsecondary institutions for eligible first responders (including firefighters, EMTs, law enforcement officers, and public safety telecommunicators) with at least six years of service in Kansas, and their dependents (with the parent having at least 12 years of service). The scholarship covers tuition fees (including course and activity fees) but excludes room, board, books, and other materials, for up to 10 semesters of undergraduate study. To qualify, applicants must meet admission requirements, apply for other federal and state financial aid first, and provide proof of employment and residency each year. The state board of regents administers the program, and participating colleges can seek reimbursement from the state for waived tuition.

SB 449, the Clean Air Preservation Act, prohibits conducting polluting atmospheric experiments in Kansas, including solar radiation modification, geoengineering, weather modification, cloud seeding, and other interventions releasing pollutants. It directly affects any entity - such as government agencies, corporations, or research organizations - conducting these activities within the state. The bill creates criminal penalties for violations, repeals prior weather modification laws, and requires law enforcement to enforce the ban through investigation and interdiction of prohibited activities. Key provisions define prohibited "atmospheric activities" as any pollutant-releasing experiments harming health, environment, or agriculture, including methods like chaff dispersal or aerosol injection.

SB 493 amends Kansas law to specifically address online grooming by adding a new provision (subsection a(5)) that makes it a crime to knowingly use electronic communication, social media, or text messages to gain a child's trust or prepare them for sexual exploitation. This directly affects individuals who engage in predatory digital communication targeting minors under 18. The bill defines "sexually explicit conduct" broadly and reclassifies certain violations as severity level 5 felonies (e.g., for communications involving children under 14). It also clarifies that possession of artificially generated images mimicking real children for sexual purposes is illegal. The law expands existing protections to cover digital interactions, not just physical acts.