Kansas Bills

SB 203 amends Kansas statutes to clarify procedures for securing witness testimony in criminal and juvenile justice cases. It adds a new option allowing courts to issue a "show cause" notice requiring witnesses to appear after failing to respond to prior service (under K.S.A. 22-2805(a)(2)), instead of solely using bond or custody. The bill updates the definition of "unavailable witness" to explicitly include those who skip court after being served under this new notice procedure. These changes streamline efforts to compel testimony when standard subpoenas fail, directly affecting courts, prosecutors, and witnesses in cases requiring critical testimony.

This bill proposes to amend the Kansas Constitution to create a special fund dedicated to eliminating state-imposed property, income, and privilege taxes. It establishes a new board that would review current tax exemptions and decide which ones to remove, with the goal of generating revenue to pay off the taxes. Money collected from the state after these exemptions are removed would be placed in this fund and kept separate from the general budget, while interest earned on the fund could be used for further tax elimination. Ultimately, the bill seeks to fundamentally change how Kansas collects and spends money by removing specific taxes rather than reducing them through traditional budget cuts.

HB 2380 provides a $150 monthly increase to retirement benefits for Kansas retirees aged 85 or older who are already receiving payments from specific state retirement systems (KPERS, police/fire, school, or judges' systems) as of July 1, 2025. This applies to benefits accruing after June 30, 2025, and includes both retirees and their joint annuitants or beneficiaries. The bill directly affects eligible retirees in these systems who meet the age and payment criteria on the specified date. It modifies existing retirement benefit structures without changing contribution rates or eligibility rules.

SB 113 amends Kansas law to expand the definition of reckless driving to include operating a vehicle at 100 mph or more, or 35 mph over the posted speed limit. This change directly affects drivers who exceed these specific speed thresholds, making such violations punishable as reckless driving under K.S.A. 8-1566. The bill retains existing misdemeanor penalties: fines of $25-$500 and/or jail time (5-90 days for first offenses, 10 days-6 months for repeat offenses). It replaces the current language in K.S.A. 8-1566 with this new definition and repeals the prior statute.

SB 223 authorizes Russell County to seek voter approval for a countywide sales tax on retail purchases, specifically to fund school district facilities like attendance centers. The bill amends Kansas law to allow Russell County commissioners to propose this tax after meeting standard voter petition thresholds (10% of voters or city resolutions), similar to existing provisions for other counties. If approved by voters, the tax revenue would directly support school facility costs, with the tax ending once all project costs are covered. This bill does not create the tax itself but provides Russell County the legal authority to pursue it through the established voter approval process.

This bill changes how homeowners can partially reclaim property with delinquent taxes. It allows owners of homestead properties (primary residences) to partially redeem their property by paying only the current year's taxes and interest, without needing to pay special assessments for previous years. Previously, partial redemption required payment of all delinquent special assessments, not just the year being redeemed. The change applies statewide except in Johnson County, which has separate rules. This simplifies the process for homeowners seeking to avoid full tax foreclosure.

HB 2305 requires healthcare providers (including doctors, mid-level practitioners, and certain behavioral health professionals) to report specific abortion complications to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. It defines "abortion complications" to include physical conditions like infections or uterine perforation, as well as mental health issues such as depression or anxiety, and mandates detailed reporting of each case. Reports must include patient demographics, abortion details (date, facility, medication source), complication types, treatments provided, and follow-up care. The department will compile quarterly public reports and submit aggregated, anonymized data annually to the CDC, with failure to report becoming a misdemeanor after September 1, 2025.

SB 225 requires Kansas counties to purchase a homeowner's primary residence (homestead) at the current tax appraised value if the owner meets specific conditions. Homeowners must occupy the property as their primary residence for at least 24 months, owe no delinquent taxes, and all co-owners must agree to the sale. Counties must finalize the purchase within 120 days of a valid application, using the appraised value from the tax year of the application. This law directly affects homeowners who qualify, enabling them to sell their primary residence to the county at a fixed, transparent value.

HB 2367 allows naturopathic doctors to form business entities that can legally practice medicine in Kansas by creating a new "certificate of authorization" process. The bill amends Kansas law to let business entities (like corporations or LLCs) apply for this certificate, enabling them to employ licensed naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, and physicians. To qualify, businesses must provide proof of their address, local business license, and valid licenses for all employed practitioners, and pay a fee of up to $1,000. This directly affects naturopathic doctors seeking to operate through business structures, removing previous barriers to their professional practice under business entities.

This bill requires Kansas governors to appoint someone from the same political party as the previous state treasurer or commissioner of insurance when filling a vacancy in either office. The appointment must also receive Senate confirmation. It amends existing statutes (K.S.A. 25-101b and 40-106) to add these requirements and repeals the prior rules. This directly affects how these two key financial roles are temporarily filled during vacancies.

HB 2012 provides a $0.05 per gallon tax credit for retail fuel dealers and distributors selling ethanol blends containing 15% to 85% ethanol at Kansas retail service stations or directly to end users. The credit applies to tax years 2026 through 2031, with a yearly cap of $5 million total across all businesses. Unused credits can be carried forward for up to five years, but the credit cannot be refunded. This bill directly affects businesses selling ethanol-blended fuels in Kansas, including gas stations and fuel distributors.

SB 168 requires the director of legislative administrative services to remove all legislative video recordings from cloud-based servers and video on demand platforms after 10 years of creation. This bill directly affects the state's legislative administration office, which manages these recordings. The key provision sets a mandatory 10-year retention period, after which recordings must be deleted from digital storage systems. The bill does not alter public access to recordings or change how they are created, only their long-term digital storage duration. It is a procedural rule for managing legislative records.