Kansas Bills

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 298: Authorizing technical colleges and community colleges to affiliate with universities.

SB 298 allows Kansas technical colleges and community colleges to formally partner with universities through approved agreements. This enables colleges to change their official names and transfers their governance and operational responsibilities to the partnering university, while shifting funding for campus operations from local taxes to the state. Students enrolled in career-focused programs (like associate degrees or certificates) would no longer need to meet standard university admission requirements, though transfer students would still need to comply. The bill also creates industry advisory boards to align college programs with workforce needs.

Topics ✓ Education

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2388: Providing a sales tax exemption for purchases and sales made by the friends of cedar crest association.

HB 2388 would create a sales tax exemption for the Friends of Cedar Crest Association, a nonprofit group, allowing them to make purchases without paying Kansas' state sales tax. This exemption would be added to Kansas' existing sales tax law (K.S.A. 79-3606) as a specific provision for the association's qualifying transactions. The bill directly affects the Friends of Cedar Crest Association by removing a sales tax obligation on their eligible purchases and sales. The key mechanism is an amendment to the tax code to explicitly include this nonprofit group in the list of exempt entities.

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2281: Establishing the Kanbucks program to authorize the state treasurer to invest in linked deposits with eligible financial institutions to provide linked deposit loans to eligible borrowers and abolishing the Kansas agricultural production, housing, extraordinary utility costs and economic recovery loan deposit programs and the city utility low-interest loan program.

HB 2281 establishes the "Kanbucks program," replacing six existing state loan programs with a new system where the Kansas state treasurer invests in linked deposits with eligible financial institutions. These institutions then provide loans to specific eligible borrowers: farmers, housing developers (including non-profit adult care homes), small businesses with 200 or fewer employees, and Kansas natural gas customers affected by the February 2021 winter storm. The bill abolishes the previous Kansas agricultural production, housing, extraordinary utility costs, economic recovery, and city utility loan programs. It requires the state treasurer to manage these linked deposits and continues existing loans under the new framework.

Topics ✓ Housing

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2328: Providing an exception to restrictions on prison-made housing units to allow the secretary of corrections to establish a program for delivering such units into designated areas.

HB 2328 creates an exception to Kansas' existing law prohibiting prison-made housing units from competing with private home manufacturers. It allows the Secretary of Corrections to establish a program delivering inmate-built housing units to designated communities experiencing minimal home construction or improvements despite local incentives. The program must be developed with community input, and the Secretary must submit a detailed 10-year report evaluating housing impacts, effects on private manufacturers, inmate employment outcomes after release, and cost reimbursements. This directly affects the Secretary of Corrections, designated communities with housing shortages, and incarcerated individuals participating in the vocational building program.

Topics ✓ Housing

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2405: Enacting the adult use cannabis regulation act to regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, possession and sale of cannabis in this state.

HB 2405 establishes a legal framework for regulating cannabis use by adults in Kansas. It requires businesses to obtain licenses for activities like growing, manufacturing, transporting, and selling cannabis, while imposing a tax on sales to fund a new "cannabis business regulation fund." The bill also provides exemptions from certain drug-related criminal penalties for adults possessing or using cannabis within the regulated system. This legislation replaces existing cannabis laws and amends specific Kansas statutes to create the new regulatory structure.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Criminal Justice

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2277: Decreasing the state rate for sales and use taxes for prepared food and increasing the percent credited to the state highway fund from sales and use tax revenue collected.

HB 2277 lowers the state sales tax rate for prepared food (such as meals at restaurants and food service businesses), reducing the tax burden for consumers purchasing these items. The bill simultaneously increases the percentage of sales tax revenue allocated to the state highway fund, directing more funds toward road maintenance and infrastructure projects. This change directly affects restaurants and food vendors by altering their tax collection responsibilities and the state by adjusting revenue distribution from sales taxes. The legislation amends multiple sections of Kansas tax law to implement these specific rate and allocation adjustments.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Transportation

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2377: Providing that countywide retailers' sales tax is apportioned based on tangible property tax levies remain unchanged until December 31, 2026.

This bill preserves the current method for distributing countywide sales tax revenue between counties and cities until December 2026. It updates the calculation formula to use total property tax valuations (rather than actual tax levies) to determine each area's share of funds. This affects all counties and cities receiving this tax revenue, ensuring their funding allocations remain consistent through 2026. The change extends the existing apportionment approach without altering how funds are distributed.

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2119: Discontinuing the Kansas affordable housing tax credit for qualified developments receiving a 4% federal tax credit.

HB 2119 discontinues Kansas' state tax credit for affordable housing projects that also receive the federal 4% low-income housing tax credit, effective July 1, 2025. This bill ends new allocations of the credit after June 30, 2025, but allows existing allocations made before that date to continue through their full credit period. Developers of qualifying affordable housing projects that received credit allocations prior to July 1, 2025, can still use those credits until their allocated term ends. The law specifically targets projects already receiving federal 4% tax credits, not general affordable housing developments.

Topics ✗ Budget & Taxes ✗ Housing

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2392: Facilitating nursing workforce development by setting education levels for instructors at nursing schools as a requirement for state approval.

HB 2392 requires nursing schools in Kansas seeking state approval to ensure all instructors hold a nursing or related medical degree that is at least one educational level more advanced than the program they teach (e.g., instructors for practical nursing programs must have a professional nursing degree). This applies to both professional and practical nursing schools seeking initial approval or renewal. The bill amends Kansas law to make this education level requirement a formal condition for state approval, replacing prior language. Nursing schools must now verify faculty qualifications meet this standard to maintain their state-approved status.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Healthcare

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 161: Requiring legislative approval prior to any state agency seeking or implementing a public assistance program waiver or other authorization from the federal government that expands eligibility for any public assistance program or increases cost to the state or making certain changes in services for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

SB 161 requires Kansas state agencies to get explicit legislative approval before seeking or implementing any federal waiver that would expand public assistance eligibility (like Medicaid) or increase state costs. It directly affects state agencies managing programs such as Medicaid, preventing them from making these changes without a specific law passed by the legislature. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, and does not apply to waivers already in place before that date. This creates a formal legislative checkpoint for significant federal program changes impacting state budgets and service access.

Topics ✗ Budget & Taxes ✗ Healthcare

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2409: Prohibiting the commencement of each school term prior to Labor Day.

HB 2409 prohibits Kansas public school districts from starting the regular school year before Labor Day beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. This directly affects all Kansas public school districts by requiring them to align their academic calendar with Labor Day as the earliest start date. The bill allows exceptions for summer programs, teacher training, student enrollment, and school events like open houses held before Labor Day. It does not change the start date for summer school or other programs outside the regular school term. The law takes effect upon publication in the statute book.

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2410: Allowing for a public library taxing district to withdraw from a regional system of cooperating libraries with no discretion regarding approval of such withdrawal by the state library board.

HB 2410 allows public library taxing districts that levy at least 0.25 mills for library support to withdraw from regional library systems without requiring state library board approval. This directly affects districts meeting the 0.25 mill tax levy threshold, removing the previous requirement for state board discretion in withdrawal requests. The bill amends Kansas law to automatically permit such withdrawals when conditions are met, streamlining the process for districts wishing to leave regional cooperation. It does not change the requirement for districts to meet the 0.25 mill levy condition to qualify for withdrawal.

Bill results