Updates and Alerts

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (FEB. 9-13)
Pace Accelerates in Week Five

The pace at the Capitol continued to accelerate over Week Five of the session! Everyone in the Capitol is feeling the pressure of a major legislative deadline this coming week. On Thursday, Feb.19, lawmakers will reach “Turnaround,” a deadline at the halfway point of the session when non-exempt bills must have been acted on by their chamber of origin in order to continue to advance (House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate.)

With committees focused on considering as many bills as possible ahead of Turnaround, this past week was a busy one! With delays in bill introductions due to software issues and the Turnaround deadline falling about two weeks earlier in the session than in previous years (the result of legislative leaders shortening the session to a true 90 days), committees have been challenged to take action on their most important bills.

Committee action will now be suspended ahead of Turnaround, and the full House and Senate will instead remain convened in floor action debating as many bills as possible ahead of the deadline.

It’s important to note that tax and spending bills (among others) are exempt from the Turnaround deadline, and otherwise non-exempt bills may be procedurally exempted from the deadline by legislative leaders. Nothing at the Capitol is ever truly dead!

Read highlights and action from Week Five below, as well as a look at the week ahead:

Budget
Limiting State Budget Expenditures to the CPI. The House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on SB 181, limiting the amount of expenditures and transfers from the State General Fund to the CPI Midwest and Kansas population growth. This bill was held over from the 2025 legislative session; it previously passed the Senate (32-8). Read a summary of the bill.

Taxation
Revising the Property Tax Levy and Residential Exemption for K-12. The House Taxation Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2011, increasing, beginning in tax year 2026, the amount of the appraised value of residential property exempt from the statewide school finance levy from $75,000 to $100,000 and providing for future phased-down reductions to the statewide school finance mill levy based on future valuation/revenue growth. Beginning in tax year 2027, the mill rate would be annually adjusted downward to the rate that would generate 103% of the prior year’s revenue, using the current year’s total assessed valuation. In years where the total assessed valuation has not grown by at least 3%, no rate adjustment would be made. Read a summary of the bill.
This bill was held over from the 2025 session, where it decreased the K-12 statewide mill levy from 20 mills to 18.5 mills (backfilled from the State General Fund) and increased the residential property tax exemption from that levy from $75,000 to $100,000. It was approved by a committee but was not acted on by the full House over concerns about its projected fiscal impact to the state. Earlier this year it was rereferred back to committee for additional work.

Discouraging Property Tax Growth. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2745, requiring voters to approve increases in property tax revenues for the next year if the county seeks to collect more than 3% of what they took in the year before, establishing a property tax relief fund, providing transfers from that fund to counties that limit property taxes to certain increases (but not other local taxing entities), and establishing a “property tax limit” in lieu of the current “revenue neutral rate” for budget increases of taxing subdivisions. Cities across the state testified in opposition to the bill, saying its election timelines were impractical, the 3% cap did not reflect real-world cost increases, the plan did not provide needed flexibility to meet unexpected costs, and that similar limits were not being imposed on the State or schools. Read a summary of the bill.
       The Committee is scheduled to consider and take possible action on the measure on Monday.

Requiring Certain Valuation Adjustments and Reviews. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2644, requiring a county appraiser to adjust the value of residential and commercial property upon a final determination of valuation appeal or obtain an independent fee simple appraisal if the appraised value exceeds a 5% increase each year for five years. Read a summary of the bill.
       The Committee is scheduled to consider and take possible action on the measure on Monday.

Eliminating the Property Tax Exemption for Certain Healthcare Providers. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2457, which includes provisions eliminating the property tax exemption for commercial properties owned and used by an exempt 501(c)(3) corporation for providing healthcare services when in competition with other non-exempt properties providing comparable medical services within the county or an adjacent county. The bill as written would impact certain hospitals including AdventHealth and KU Med, certain long-term care facilities, and other providers. Read a summary of the bill.

Authorizing Local Earnings Tax Ballot Questions. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2385, authorizing cities and counties to propose an earnings tax on a ballot question and levy such tax on nonresidents of the city or county if approved by the electors and creating deductions against such tax. This bill is held over from the 2025 session, where it did not receive a hearing. It is not expected to advance. Read a summary of the bill.

Economic/Workforce Development
Encouraging Investment in New Innovative Businesses. The House passed (93-28) HB 2466, extending the sunset for the angel investor tax credit to 2031. The program, which supports entrepreneurism by encouraging investors to provide seed capital financing to early-stage innovative Kansas businesses, is set to expire in 2026. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to a Senate committee.
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing SB 429, the Senate’s mirror bill to HB 2466 extending the sunset for the angel investor tax credit to 2031. Read a summary of the bill.

Extending and Expanding the STAR Bonds Incentive Program. The House Commerce Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration SB 197, extending the sunset for the state’s STAR bonds incentive program. Provisions in the bill also impose new eligibility, reporting, and enforcement measures. The bill previously passed the Senate (32-8) in 2025, but was not acted on last year by the full House. The Committee in 2026 amended the bill to remove provisions relating to the program’s use for mall facilities or vertical construction and creation of a Wyandotte County Port Authority, and to add additional reporting requirements. Read a summary of the bill.

Supporting Sports Tourism. The House Commerce Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2346, establishing a Kansas sports tourism grant program to provide matching grants to communities to support and enhance sports tourism events in Kansas. This bill was held over from the 2025 legislative session – it was originally approved by the committee but never considered by the full House. Earlier this year it was rereferred back to committee for additional work. Proponents of the measure said currently at least 23 states have state-supported sports tourism incentive programs (with more states considering it), leaving Kansas at a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining this important economic driver. Read a summary of the bill.

Cultivating Career Readiness. The House Education Committee amended, approved, and forwarded for consideration by the full House HB 2530, as amended, requiring postsecondary institutions to adopt and implement credit transfer policies for the ACT WorkKeys assessments as transferable credits toward the attainment of a postsecondary technical degree.  Read a summary of the bill.
As introduced, the bill would have enacted the Career Readiness Education Development Innovation Transferability (CREDIT) act requiring high schools to administer career readiness assessments to students and provide for the transferability of credentials earned through such assessments toward a degree. The House committee refocused the bill to its amended form.

Creating An Alternative to TIF. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2737, providing for alternative financing of economic development projects through “taxpayer agreements,” instead of Tax Increment Financing. These “taxpayer agreements” are being used in a couple of states, including Oklahoma. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Repealing Underutilized Income Tax Credit Incentives and Expanding HPIP. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing on HB 2757, discontinuing certain income tax credit incentives that are unused, underutilized, or have previously been repealed. The bill also includes provisions extending the income tax credits for angel investors and for aviation-related employment, both set to expire in 2026 if they are not extended, and providing expanded options in the High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP) for tax credit transfers and wage requirements for rural businesses. This bill is being sought by a working group of business, economic development, and CPA organizations, who spent the legislative interim reviewing incentive programs and tax credits to determine what changes, if any, could improve and clean up the state’s incentive toolbox. The Department of Revenue projected the aviation ($8.2M), angel investor ($8M), and HPIP ($153.9M) provisions in the bill together would reduce state revenues by an estimated $170 million in FY 2028. Read a summary of the bill.
Credits suggested for repeal include abandoned well plugging credit, agritourism liability insurance credit, alternative fuel tax credit, assistive technology contribution credit, biomass-to-energy plant tax credit and deduction, carbon dioxide capture and sequestration tax deduction, disabled access credit, electric cogeneration facility credit and deduction, employer health insurance contribution credit, environmental compliance credit, friends of cedar crest association credit, petroleum refinery credit, regional foundation credit, storage and blending equipment credit and deduction, and swine facility improvement credit.
HPIP changes include providing alternatives to existing wage requirements, including alternate wage requirements in rural areas (intended to replace the current Rural Opportunity Zone program), revising annual certification requirements, and expanding transferability options. The HPIP program provides an income tax credit equal to 10% of qualifying capital investment by an eligible company.

Incentivizing Rural Investment. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2541, enacting the Kansas rural business growth program establishing a premium tax credit program for the purpose of incentivizing capital investment in rural areas. Read a summary of the bill.

Unemployment Compensation
Continuing to Modernize and Reform UI Law. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing on HB 2764, making a number of additional clarifications and revisions to unemployment security law, following up on comprehensive UI legislation passed in recent sessions aimed at protecting the integrity of the Employment Security Trust Fund for Kansas employers. Amendments include new definitions and updates to employment law oversight, payment of benefits, extended benefits, benefit eligibility, filing and appeal procedures, KDOL reporting and notice requirements, and employer classification, contribution, and rate assignments. Read a summary of the bill.

Education
Expanding School Choice. The full House passed (70-49) HB 2468, electing to have Kansas participate in a federal tax credit program for individual contributions to scholarship granting organizations and increasing the aggregate tax credit limit on the state’s existing Low Income Students Scholarship (LISS) granting program. A House committee amended the bill to say Kansas can’t impose rules or regulations more stringent than federal law and to require annual reporting. Read a summary of the bill.
The LISS program provides up to $8,000 per school year to eligible students for costs including tuition, fees, and expenses to attend an eligible nonpublic school. Contributors to the LISS program receive a state income tax credit currently equal to 75% of their contribution. The program has a $10 million cap that would be increased to $20 million under this bill, with possible additional increases tied to the amount of credits claimed up to a maximum of $30 million.

Authorizing Post-Secondary Institution Affiliations. The House Higher Education Budget Committee held a hearing on HB 2523, authorizing technical colleges and community colleges to affiliate with Kansas universities and providing procedures for such affiliations. Read a summary of the bill.

Energy
Creating New Requirements for Electric Transmission Projects. The House Energy, Utilities & Telecom Committee held hearings on HB 2483, enacting the Transparency and Reform of Utility Expenditures (TRUE) act. The legislation creates new requirements and prohibitions related to electric transmission line projects. Provisions of the bill would require very large load transmission line projects to go through the KCC approval process and then also receive legislative approval, and it would also require that cost recovery for transmission line projects change from the current monthly charge based on consumer volumetric use to being recovered through a utility rate cases. Proponents of the measure say it will add transparency, accountability and cost controls to transmission line construction and other infrastructure investments, while opponents raise concerns the bill will delay and politicize transmission line siting, discourage transmission line investments, hamper the state’s ability to compete for and serve large economic development projects, and ultimately increase costs. Concerns were also raised during the hearing about the constitutionality of some provisions as well as potential conflicts with federal law, and the bill may not advance this session to give time for more discussion among stakeholders. Read a summary of the bill.

Addressing Natural Gas Infrastructure Investment. The House Utilities Committee continued hearing and considering HB 2435, enacting the natural gas infrastructure availability act outlining mechanisms a natural gas public utility would be allowed to use to establish rates to recover costs associated with new infrastructure investments. This bill is similar to comprehensive legislation enacted addressing the electric utility industry. Read a summary of the bill.

Legal/Insurance
Creating New Requirements for Certain Expert Witness Testimony. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 398, requiring a proponent to demonstrate that it is more likely than not that certain specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand evidence before certain qualified expert witnesses may testify. This bill is a tort reform measure backed by the Kansas Chamber that codifies changes to federal evidentiary standards (Daubert standard.) There was one opponent at the hearing. Read a summary of the bill.

Prohibiting “Jury Anchoring.” The Senate Judiciary Committee approved and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 413, prohibiting trial attorneys from suggesting an amount of damages for noneconomic loss in civil actions. Known as “jury anchoring,” opponents to anchoring allege it sets a baseline in jurors’ minds that can unfairly influence deliberations regarding damages and drive up awards. This bill is a tort reform measure backed by the Kansas Chamber and representatives from health care, transportation, insurance, and agriculture; it is opposed by the Kansas Bar Association, who say prohibiting it would leave juries without context, adding more uncertainty to awards and leading to fewer settlements and more litigation. Read a summary of the bill.

Revising Public Construction Contract Requirements. The Senate Commerce Committee approved and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 335, requiring public construction contracts to include a mutual waiver of consequential damages. Read a summary of the bill.

Regulating Apps With Respect to Minors. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 372, enacting the app store accountability act regulating app store and app developer operations with respect to minors and providing for enforcement under the Kansas consumer protection act. The committee removed a provision authorizing a private cause of action, which had raised concerns among the business community, and revised certain enactment timelines. Read a summary of the bill.

Creating Portable Benefit Plans for Independent Contractors. The House Insurance Committee held a hearing, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2602, establishing requirements for portable benefit plans for independent contractors, determining types of contributions to such plans, and providing a state income tax deduction. Read a summary of the bill.

Enacting the Right to Repair Act. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing, amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2700, enacting the Kansas right-to-repair act establishing a narrowly-tailored right for persons who purchase or lease digital electronic equipment to obtain the legal authorization and necessary documentation and parts from original equipment manufacturers to diagnose, maintain and repair such equipment. The bill’s provisions would be limited to digital electronic equipment made available for sale on or after July 1, 2026. This bill is being sought by Garmin.  The committee amended the bill, but an online summary of the amended bill is not yet available.

Enacting the Professionals’ Freedom of Expression Act. The House Commerce Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2465, enacting the professionals’ freedom of expression act providing protection for professionals and businesses against adverse action as a result of an expression of beliefs of such professional or business that is unrelated to such profession or business. The House committee amended the bill to remove provisions concerning private licensing organizations, Multiple Listing Services, and technical amendments to the Real Estate Brokers’ and Salespersons’ License Act. Read a summary of the bill.

Technology
Creating a State Task Force on AI. The House Legislative Modernization Committee held a hearing on HB 2592, creating the Kansas task force on artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. Read a summary of the bill.

Water
Increasing Water Plan Funding. The House Water Committee held a hearing, approved and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2558, increasing the amount of funds transferred from the State General Fund to the State Water Plan Fund. Read a summary of the bill.

THE COMING WEEK

Committee action will mostly be suspended ahead of Turnaround on Thursday, and the full House and Senate will instead remain convened in floor action debating as many bills as possible ahead of the deadline.

Taxation
Discouraging Property Tax Growth. On Monday the House Taxation Committee is scheduled to consider and take possible action on HB 2745, requiring voters to approve increases in property tax revenues for the next year if the county seeks to collect more than 3% of what they took in the year before, establishing a property tax relief fund, providing transfers from that fund to counties that limit property taxes to certain increases, and establishing a “property tax limit” in lieu of the current “revenue neutral rate” for budget increases of taxing subdivisions. Read a summary of the bill.

Requiring Certain Valuation Adjustments and Reviews. On Monday the House Taxation Committee is scheduled to consider and take possible action on HB 2644, requiring a county appraiser to adjust the value of residential and commercial property upon a final determination of valuation appeal or obtain an independent fee simple appraisal if the appraised value exceeds a 5% increase each year for five years. Read a summary of the bill.

Health Care
Monitoring Drug Pricing. On Monday the House Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2550, requiring certain 340B entities to report annually to the KS Dept of Insurance on costs, savings, and payments made under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. The 340B Drug Pricing Program, established in 1992, requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible safety-net hospitals and clinics at significantly reduced prices, enabling these entities to stretch limited resources, reduce medication costs for uninsured or low-income patients, and expand healthcare services. Read a summary of the bill.

Transportation
Eliminating Registration Fees on Personal Passenger Vehicles. On Monday the House Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2575, eliminating yearly registration fees, property tax, and sales tax on transfers of personal-use passenger vehicles. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

LENEXA-AREA LEGISLATOR GUIDE
Kansas Senate

Kansas House of Representatives

Interested in a bill and want to learn more?

  • Explore the legislature’s website kslegislature.org to find House and Senate calendars, links to proposed bills, and committee information including live meeting audio links and posted testimony.
  • Watch House and Senate sessions and many committee meetings via the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel.
  • Access archived committee meeting audio recordings here.
  • Follow legislative action simultaneously detailed on X/Twitter using the hashtag #ksleg.
  • Call the State Library’s toll-free legislative hotline at (800) 432-3924. Calls and questions are confidential.
  • Ask questions such as how to read the calendar, what’s existing law and what would change in a proposed bill, etc, by contacting Ashley Sherard at asherard@lenexa.org or (913) 888-1414.

 

STATE LAWMAKERS VISIT THE CHAMBER

On Friday, January 16, several Lenexa-area lawmakers brought the State Capitol to the Chamber, joining a packed house of Legislative Affairs, Board of Directors, and Economic Development Council members to provide their insights on the new 2026 state legislative session and answer attendees’ questions about business issues and the legislative process.

Special thanks to Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, D-Lenexa, Representative Jo Ella Hoye, R-Lenexa, and Representative Laura Williams, R-Lenexa, for sharing their time and experience, and to our 2026 Legislative Affairs Chair Dave Kepper of Security Bank of KC for keeping the meeting on track!

 

CHAMBER BOARD APPROVES 2026 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

The Lenexa Chamber Board of Directors has approved a legislative platform to guide our advocacy in the upcoming 2026 state legislative session.  The platform addresses a spectrum of issues important to the business community including tax policy, key business costs and regulations, K-12 and higher education, health care, transportation, economic development, and others.

Click here to view the Chamber’s 2026 State Legislative Agenda.

Questions or feedback?  Call Ashley Sherard, CEO, at 913-888-1414 or email asherard@lenexa.org.