Updates and Alerts

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (FEB. 16-20)
Week Six Marks Session Midpoint

On Thursday, Feb.19, lawmakers reached “Turnaround,” a key deadline near 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.) Committee action last week was mostly suspended, while the full House and Senate instead remained convened in floor action debating as many bills as possible ahead of the deadline – the House was scheduled to consider a total of 123 bills, the Senate 59!

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!

Lawmakers will now take a short break, allowing legislators who live far from Topeka the opportunity to visit their home districts for a long weekend and legislative staff time to process paperwork, before the legislature returns to action this Tuesday.

Many significant issues remain to be considered in the second half of the session, among them finalizing tax policy changes, the state budget, and education funding.

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

Taxation
Because tax legislation is exempt from the legislature’s Turnaround deadline, debate of most tax bills will occur later in the session to leave more time ahead of Turnaround to consider non-exempt bills.

Discouraging Property Tax Growth (With A Stick and A Carrot). The House Taxation Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2745, authorizing voter protest petitions if a local government seeks to collect more than a 3% increase in property tax revenues for the next year from what they took in the year before (the stick), establishing an annual state-funded $60 million property tax relief fund (with 2% growth), providing transfers from that fund to local governments that limit property tax revenue increases to less than 3% (the carrot), and repealing the currently required “revenue neutral rate” budget process. A successful protest petition, which would require not less than 10% of voters who cast a ballot in the last presidential election to sign, would veto the local government budget beyond the maximum 3% increase allowed. The provisions would not apply to the State or to schools. Read a summary of the bill.

Providing for Property Tax Rebates. The Senate Taxation Committee approved and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 319, providing for a property tax rebate for certain real property used for residential or commercial/industrial purposes when such property sells in a qualifying sale for less than 97% of the county appraised value. The Department of Revenue estimates that SB 319 would impact property taxpayers and state/local property tax revenues by unknown amounts. The bill’s “fiscal note” says to the extent property tax revenues were rebated, it would affect state expenditures for aid to school districts — to the extent less property tax revenue would be available from the state’s uniform mill levy to fund expenditures for school districts, the state would be required to provide additional state aid from the sales/income tax-funded State General Fund. Read a summary of the bill.

Economic/Workforce Development
Encouraging Investment in New Innovative Businesses. The Senate Commerce Committee approved and forwarded to the full Senate for consideration SB 429, 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 House previously passed (93-28) HB 2466, the House’s mirror bill extending the sunset for the angel investor tax credit to 2031. Read a summary of the bill. The bill is now in the Senate.

Supporting Sports Tourism. The House amended and passed (95-21) HB 2346, establishing a Kansas sports tourism grant program to provide matching grants to communities from a $1.5 million statewide fund to support and enhance sports tourism events in Kansas. Grants may be for new or recurring eligible sporting events; grants would generally not be available for most professional, college, and high school sporting events, except for exhibition games. Grant funds would be awarded following a post-event report determination, and the grants would match funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis with sponsor funds. 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. This bill was held over from the 2025 legislative session – it was originally approved by a committee but never considered by the full House. Earlier this year it was rereferred back to committee for additional work. The full House made technical amendments to the bill. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Creating An Alternative to TIF. The House passed (110-14) HB 2737, providing for alternative financing of economic development projects through “taxpayer agreements,” instead of Tax Increment Financing (TIF). TIF utilizes incremental property tax revenue increases attributable to the increased valuation from a project to reimburse private and public stakeholders for certain development costs; TIF is traditionally utilized where there are development challenges or higher-than-usual development costs. These “taxpayer agreements” are being utilized in a couple of states, including Oklahoma. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Enacting “By-Right” Housing Development.” The Senate passed (35-5) SB 418, enacting a by-right housing development act providing a streamlined permit approval process for by-right housing developments, allowing third-party review of new residential construction development documents and inspection of improvements, requiring government to allow certain building provisions for single-family residences of a certain size, and excluding owner-initiated rezoning to a single-family residential district from protest petition provisions. While most bills are introduced as committee bills, this bill was introduced by Sen. TJ Rose, R-Olathe, and Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the House.

Cultivating Career Readiness and Advancement. The House passed (124-0) HB 2530, 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. The bill now moves to the Senate.
       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. A House committee refocused the bill to its amended form.

Requiring Legislative Review of New or Materially Changed Occupational Licensing Requirements. The House passed (89-35) the conference committee report on SB 30, requiring that adoption of new occupational licensing requirements and material changes to existing occupational licenses by a state agency be approved by the legislature and providing a procedure for legislative review of such occupational licensing requirements. The measure, held over from the 2025 session, is intended to ensure there are not unreasonable or unnecessary workforce barriers. Read a summary of the conference committee report. The measure now awaits a vote in the Senate on the CCR.

Changing Electrician Licensing. The House amended and passed (113-9) HB 2588, providing for electrician licensing by the State Fire Marshal. Electricians licensed before July 1, 2026, would be exempt from reexamination and new licensure, but the bill does not exempt existing licensees from additional education requirements upon renewal of an existing license. Cities and counties would be prohibited from issuing electrician licenses after July 1, 2027. The House made technical amendments to the bill.  Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Health Care
Regulating Pharmacy Benefits Managers. The Senate amended and passed (32-8) SB 360, enacting the Kansas consumer prescription protection and accountability act providing for new regulation and registration of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). PBMs manage prescription drug plans and benefits among drug manufacturers, pharmacies, insurers, certain employers, and patients. There are currently 54 licensed PBMs in Kansas. The role of PBMs and their impact on health care costs has been a matter of national discussion amid calls for lower prescription drug costs, with Congress recently approving new national regulations. The bill drew support from regulators and independent pharmacies who say it will lower drug costs, add transparency and fairness, and benefit patients. As currently written, the plan has been opposed by insurers, self-insured employers, and PBMs who say it imposes a costly new dispensing fee “pill tax” on prescriptions, adds administrative overhead, and won’t actually reduce costs. The full Senate amended the bill to limit or remove certain reporting requirements. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the House.

Monitoring Drug Pricing. The House Insurance Committee held 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. The bill was referred to an exempt committee and will survive the Turnaround deadline.

Legal
Creating New Requirements for Certain Expert Witness Testimony. The Senate passed (40-0) 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. The bill now moves to the House.

Prohibiting “Jury Anchoring.” The Senate passed (29-11) 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. The bill now moves to the House.

Revising Public Construction Contract Requirements. The Senate passed (37-2) SB 335, requiring public construction contracts to include a mutual waiver of consequential damages. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the House, and a hearing is scheduled in the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

Regulating Apps With Respect to Minors. The Senate amended and passed (34-6) 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. A Senate committee removed a provision authorizing a private cause of action, which had raised concerns among the business community, and revised certain enactment timelines. The full Senate further amended the bill with a definition clarification. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the House.

Preempting Local Regulation of Residential/Commercial Landlord Discretion Regarding Tenants. The House passed (84-40) HB 2504, prohibiting cities and counties from restricting the discretion of landlords not to rent residential or commercial property on certain grounds including prospective tenants receipt of housing assistance or eviction or criminal history, and permitting cities and counties to prohibit discrimination by landlords on the basis of receipt of veterans benefits. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Enacting the Right to Repair Act. The House passed (122-2) 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. Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Insurance
Creating Portable Benefit Plans for Independent Contractors. The House passed (103-21) 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. Similar legislation has passed in three states (Utah, Tennessee, and Alabama.) Read a summary of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Energy
Addressing Natural Gas Infrastructure Investment. The House passed (115-7) 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, aimed at promoting infrastructure investment while protecting ratepayers. Read a summary of the bill.

Transportation
Eliminating Registration Fees on Personal Passenger Vehicles. The House Transportation Committee held a hearing on HB 2575, eliminating yearly registration fees, property tax, and sales tax on transfers of personal-use passenger vehicles. Read a summary of the bill and its projected fiscal impact.

THE COMING WEEK

Legislators return to the Capitol on Tuesday, following a short break after the Turnaround deadline.

Taxation
Requiring Certain Valuation Adjustments and Reviews. On Tuesday the House Taxation Committee will 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.

Repealing Sales Tax on Remodeling Services. On Wednesday the House Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2162, excluding from sales taxation the service of installing or applying personal property for the reconstruction, restoration, remodeling, renovation, repair or replacement of a building or facility. Under current law, no sales tax is imposed for the service of installing or applying personal property in connection with original construction of a building or a facility that becomes part of real estate. This bill would extend this sales tax exemption to include reconstruction, restoration, remodeling, and similar non-original construction services. This bill was held over from the 2025 session, where it received a committee hearing but did not advance. Read a summary of the bill.

Permitting Appraisers to Request Lease Agreements. On Wednesday the House Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2782, permitting county appraisers to request lease agreements from taxpayers when valuing property for property tax purposes. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

 Economic/Workforce Development
Repealing Underutilized Income Tax Credit Incentives and Expanding HPIP. On Thursday the House Taxation Committee will hold 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.

Cultivating Aviation/Aerospace Workforce. On Thursday the Senate Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2464, extending a program that provides tax credits for contributions to graduates of aerospace and aviation-related educational programs and employers of program graduates. The program, which attracts and cultivates workforce serving an important industry in Kansas, including a meaningful cluster in Lenexa and Johnson County, is set to expire in 2026 and would be extended until 2036. Read a summary of the bill.
       The full House previously passed the measure (81-39).

Extending Alcohol Sales During the World Cup. On Wednesday the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on SB 393, authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages 23 hours a day, seven days a week for the duration of the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Counties would have the option to opt out of the extended hours. Read a summary of the bill.

Legal
Revising Public Construction Contract Requirements. On Tuesday the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on SB 335, requiring public construction contracts to include a mutual waiver of consequential damages. Read a summary of the bill.
       The bill previously passed the Senate (37-2).

Unemployment Compensation
Continuing to Modernize and Reform UI Law. On Thursday the House Commerce Committee will consider and take possible action on HB 2764, making a number of mostly technical and conformity revisions to unemployment security law, following up on the comprehensive UI legislation passed in recent sessions aimed at compensating injured workers while protecting the integrity of the employer-funded Employment Security Trust Fund. Amendments include provisions clarifying 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. On Tuesday the Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing on 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. 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. 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 full House previously passed the measure (70-49).

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.