Updates and Alerts

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (JAN. 26-30)
Action Heats Up in Week Three

The pace is heating up in the state legislature, with many new bills continuing to be introduced and increasing numbers of bill hearings!

The condensed legislative calendar, first initiated last year, gives urgency to committee activity. Legislative deadlines are fast approaching, with only two full weeks left before the first deadline known as “Turnaround” when non-exempt bills must be passed by their chamber of origin to continue to advance (House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate).

The next two weeks will see committees feverishly hold bill hearings and consider action to send proposals to the full House and Senate for consideration ahead of Turnaround.

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

Taxation
Establishing Property/Casualty Insurance Savings Accounts. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2430, enacting the insurance savings account act allowing individuals and corporations to establish insurance savings accounts with certain financial institutions to pay or reimburse insurance premiums and deductibles for property and casualty insurance. The measure provides for eligible expenses, requirements and restrictions for such accounts, and establishes state income tax deductions. Read a summary of the bill.

Expanding the Machinery and Equipment Property Tax Exemption. The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 2406, expanding the current personal property tax exemption for commercial and industrial machinery and equipment acquired or transported into this state after June 30, 2006, to also include commercial and industrial M&E put into service on or before that date. The measure would have an estimated fiscal impact of about $10 million a year. This bill was requested by House Committee Tax Chair Adam Smith, R-Weskan, who indicated he believes the divided tax treatment before/after 2006 is no longer necessary. Read a summary of the bill.
       A similar bill in the Senate, SB 320, is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Taxation Committee next week.

Education
Cultivating Career Readiness. The House Education Committee held a hearing on HB 2530, enacting the Career Readiness Education Development Innovation Transferability (CREDIT) act to require high schools to administer career readiness assessments to students and provide for the transferability of credentials earned through such assessments toward a degree. The committee has scheduled discussion and possible action on the measure on 2/2. Read a summary of the bill.

Economic/Workforce Development
Cultivating Aviation/Aerospace Workforce. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing, approved, and advanced to the full House for consideration 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 Kansas industry, is set to expire in 2026 and would be extended until 2036. This legislation would help support Lenexa’s cluster of companies serving the aviation/aerospace industry. Read a summary of the bill.

Legal/Insurance
Fighting Retail Crime. The House passed (119-4) and the Senate passed (39-0) a 2025 conference committee report on HB 2347, amending the crime of “criminal use of a financial card” to include conduct involving gift cards. Read a summary of CCR HB 2347. See how House members voted. See how senators voted. The measure now moves to the Governor for her consideration.

Invalidating Mandatory Arbitration Provisions in Insurance Contracts. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on HB 2351, amending the uniform arbitration act of 2000 to make after July 1, 2025, certain mandatory agreements to appraise or arbitrate in contracts of insurance invalid and creating exceptions therefor. The Kansas Chamber is currently opposed to the bill. Read a summary of the bill.

Regulating Apps With Respect to Minors. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on 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 and through a private cause of action. The bill’s private cause of action provisions have raised concerns among the business community. Read a summary of the bill.

Health Care
Regulating Pharmacy Benefits Managers. The Senate Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee held hearings on SB 360, enacting the Kansas consumer prescription protection and accountability act providing for new regulation and registration of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). The role of PBMs and their impact on health care costs has been a matter of national discussion. The bill drew support from regulators and independent pharmacies who say it will lower drug costs and benefit patients; as currently written, it was opposed by employers, insurers, and PBMs who say it will increase costs. Specifically, concerns were raised about new “dispensing fees” in the bill, as well as how it treats self-insured companies. Read a summary of the bill.

Energy
Creating Requirements for Electric Transmission Projects. The House Energy, Utilities & Telecom Committee canceled scheduled hearings on HB 2483, enacting the transparency and reform of utility expenditures act. The legislation appears primarily aimed at creating requirements and prohibitions related to electric transmission line projects. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Elections
Changing Local Election Years. The House Elections Committee amended, approved, and forwarded to the full House for consideration HB 2452, changing local elections to even-years beginning in January 2028 and requiring municipal official terms of either 2 or 4 years. Currently local elections for cities, school boards, community colleges, and other municipal offices occur in odd-years. This bill would move them to even-years alongside federal, state, and county elections. Supporters say the bill is intended to increase voter participation in local elections and that it will save county staffing and financial resources by consolidating elections. The committee amended the bill to adjust terms of office for officials elected close to the change. The measure was introduced by Rep. Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, Chairman of the House Elections Committee and a candidate for Kansas Secretary of State in 2026. Read a summary of the bill.

THE COMING WEEK

Taxation
Expanding the Machinery and Equipment Property Tax Exemption. On Wednesday the Senate Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on SB 320, expanding the current personal property tax exemption for commercial and industrial machinery and equipment acquired or transported into this state after June 30, 2006, to also include commercial and industrial M&E put into service on or before that date. The measure would have an estimated fiscal impact of about $10 million a year. On online summary of the bill is not yet available.
       The House Taxation Committee held a hearing on a similar bill, HB 2406, last week.

Providing a One-Time Vehicle Property Tax Credit. On Wednesday the Senate Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on SB 378, providing a one-time, nonrefundable vehicle registration property tax credit of up to $250. Counties would be reimbursed for the credit from the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Authorizing Local Earnings Tax Proposals. On Thursday the House Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2385, authorizing cities and counties to propose an earnings tax on a ballot question and to levy such tax if approved by voters. This bill was held over from the 2025 legislative session. Read a summary of the bill.

Economic/Workforce Development
Encouraging Investment in New Innovative Businesses. On Monday the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2466, extending the sunset for the angel investor tax credit to 2031. The program, which encourages investors to provide seed capital financing to early-stage innovative Kansas businesses, is set to expire in 2026. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Supporting Sports Tourism. On Tuesday the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2346, establishing a Kansas sports tourism grant program to provide matching grants to communities for developing and continuing sporting events. This bill was held over from the 2025 legislative session and is expected to be amended this session from its 2025 form, which was originally approved by the committee but never considered by the full House.

Enacting “By-Right Housing Development.” On Tuesday the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on 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, excluding owner-initiated rezoning to a single-family residential district from protest petition provisions and providing that all land within the corporate limits of a city be considered zoned for single-family residential use. 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. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Cultivating International Trade. On Thursday the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2580, establishing the Kansas international trade commission to further international trade between Kansas and other countries, in particular Ireland, Japan, and Taiwan, and creating the Kansas international trade commission fund. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Changing Electrician Licensing. On Thursday the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2588, providing for state electrician licensing by the Board of Technical Professions. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Education
Cultivating Career Readiness. On Monday the House Education Committee will discuss and take possible action on HB 2530, enacting the Career Readiness Education Development Innovation Transferability (CREDIT) act to require high schools to administer career readiness assessments to students and provide for the transferability of credentials earned through such assessments toward a degree. Read a summary of the bill.

Expanding School Choice. On Monday the House Education Committee will discuss and take possible action 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. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Legal/Insurance
Creating New Requirements for Certain Expert Witness Testimony. On Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on 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. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Prohibiting “Jury Anchoring.” On Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on SB 413, prohibiting counsel from suggesting an amount of damages for noneconomic loss in civil actions. Known as “jury anchoring,” defendants allege it sets a baseline in jurors’ minds that can unfairly influence deliberations regarding damages. This bill is a tort reform measure backed by the Kansas Chamber. An online summary of the bill is not yet available.

Health Care
Regulating “Prior Authorization” Requirements in Health Care. On Wednesday the Senate Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on SB 330, imposing requirements and limitations on the use of prior authorization in health care insurance for the stated purpose of ensuring transparency. Read a summary of the bill.

Monitoring Drug Pricing. On Wednesday 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. 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.