kansas leg

Kansas City’s transgender community is sandwiched between two states where Republican-controlled legislatures have made limiting transgender health care and other rights a top priority. Families say the restrictions put their safety at risk.

New reforms to Kansas’ suspended license rules went into effect at the start of 2025. It should help drivers avoid being stripped of driving privileges just because they can't pay the fines for a traffic ticket.

Kansas lawmakers are considering a proposal that would allow Kansans who obtain raccoon ownership permits to keep the animals as pets.

Unlike in past years, Republicans currently have enough votes to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto and ban gender-affirming health care for minors. But Democrats and the ACLU says it violates Kansans' constitutional rights.

The "Second Look Act" in the 2024 Kansas legislative session would resentence eligible inmates after a certain amount of time in prison. It doesn’t guarantee their release, just another look at the length of their sentence.

Big fights on issues like transgender health care access will be repeated again this session as Republicans lead with a stronger majority.

The GOP has tried and failed to pass a ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments, as well as gender-affirming surgery, for children with gender dysphoria. But this year, Republicans have an even stronger majority in the Kansas Statehouse.

Medical marijuana is becoming a perennial debate in Topeka, and it’s annually unclear how likely it is for a bill to pass. The Kansas House has passed a plan before, but it's the Senate where the roadblock remains.

Kansas created an evidence-based fund to help minors avoid the criminal justice system. With some community groups struggling to access the money, lawmakers are looking to make more changes.

Kansas Republicans have a veto-proof supermajority in both the House and Senate, meaning they can steamroll Democrats on any issue — and override the governor's veto — if they stand united. But Democrats could change that by flipping seats in Johnson County.

Some GOP lawmakers from Johnson County are no longer talking about their votes championing anti-abortion bills in the Kansas Legislature, and saying they respect the 2022 vote defeating an anti-abortion constitutional amendment.

A 2022 Kansas law made it illegal to "represent oneself as an election official," but voting rights groups said it could potentially outlaw voter registration drives. The GOP-supported law was part of a wave of voting suppression legislation passed after the 2020 election.