kansas leg

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.

The law went into effect July 1 after passing nearly unanimously in the 2024 legislative session.

New laws passed by the GOP-led Kansas Legislature will change rules for pornographic websites, overhaul civil asset forfeiture, and ban public universities from requiring diversity pledges.

Sedgwick County looked poised to clear the way for the Chisholm Trail solar project. But nearby residents expressed concerns about pollution, pushing regulators to extend a temporary ban on utility-scale solar developments.

Missouri House Majority Leader Jon Patterson called the Kansas legislation — which could provide hundreds of millions of dollars for new Chiefs and Royals stadiums — a "wakeup call. He anticipates that Missouri lawmakers will craft a response to keep the two teams.

In Kansas, issues like abortion restrictions and transgender rights might hinge on whether Republicans can keep their powerful majorities in the Statehouse. Democrats have set their sights on breaking the supermajority. Plus: Problems with Boeing are causing anxiety in Wichita, where aviation is a big industry.

In the two years following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned abortion protections nationwide, the practice was almost entirely banned in Missouri. Meanwhile, clinics in Kansas have seen out-of-state abortion patients skyrocket.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said she will sign the bipartisan compromise to cut Kansas income and property taxes, as well as eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.

STAR bonds, or sales tax and revenue bonds, pay for tourist attractions and then use the sales taxes collected at those attractions to pay off the construction debt. But Kansas has a mixed record on STAR bond projects, and the state has never used them to subsidize an NFL or MLB team before.

Under a bill being considered during the Kansas special legislative session, the Chiefs and Royals could receive more than $750 million to help finance stadium projects if they move to Kansas.