Kansas 2025 Legislative Session Week 2 Recap: Kobach's strange opinion, election bills, midnight rule abolished, and more! 🚨
Video Script
Intro
I’m Davis Hammet with Loud Light. Here’s what happened the second week in the Kansas Statehouse.
Election Bills (SB4, HB2017)
Several election bills have been introduced, including a renewed attempt to repeal current Kansas law that has provided a 3-day mail processing period for ballots to arrive and be counted. The law was passed in 2017 with near unanimous support after the federal government informed the state mail delivery times would be slowing. If passed, the bill would throw out thousands of votes each election that were cast before Election Day, but aren’t delivered by USPS to the election office until a couple days later. This is the fourth year that the repeal has been proposed in the legislature. In previous sessions it received bipartisan opposition and failed to pass into law. A Senate Committee passed the bill on a party line vote and it now heads to the Senate floor.
Non-citizen Voting Bills (HB2020, HCR5004)
Despite decades of evidence proving that the issue of non-citizen voting is extremely rare, members of the House Elections Committee heard two bills and introduced several more addressing their trepidation. On Tuesday, the committee heard a bill that would compare the temporary drivers’ licence list with the voter file to check for administrative errors that may result in noncitizens being added into the voter rolls, but there are concerns about data privacy and false matches that may remove eligible voters from the rolls. Additionally, the House is working on a constitutional amendment proposal that would say only citizens can vote in Kansas, but that appears to be a political campaign strategy as the Kansas Constitution has limited voting to only citizens for over a century.
Midnight Rule Suspended
A rule requiring legislators to stop work at midnight has been abolished at the demand of Republican leadership. The midnight rule was implemented in 2012 after a fatal car crash, where Kansas Representative Bob Bethell was driving home after late night legislative sessions and died in a car crash. Suspending the midnight rule has become more commonplace in recent years, when legislators are rushing to pass budget and tax bills towards the end of session. It is also commonly used by leadership as a pressure tactic to force sleep deprived legislators to change their votes or else be held hostage on the floor. With an expedited session, it seems likely that legislators will be taking the most critical votes in the darkness of night.
Kobach Cosmetology Board
At the request of Senator Renee Erickson, Attorney General Kris Kobach issued an opinion that he believes the requirement for at least one African American member on the state board of cosmetology is likely unconstitutional. Senator Olatha Faust-Goudeau, the only black woman to ever serve in the Kansas Senate, defended the requirement, citing that the differences in racial hair types must be considered on the state board. The inquiry is part of a national far-right push to undo civil rights advancements and the legal framework of the U.S. Constitution's 14th amendment which was passed after the civil war.
Property Tax vs. School Funding (HB2011 & others)
Kansas Republican leaders have declared their intent to lower property taxes this session, but proposals so far have come at the costs of significant cuts to public education. A House Committee heard a bill that would cut property tax rates by defunding schools by $800 million over 5 years. It was just last year that school funding reached constitutionally adequate levels and court oversight ended.
Coming Up
Next week, legislators will stay busy as they rush through this year’s shortened session. On Monday, there is a hearing on banning ranked choice voting. On Tuesday, both House and Senate Health Committees are holding hearings banning medical and social gender affirming care for youth. Thursday, House Elections will be hearing a bill on ballot drop box regulations, and so much more. Stay tuned, stay engaged, and until next time, thank you so much Kansas!