The Emporia League of Women Voters Vote Tracking Committee tracks bills and votes on the following topics: abortion, children, civil rights, climate change, education, government, gun legislation, health issues, LGBTQ issues, Medicaid expansion, school issues, taxes, vetoes, voting rights, and water issues.
Last week, the following bills in these categories were voted on and passed; local legislators’ votes are indicated.
Abortion
HB 2439, relating to medication abortions; requiring certain notifications for patients under the woman’s right to know. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
SB 297, revising the definition of abortion in multiple statutes to “the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other mean to terminate the pregnancy of a woman knowing that such termination will, with reasonable likelihood, result in the death of an unborn child.” Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2325 would amend the Health Care Provider Insurance Availability Act to add certain maternity centers to the definition of “health care provider” and to add facilities where elective abortions are performed to the list of entities that are not health care providers as defined in the bill, which would make such facilities ineligible to purchase professional liability
insurance from the Health Care Stabilization Fund. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
SB 112, prohibiting the performance or prescribing of drugs for an abortion. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Children
HB 2443, establishing the office of the child advocate as an independent state agency and the child advocate advisory board; prescribing certain powers, duties and functions thereof. Reps. Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SB 115, relating to the Kansas adoption and relinquishment act; required notice of hearing on a petition for adoption. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SB 243, providing requirements and procedures for a person having legal custody of a minor to enter into a settlement agreement on behalf of the minor. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SB 265, requiring a person convicted of an offense that resulted in the incapacitation or death of a victim who is the parent or guardian of a minor child to pay restitution in the form of child support. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2080, authorizing students enrolled in virtual school to take virtual state assessments. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2236, establishing parents’ right to direct the education and upbringing of their children including the right to object to educational materials and activities that are not included in approved curriculum or standards or impair a parent’s beliefs, values or principles. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
HB 2322, revising the definition of “children with disabilities” to replace “emotional disturbance” with “emotional disability” and include “dyslexia.” Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2179, relating to childcare assistance, non-cooperation with child support; requiring the secretary to conduct reviews of cooperation. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
HB 2114, requiring the Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee to monitor the implementation of juvenile justice reform and the work of the committee. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2141, requiring cooperation with child support to determine food assistance eligibility for custodial and non-custodial parents. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
Civil Rights
SB 217, concerning violations of personal rights; providing criminal penalties for the conduct of utilizing any electronic tracking system or acquiring tracking information to determine the targeted person’s location, movement, or travel patterns when done as part of an unlawful course of conduct. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
HB 2350, creating the crimes of human smuggling and aggravated human smuggling;
providing criminal penalties therefor. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Climate Change/Recycling
SB 114, creating definitions for “advanced recycling” and related terms; separating advanced recycling from the current solid waste management system. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
HB 2446, prohibiting the regulation of plastic and other containers designed for the consumption, transportation or protection of merchandise, food or beverages. Rep. Droge, Schreiber voted Yea; E. Smith voted Nay.
SB 49, requiring new wind energy conversion systems to be constructed with light-mitigating technology systems prior to the commencement of operations. Reps. Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
Education
SB 66, relating to teacher licensure; enacting the interstate teacher mobility compact; recognizing equivalent teacher licenses from other member states. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
S Sub HB 2138, requiring separate overnight accommodations for students of each biological sex during school district sponsored travel. Sen Longbine voted Yea.
Government
SB 228, removing the requirement that every county shall have a jail; modernizing requirements related to food, drink and medical care for prisoners and jail records; requiring a medical examination before certain United States prisoners or city prisoners are taken into custody of a county jail. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SCR 1603, A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the President of the United States to consider current geopolitical tensions and support policies to ensure America’s long-term energy affordability, security, leadership and progress. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
HB 2232, concerning county appraisers; relating to qualifications for designation as a registered mass appraiser; granting authority to the director of property valuation to develop qualifying courses. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
HB 2140, increasing the age range of able-bodied adults without dependents required to complete an employment and training program to receive food assistance. Reps E. Smith, Droge voted Yea; Rep. Schreiber voted Nay.
SB 301, requiring annual filing of statements of substantial interests by local governmental officers and employees; exempting elected or appointed officers of townships or school districts from such annual filing requirements. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Guns
S Sub HB 2010, increasing the penalty for violations when a person was present in the dwelling, building, structure or motor vehicle at which the offender discharged a firearm; allowing certain nondrug offenders to participate in a certified drug abuse treatment program. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2412, concerning the Personal and Family Protection Act; removing state agency fees for licenses to carry concealed handguns. Rep. Droge & E. Smith voted Yea; Schreiber voted Nay.
HB 2304, standardizing firearm safety education training programs in school districts
[“Eddie Eagle”]. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Health Care
HB 2240, relating to qualified residential treatment programs; requiring the clerk of the district court to give notice of placement. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2269, raising the minimum age to 21 for the sale of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2082, allowing counties to create a code inspection and enforcement fund and expanding the county equipment reserve fund to include electronic technology; allowing counties to create a Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund for the expenditure of opioid settlement monies received pursuant to the Kansas Fights Addiction Act. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2125, providing for charitable event permits and demonstration permits to provide tattooing, cosmetic tattooing or body piercing services; authorizing cease and desist orders against unlicensed providers of tattooing, cosmetic tattooing or body piercing services. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2263, authorizing pharmacy technicians to administer certain vaccines; creating a civil cause of action against a physician who performs childhood gender reassignment service and requiring revocation of a physician’s license if such physician performs childhood gender reassignment service. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2284, pertaining to the continuation of firefighter health insurance; adding fire districts to the definition of “municipality” for purposes of the payment of COBRA premiums under certain circumstances. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2288, relating to professional counselors; enacting the counseling compact to provide interstate practice privileges; authorizing the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board to establish a fee for a home-state license with interstate practice privileges. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2140, requiring work registrants ages 50-59 to complete an employment and training program to receive food assistance. Rep. Droge and E. Smith voted Yea; Schreiber voted Nay.
SB 174, creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a healthcare facility, increasing the criminal penalties for battery of a healthcare provider; adding the placing of controlled substances into pills into the definition of manufacture, increasing the criminal penalties for manufacturing fentanyl; creating a special sentencing rule to make sentences for
distributing fentanyl presumptive imprisonment; excluding materials used to detect the presence of fentanyl, ketamine or gamma hydroxybutyric acid from the definition of drug paraphernalia; adding domestic battery and violation of a protection order to the crimes that a person can have the intent to commit when committing burglary or aggravated burglary; increasing criminal penalties for the crime of interference with law enforcement when the violation involves fleeing from a law enforcement officer and authorizing the attorney general to prosecute any crime that is part of an alleged course of criminal conduct that occurred in two or more counties. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
SB 287, expanding the Kansas Silver Alert Plan to include persons 18 years of age or older who have dementia, a developmental disability or a cognitive impairment. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
SB 314, prohibiting the secretary of health and environment from requiring COVID-19 vaccination for children attending a childcare facility or school. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
SB 315 would create an exemption provision to vaccine requirements for individuals at childcare centers and schools for sincerely held religious beliefs. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
HB 2313, providing legal protections for infants born alive and requiring certain standards of care by healthcare providers for infants who are born alive; providing criminal penalties and civil liability for violations of the act. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
S Sub HB 2390, requiring the Secretary of Health and Environment to study overdose deaths; restricting the powers of the Secretary of Health and Environment and local health officers to control the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases; repealing the authority of the Secretary to order individuals to isolate or quarantine and impose penalties for violations thereof. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
HB 2264, requiring hospitals, adult care homes and hospice facilities to allow in-person visitation in certain circumstances; requiring such facilities to adopt visitation policies and procedures. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Higher Education
Sub HB 2414, relating to the development of postsecondary engineering programs and the provision of scholarships and grants for engineering students at certain private and public institutions of higher education. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
SB 123, concerning postsecondary education; deeming veterans and dependents or spouses of such veterans who were stationed in the state for at least 11 months as residents for purposes of tuition and fees. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
HB 2375, establishing the temporary candidacy baccalaureate and master social work licenses; providing requirements and fees therefor. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2132, concerning postsecondary education; relating to the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act, expanding the eligible fields of study; establishing a maximum scholarship amount for certain private postsecondary institutions. Rep. Droge, Schreiber, E. Smith voted Yea.
HB 2290, authorizing the affiliation of Northwest Kansas Technical College and North Central Kansas Technical College with Fort Hays State University. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
S Sub HB 2060, authorizing payments from the state safety fund to community colleges for the provision of driver’s education; authorizing the provision of tools, supplies and examinations for participants in an A-OK career pathway program. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
LGBTQ
SB 180, establishing the women’s bill of rights; providing a meaning of biological sex for purposes of statutory construction. Rep. Droge, E. Smith voted Yea; Schreiber voted Nay.
Taxes
Sub SB 55, concerning property taxation; relating to exemptions. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
SB 147, increasing the tax credit amount for adoption expenses, and for household and dependent care expenses. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
SB 252, relating to property tax and sales tax exemptions. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
SB 300, decreasing the privilege tax rates on banks, trust companies, and savings and loan associations by reducing the normal tax rates. Sen Longbine voted Yea.
SB 309, relating to reductions in local retailers’ sales and compensating use tax revenues to cities, counties or a municipal university with the authority to impose a countywide retailers’ sales tax. Sen. Longbine voted Nay.
HB 2292, establishing a tax credit program and grant incentive programs for apprenticeships for Kansas businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare organizations and teacher apprentices for school districts. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
HB 2317, providing that certain tax notices and statements may be transmitted by electronic means by the county treasurer and county appraiser if consented to by the taxpayer. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SB 8, relating to property taxation; reducing penalties for the late filing of or the failure to file statements listing property for assessment and the discovery of escaped property; reporting changes after initial statement; decreasing the penalties for failing to timely remit withholding income taxes of employees by employers. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
H Sub for SB 169, providing a 5.25% tax rate for individuals and decreasing the normal tax for corporations [“Flat Tax”]. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SCR 1610, a proposition to amend the constitution of the state of Kansas relating to property taxation; limiting valuation increases for real property. Sen. Longbine voted Nay. The resolution was not adopted.
SB 40 would allow taxpayers to subtract certain net operating losses in determining their Kansas adjusted gross income and would make changes to the Homestead Property Tax Refund Act.
Voting Rights
SB 209, requiring the return of ballots by 7 p.m. on the day of the election. Reps E. Smith, Droge voted Yea; Rep. Schreiber voted Nay.
SB 221, requiring affidavits of write-in candidacy for certain locally elected offices; providing requirements for counting write-in votes on ballots. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
S Sub HB 2053, providing for a presidential preference primary election; establishing voter registration. Sen Longbine voted Yea.
Water
SB 205, authorizing certain water rights in a water bank to participate in multi-year flex accounts on a temporary basis. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
SB 120, relating to water infrastructure projects; authorizing the Secretary of Health and Environment to adopt rules and regulations for an annual certification program for the replacement of distributions systems segments. Reps Schreiber, E. Smith, Droge voted Yea.
HB 2279, requiring groundwater management districts to submit annual reports to the legislature. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
S Sub HB 2302, relating to funding for the state water plan and water infrastructure projects; making and concerning appropriations. Sen. Longbine voted Yea.
Prepared by Emporia League of Women Voters members Bob Grover, Doug McGaw,
and Mary McGaw.
