By declining to hear an appeal by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the Kansas Supreme Court has effectively let the Department of Revenue return to past policy on gender marker changes on drivers licenses.
The Department of Revenue had allowed residents to change their gender markings to reflect the gender they identify as — at least until the passage of Senate Bill 180, also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, and a lawsuit from Kobach in 2023 that gained a temporary injunction. An appeals court revoked the injunction, and the Supreme Court decided against hearing the appeal.
Kobach has asked lawmakers to schedule a special session on that topic.
Separately, Kobach is considering a new lawsuit after a Kansas judge dismissed his lawsuit against Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and the Department for Children and Families on certain state data. Kobach has said DCF needs to send its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, data to the US Department of Agriculture after an executive order to that effect from President Donald Trump. However, several states sued and DCF appealed a rejection of its Corrective Action Proposal to the USDA, thus freezing plans to withhold over $10 million in administrative funding, according to Kelly.
