Key Votes

SB 391 permanently blocks Kansas cities and counties from passing local ordinances that protect renters — including rules limiting landlords' use of criminal history, credit scores, and eviction records to screen tenants. The bill uses the same state preemption playbook that already stripped local governments of the power to set their own minimum wage. For union members with records who got back to work through fair chance hiring, this law slams the door on local fair chance housing protections that could help them stay housed.

This bill expands SNAP work-requirement time limits to cover workers up to age 64, meaning a laid-off worker in their 50s could lose food assistance after just three months — even if they're actively looking for work. It also strips exemptions for veterans and homeless individuals and permanently blocks the Governor from restoring food assistance protections during a recession without a full act of the legislature. Workers in physically demanding trades who face longer job searches due to age discrimination are hit hardest.

This bill expands SNAP work requirements to cover workers up to age 64, strips food assistance exemptions for veterans and homeless individuals, and permanently blocks the Governor from restoring those protections during a recession without an act of the legislature. Workers aged 50-64 who lose their jobs — especially those in physically demanding trades — face a three-month cutoff on food assistance even when age discrimination and injury make finding new work difficult. Labor opposes this veto override because it punishes workers in legitimate job transitions and removes a critical safety net tool during economic downturns.

This bill makes it a criminal misdemeanor to operate a voter registration website that doesn't have a .gov domain or personal approval from the Secretary of State — directly threatening the online voter registration tools unions use to sign up members. It also creates a new government database tracking noncitizen public assistance recipients, which could discourage immigrant workers in meatpacking and other union industries from accessing benefits they're entitled to. The legislature voted to override the Governor's veto, locking these restrictions into law.

SB 462 blocks injured workers from filing negligence claims if they were involved in any "wrongful conduct" — a definition broad enough to sweep in undocumented workers in meatpacking and construction who are hurt on the job. It also bars cities and counties from filing public nuisance lawsuits against polluters without permission from the Attorney General, blocking the legal strategy firefighter unions use nationally to fight PFAS contamination from toxic firefighting foam. The legislature voted to override the Governor's veto, enacting retroactive protections for corporations that apply even to lawsuits already in court.

This bill blocks workers from recovering damages in negligence cases if they were engaged in any "wrongful conduct" — a definition broad enough to sweep in undocumented workers injured on the job in meatpacking, construction, and agriculture. It also shields product manufacturers from public nuisance lawsuits and gives the Attorney General sole control over multi-county claims like PFAS contamination cases that firefighter locals are pursuing nationally. The law applies retroactively to pending cases, killing active lawsuits against polluters and other bad actors as of July 1, 2026.

This bill makes it a criminal misdemeanor to operate a voter registration website without a .gov domain or personal approval from the Secretary of State — directly threatening the online voter registration drives that unions and civic organizations routinely run for their members. It also requires state agencies to report personal information of noncitizen public assistance recipients to the Secretary of State, creating a chilling effect on benefit access for immigrant workers in meatpacking, food processing, and other union-represented industries. The Legislature voted to override the Governor's veto and enact the bill into law.

This omnibus bill raises the age limit for strict SNAP work requirements from 49 to 64, meaning workers in their 50s and early 60s who lose a job could lose food assistance after just three months. It also strips exemptions for veterans, homeless individuals, and former foster youth, and prohibits the Governor from waiving work requirements during a recession without a vote of the full legislature. Workers in physically demanding trades who face longer job searches as they age would be hit hardest.

This omnibus bill raises the age limit for SNAP work requirements from 49 to 64, meaning older workers between jobs could lose food assistance after just three months — even as they face age discrimination and longer job searches. It also eliminates exemptions from work requirements for veterans, homeless individuals, and former foster youth, and bars the Governor from waiving work requirements during a recession without a full act of the legislature. These restrictions hit workers hardest during the exact moments they need a safety net most: layoffs, plant closures, and economic downturns.

SB 391 permanently bans Kansas cities and counties from requiring landlords to accept housing vouchers or from limiting landlords' use of criminal history, credit scores, and eviction records when screening tenants. This blocks local communities from passing fair chance housing protections that help workers with records stay housed after getting back to work. The bill uses the same state preemption approach that already stripped cities of the power to set their own minimum wages — expanding a playbook that undermines local authority on issues that matter to working families.

This bill makes it a criminal misdemeanor to operate a voter registration website without a .gov domain or personal approval from the Secretary of State. Unions and civic organizations that help members register to vote through their own websites or third-party platforms like Vote.org would face criminal penalties. The bill also creates a government database of noncitizen public assistance recipients and requires cross-checking voter rolls against a federal database known for flagging naturalized citizens by mistake.

SB 394 creates a "poison pill" that automatically eliminates no-excuse mail voting if any court strikes down the state's signature verification rules. If triggered, only voters who are sick, disabled, or out of the county on Election Day could vote by mail — leaving out shift workers, nurses, and hourly employees who simply can't get to the polls during work hours. The bill also forces all legal challenges to election laws into a single courthouse in Topeka, making it harder and more expensive for voters anywhere else in the state to fight back.

SB 452 makes it a crime to come within 25 feet of a first responder — including federal immigration agents — after being told to back away, even during lawful picketing where police are present. It also shields state and local officials from civil lawsuits when they help enforce federal executive orders, including immigration raids at workplaces. Together, these provisions threaten workers' ability to picket freely and create a chilling effect on organizing at meatpacking plants, farms, and construction sites where immigrant coworkers could face enforcement actions.

This bill forces state agencies to collect detailed personal information — including alien registration numbers, Social Security digits, and home addresses — of noncitizen public benefit recipients and report it quarterly to the Secretary of State. It will discourage immigrant workers in meatpacking, agriculture, and construction from filing workers' comp and unemployment claims they've legally earned, making them more vulnerable to exploitation on the job. It also burdens public-sector state employees with an unfunded surveillance mandate and no data security protections.

HB 2504 prohibits cities and counties from passing local laws that protect renters who use housing vouchers or have criminal or eviction histories. The bill strips local governments of the power to require landlords to give these tenants a fair chance at housing — undermining the same fair-chance principles labor has fought for in hiring. This hurts working families trying to find stable housing, especially low-wage workers and those rebuilding their lives after incarceration.

This bill requires the Secretary of State to check voter registration rolls against a federal immigration database (SAVE) twice a year and remove voters flagged as potential non-citizens. Voter purge programs like this have a well-documented history of incorrectly flagging eligible citizens — particularly naturalized citizens, working-class voters, and communities of color — leading to wrongful removal from the rolls. Labor opposes this bill because it creates unnecessary barriers to voting for the very working families and union members who depend on their voice at the ballot box.

SB 375 imposes new legal burdens on proxy advisory firms — the companies that union pension funds and retirement plans hire to research and recommend how to vote their shares on corporate issues like executive pay, workplace safety, and governance. By requiring a narrow type of "written financial analysis" for any recommendation that goes against company management, the bill makes it harder and more expensive for these advisors to recommend votes on labor, environmental, and governance proposals that workers' retirement funds depend on. This is part of a national campaign to weaken the tools unions use to hold corporations accountable as shareholders.

This bill restricts restroom and locker room access in all public buildings based on sex assigned at birth, imposing fines and criminal misdemeanor charges on workers who don't comply. It directly affects transgender public employees — including teachers, state workers, and municipal employees — by threatening them with arrest for using workplace restrooms. The law also forces changes to driver's licenses and birth certificates, disrupting identity documents workers need for employment verification, and redefines "gender" across all Kansas law in ways that could weaken workplace discrimination protections.

SB 463 rewrites Kansas negligent security law to make it far harder for workers to hold employers accountable when they fail to protect against foreseeable workplace violence. Under current law, employers have a duty to address safety risks a reasonable person would anticipate; this bill replaces that standard with a near-impossible requirement that the employer had actual documented knowledge of a substantially similar incident at the same location within the past year — rewarding employers who simply don't keep records. The bill also lets employers escape liability by hiring any security contractor regardless of quality, and forces juries to spread blame to police departments and other parties to dilute what injured workers can recover.

SB 413 prohibits attorneys from suggesting a specific dollar amount for pain and suffering damages in civil cases — but only for the injured party's lawyer. Defense attorneys face no such restriction. This one-sided rule hurts workers who sue over workplace injuries, discrimination, or harassment by making it harder for juries to put a fair dollar figure on their suffering, while employers can freely argue damages should be minimal.

SB 462 shields corporations from public nuisance lawsuits by prohibiting claims based on the design, manufacturing, or marketing of legal products — the same legal theory communities used to hold opioid manufacturers accountable. The bill also bars private class actions for public nuisances, hands sole authority over multi-county cases to the Attorney General, and retroactively applies to cases already pending in court. For workers and their families harmed by corporate pollution, chemical exposure like PFAS, or future public health crises, this bill shuts the courthouse door.

HB 2453 cuts off in-person advance voting before election week, moves the voter registration deadline to 25 days before the election, and requires mail ballot applications 14 days earlier. These restrictions hit shift workers, hourly employees, and newly organized members hardest — the very people who rely on weekend voting and late registration because their work schedules don't allow flexibility. The bill also compresses the window unions use for worksite voter registration drives ahead of elections.

SB 391 prohibits Kansas cities and counties from passing local laws that protect tenants who use housing vouchers or other rental assistance. It also bars local governments from restricting landlords' use of criminal history, credit scores, and eviction records when screening tenants — blocking fair chance housing policies that help working people with records stay housed after getting back to work. This bill uses the same state preemption playbook that has already been used to strip local minimum wage authority from Kansas communities.

This bill requires all restrooms and locker rooms in public buildings to be designated by biological sex at birth, with criminal penalties for violations — including for workers simply using the restroom at their own workplace. It also forces the state to invalidate and reissue driver's licenses and birth certificates, creating potential gaps in the identity documents workers need for employment verification. The bill redefines "gender" across all Kansas law in ways that could weaken employment discrimination protections for years to come.

This bill requires Kansas agencies to hand over SNAP and Medicaid recipient data to federal agencies "without conditions or limitations" within 30 days of any request — stripping the state's ability to negotiate privacy protections or data security safeguards. Hundreds of thousands of working Kansans in low-wage jobs rely on these programs, including workers in meatpacking, food service, healthcare, and construction. Removing all state-level privacy protections creates a chilling effect that discourages eligible working families from accessing the benefits they've earned.

This bill requires "NONCITIZEN" to be printed on the driver's licenses of lawfully present green card holders, visa workers, and other immigrants. Because driver's licenses are used for employment verification and everyday workplace identification, this marks immigrant workers — many of whom are union members in Kansas meatpacking and agriculture — in ways that make them more vulnerable to employer intimidation and less likely to report safety violations, wage theft, or participate in organizing.

SB 387 requires school districts to annually verify household income for every at-risk student — an unfunded mandate the Kansas Department of Education warned violates federal regulations and risks $250 million in annual federal school nutrition funding. The bill also blocks schools from participating in the federal Community Eligibility Provision for free meals without first obtaining legislative permission, inserting a political veto into a federal anti-poverty program. Working families with irregular hours or modest wages face the highest documentation barriers, and children who lose at-risk status don't become less poor — their schools just lose the supplemental funding that supports paraprofessional positions, counselors, and support staff. Thirty-nine organizations testified against the bill and only three in favor; even eight Republican senators voted no, citing the burden on resource-stressed rural districts. The Senate passed the bill 22-18 on Emergency Final Action.

SB 254 bars undocumented immigrants from state and local public benefits, voids Kansas's in-state tuition law, and creates a presumption that noncitizens charged with any crime are a flight risk who can be held without bond. The bill chills workplace safety complaints and wage theft reporting by immigrant workers in meatpacking and construction — making job sites less safe for all workers — while imposing unfunded verification duties on state and county employees who administer benefits programs. A NAY vote protects workers' ability to report unsafe conditions and prevents an unfunded mandate on public employees.

This bill says that if a pesticide carries an EPA-approved federal label, that's good enough to shield the manufacturer from state lawsuits over failure to warn about health risks. In practice, it takes away the main legal tool that farmworkers, groundskeepers, and other workers exposed to pesticides on the job have used to hold chemical companies accountable when they get sick. The bill goes beyond what federal law requires and eliminates state tort claims that have been workers' last resort — especially for agricultural workers who already have the fewest workplace protections.

SB 244 restricts restroom access in public buildings based on biological sex at birth, imposing criminal penalties — including misdemeanor charges — on workers who violate the policy. It also forces reissuance of driver's licenses and birth certificates, disrupting identity documents that workers need for employment verification. This amendment would have addressed the bill's harshest provisions, but it failed. Labor supported the amendment because the underlying bill creates a hostile work environment for public employees, exposes union members to criminal penalties for using workplace facilities, and redefines "gender" across Kansas law in ways that could weaken employment discrimination protections.

This bill requires restrooms and locker rooms in all public buildings to be segregated by biological sex at birth, with criminal penalties for repeated violations — meaning transgender public employees like teachers, state workers, and city employees face misdemeanor charges for using the restroom at work. It also invalidates driver's licenses and birth certificates that don't match sex assigned at birth, disrupting identity documents workers need for employment verification. The bill redefines "gender" across all Kansas statutes in ways that could weaken employment discrimination protections for years to come.

SB 254 bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state and local public benefits, voids Kansas's existing in-state tuition law, and creates a legal presumption that noncitizens charged with any crime are a flight risk — making pretrial detention more likely. For workers in meatpacking, construction, and other industries, the flight-risk provision discourages reporting unsafe working conditions, filing workers' comp claims, and speaking up about wage theft — putting all workers on those job sites at greater risk. The bill also imposes new federal verification duties on state and county employees who administer public benefits, adding workload with no additional resources.

This bill makes it a crime for transgender public employees to use restrooms matching their gender identity at their own workplaces, with escalating fines and misdemeanor charges. It also forcibly invalidates driver's licenses and birth certificates, disrupting the identity documents workers need for employment verification. The law creates a private lawsuit mechanism that allows coworkers to sue transgender employees for using workplace facilities, and redefines "gender" across all Kansas statutes in ways that could weaken employment discrimination protections for years to come.

This bill gives the Inspector General sweeping new powers — including subpoenas, search warrants, and criminal jurisdiction — to investigate families who receive food assistance (SNAP), cash assistance (TANF), and Medicaid. Many working families rely on these programs to make ends meet when wages fall short, and this law creates a hostile, punitive environment around accessing benefits they've earned. It also allows the IG to compel healthcare and social service workers to turn over records and testify in fraud investigations of their own employers. The Governor vetoed this bill, and this vote was to override that veto.

This bill gives the Attorney General's inspector general sweeping new powers — including subpoenas, search warrants, and criminal jurisdiction — to investigate families who receive food assistance (SNAP), cash assistance (TANF), and Medicaid. Many union members in lower-wage jobs rely on these programs to make ends meet, and healthcare and social service workers at Medicaid-participating facilities could be compelled to turn over records or testify against their own employers. Labor opposes this bill because it builds a coercive enforcement apparatus targeting working families who depend on the safety net, while doing little to hold large contractors accountable.

This constitutional amendment would abolish Kansas's merit-based system for selecting Supreme Court justices and replace it with partisan elections, while also allowing justices to raise campaign money and participate in party politics. The Kansas Supreme Court is the final word on workers' comp appeals, public employee bargaining rights, and wage enforcement — and partisan elections would open the door for corporate donors to spend unlimited money electing judges friendly to their interests. Labor opposes this measure because the court that decides whether injured workers get compensated and whether public employees can bargain should not be beholden to the biggest campaign contributors.