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.

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.

HB 2468 doubles the tax credit cap for private school voucher scholarships from $10 million to $20 million and opts Kansas into a new federal tax credit, steering more public dollars toward private schools. This amendment would have required private schools receiving these taxpayer-funded scholarships to meet basic accountability standards. Labor supports the amendment because expanding vouchers without oversight drains funding from public schools where union members teach and work, weakening both the schools and the educators who serve Kansas kids.

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.

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.

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.

This bill doubles the tax credit cap for donations to private school scholarship programs from $10 million to $20 million and opts Kansas into a new federal tax credit that lets wealthy individual donors stack additional subsidies on top. By diverting more public dollars to private schools that lack union protections and collective bargaining, this bill threatens funding, jobs, and bargaining power for public school employees — including teachers and support staff who are union members.

Rep. Boatman's amendment would have kept the Kansas private school scholarship tax credit cap at $10 million and removed the automatic escalator that allows the cap to grow to $30 million without further legislative action. Kansas public schools employ tens of thousands of union-represented teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, and support staff whose wages and working conditions depend on adequate state funding — and the state already faces a $228 million special education funding shortfall. Every dollar diverted through expanded tax credits is revenue the State General Fund does not collect, increasing pressure on the public school budgets that fund union jobs. The amendment was rejected 35-82, clearing the way for the bill to double the cap and add the automatic escalator on final passage the following day.

HB 2062 removes longstanding legal protections that shielded workers' 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts from being seized to pay child support arrearages. The bill allows courts to order the total liquidation of a worker's retirement savings — with the worker absorbing early withdrawal penalties and taxes — when a judge determines the worker is "voluntarily underemployed," a term the bill never defines. That vague trigger could potentially reach workers who go on strike, take FMLA leave, or accept a union-negotiated buyout, putting hard-won retirement security at risk.

This bill removes longstanding legal protections for 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts from child support claims, and allows courts to order full liquidation of those accounts — with workers paying early withdrawal penalties and taxes on top. The bill's vague "voluntary underemployment" trigger, which activates the retirement seizure power, is never defined and could potentially reach workers who go on strike, take FMLA leave, or accept a union-negotiated buyout. Workers who spent years building retirement security through collectively bargained benefits could see those accounts drained, losing far more in penalties and taxes than the support obligation satisfied.

SB 269 creates an automatic trigger that ratchets down Kansas income tax rates whenever state revenues exceed a baseline, putting the state on a path toward a flat tax. While framed as fiscally responsible, once rates drop they never go back up — meaning less money available over time for public schools, state agencies, KPERS retirement contributions, and the services working families depend on. Kansas lived through this story before during the Brownback-era tax experiment, which led to budget crises, funding cuts, and public-sector wage freezes.

SB 269 locks Kansas into an automatic system that ratchets down income tax rates whenever revenues exceed a formula-based threshold. While the bill includes some fiscal guardrails, every triggered rate cut permanently reduces the revenue available to fund public schools, state agencies, and KPERS retirement contributions that working families depend on. The bill also immediately raised effective tax rates on lower-income Kansans by collapsing three tax brackets into two, hitting workers earning under $30,000 the hardest.

SB 269 creates an automatic trigger that ratchets down Kansas income tax rates whenever revenue exceeds a certain threshold — with no mechanism to restore rates if budgets fall short. While framed as fiscally responsible, every automatic tax cut means less money available for public schools, state agencies, KPERS retirement contributions, and the services working families depend on. Kansas lived through this story before during the Brownback era, when structural revenue losses led to public sector wage freezes, layoffs, and underfunded schools.

Nine senators voted to force SCR 1609 — a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal Kansas\'s right-to-work provision — out of committee and onto the floor. Kansas is one of the few states where right-to-work is enshrined in the constitution itself, requiring a two-thirds supermajority plus a statewide vote to change. Thirty senators voted to prevent the people of Kansas from even having the chance to vote on this question.

Nine senators voted to force SB 218 — a minimum wage increase — out of committee for a floor vote. Kansas has been stuck at the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour since 2009, one of the lowest in the nation. Thirty senators voted to keep the bill buried in committee, blocking any debate on raising wages for the lowest-paid workers in the state.

This bill bars state agencies from requiring college degrees for most government jobs and promotions, replacing them with experience-based criteria. While skills-based hiring sounds good on paper, state employee unions raised serious concerns that removing degree requirements without safeguards could lead to wage compression, downgrading of job classifications, and lower pay for experienced workers. The bill also lacks any enforcement mechanism, leaving state workers with no way to hold agencies accountable if they misapply the law.