2023 Kansas Legislative Recap – Bill Tracker
17 Min Read
Oct 19, 2023
By
Linda J. Sheppard, J.D., Valentina Blanchard, M.P.H., M.S.W., Cynthia Snyder, M.A., Emma Uridge, M.P.H.
This table comprises health-related bills from the 2023 legislative session, which convened January 9 and adjourned April 28. The bill tracker accompanies the 2023 Legislative Recap issue brief. Special thanks to Kansas Legislative Research Department staff for their contributions to this publication.
Abortion Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 5 | Prohibiting the prescribing of drugs intended to cause an abortion using telemedicine and restricting the governor’s power during a state of emergency to alter such prohibitions | Passed | Passed | No hearing | ||
| SB 219 | Designating certain health care providers as being ineligible to purchase professional liability insurance from the health care stabilization fund | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2325 | |
| SB 297 | Revising the definition of “abortion” to clarify procedures that are excluded from such definition | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2264 | |
| SB 320 | Creating the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act to provide legal protections for infants who are born alive regardless of the intent of the delivery | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2313 | |||
| HB 2264 | Requiring notification to patients that the effects of a medication abortion may be reversible and revising the definition of “abortion” to clarify procedures that are excluded from such definition | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Veto overridden; Related bills: Sub for SB 131, SB 297, HB 2439 |
| HB 2313 | Creating the born-alive infants protection act to provide legal protections for infants who are born alive regardless of the intent of the delivery | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Veto overridden; Related bill: SB 320 |
| HB 2325 | Amending the definition of “health care provider” for purposes of the Health care Provider Insurance Availability Act to include maternity centers and not include facilities where elective abortions are performed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Veto sustained; Related bill: SB 219 |
| HB 2439 | Requiring notification to patients that the effects of a medication abortion may be reversible | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2264 |
Cannabis Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 135 | Creating the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis | Hearing, no vote | Related bill: HB 2417 | |||
| HB 2084 | Enacting the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, defining kratom as a food product, prohibiting the sale of kratom that is adulterated, requiring persons to be at least 18 years of age for the purchase of such product, establishing civil fines for violations of the Act, and requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the Act | Passed, as amended | ||||
| HB 2417 | Creating the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis | No hearing | Related bill: SB 135 |
Child Welfare Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H Sub for SB 96 | Establishing and updating law regulating child care centers and child care homes, providing license capacity and staff-to-child ratios, establishing staffing requirements, including professional development training | Passed | Passed | Passed substitute bill | Related bills: SB 282, S Sub for HB 2344 | |
| SB 115 | Changing the lists of persons who are required to be given notice of the hearing on a petition for an independent or stepparent, private agency or public agency adoption | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | |
| SB 282 | Establishing child care licensing requirements relating to license capacity and staff-to-child ratios, eliminating certain license fees and training requirements, permitting a 16- year-old staff member to staff a unit with children at least 12 months old without supervision, creating a process for day care facility licensees to apply for temporary waiver of certain statutory requirements and authorizing the Secretary of DCF to develop and operate pilot programs to increase day care facility availability or capacity | Hearing no vote | Related bills: H Sub for SB 96, S Sub for HB 2344 | |||
| HB 2021 | Creating and amending law regarding the assessment of and provision of services to children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, overall case length limits, changing the criteria used to admit youths to a juvenile crisis intervention center by adding definitions for “behavioral health crisis” and changing the phrase “mental health crisis” to “behavioral health crisis” in various statutes | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bills: H Sub for SB 73, HB 2033 |
| HB 2024 | Expanding legal surrender of an infant to include infant refuge bassinets and enacting the Representative Gail Finney Memorial Foster Care Bill of Rights | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bills: HB 2034, HB 2194 |
| HB 2034 | Creating in the Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children a program within KDHE for the training of and payment for Child Abuse Review and Evaluation (CARE) providers who conduct CARE exams | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Related bill: HB 2024 | |
| HB 2114 | Renaming the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight in honor of Representative J. Russell (Russ) Jennings and requiring the committee to monitor the implementation of juvenile justice reforms | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Signed |
| HB 2153 | Authorizing the Attorney General to coordinate training regarding a multidisciplinary team approach to intervention in reports involving alleged human trafficking for law enforcement agencies and requiring training on human trafficking awareness and identification for certain child welfare agencies, juvenile justice agencies, mental health professionals and school personnel | Passed | Stricken from calendar by rule 1507 | |||
| HB 2240 | Amending the revised Kansas Code for Care of Children to clarify and require the Clerk of the District Court to provide various parties with written notice when a child is placed in a qualified residential treatment program, after receipt of such written notice from the Secretary for DCF | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Signed |
| HB 2299 | Directing the Secretary for DCF to consider foster parents as prospective adoptive parents under certain circumstances | Passed as amended | Passed over and retain place on calendar | |||
| S Sub for HB 2344 | Establishing and updating law regulating child care centers and child care homes, providing license capacity and staff-to-child ratios, and establishing staffing requirements, including professional development training | Passed | Passed | Passed substitute bill | Passed substitute bill, as amended | Veto sustained; Related bills: H Sub for SB 96, SB 282 |
| HB 2361 | Amending the Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children regarding the requirement that the court give preference as to the custody for adoption of a child in need of care first to a relative and second to a person with whom the child has close emotional ties, to the extent the court finds such custody is in the best interest of a child | Passed | On General Orders | |||
| HB 2443 | Establishing the Office of the Child Advocate | Passed as amended | Passed as amended | No hearing |
Controlled Substances and Addiction Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 174 | Amending the crime of battery to define battery against a heath care provider, amending the definitions of manufacture and drug paraphernalia, adding a definition of fentanyl-related controlled substances, increasing the penalty for the unlawful manufacturing of fentanyl, creating special sentencing rules related to the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bill: H Sub for SB 73 |
| HB 2082 | Authorizing counties to create a Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund for the purpose of retaining and expending money received from the Attorney General, in accordance with the Kansas Fights Addiction Act | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Signed |
Gender Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 26 | Creating a civil cause of action against a physician who performs what the bill defines as a “childhood gender reassignment service” and requiring revocation of a physician’s license if such physician performs such service | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Veto sustained; Related bills: SB 119, SB 233, HB 2094 |
| SB 180 | Establishing the Women’s Bill of Rights to provide a meaning of biological sex for purposes of statutory construction | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Veto overridden |
| SB 233 | Creating a civil cause of action against a physician who performs what the bill defines as a “childhood gender reassignment service” and requiring revocation of a physician’s license if such physician performs such service | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bills: SB 26, HB 2263 | |
| HB 2238 | Creating the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and requiring interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by public educational entities or any school or private postsecondary educational institution whose students or teams compete against a public educational entity to be expressly designated based on biological sex | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Veto overridden |
Health Insurance Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 24 | Changing the required number of employees contained in the definitions of “large employer” and “small employer” for purposes of coverage for autism spectrum disorder | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Signed; Related bill: HB 2095 |
| SB 85 | Removing the requirement that the Kansas State Employees Health Care Commission offer as a benefit the option to purchase long-term care insurance | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bill HB 2452 |
| SB 148 | Enacting the Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act to impose requirements and limitations on the use of prior authorization in health care | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2283 | |||
| SB 161 | Imposing certain health insurance coverage requirements for screening and diagnostic examinations for breast cancer | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2287 | |||
| SB 246 | Defining in-state and interstate practitioners under the Kansas Telemedicine Act, establishing certain standards of care, requiring certain insurance coverage of in-state telemedicine services and establishing the Kansas Telehealth Advisory Committee | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2337 | |||
| HB 2283 | Enacting the Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act to impose requirements and limitations on the use of prior authorization in health care | Hearing no vote | Related bill: SB 148 | |||
| HB 2452 | Removing the requirement that the Kansas State Employees Health Care Commission offer as a benefit the option to purchase long-term care insurance | Passed | Passed | Related bill: SB 85 |
Juvenile Justice Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H Sub for SB 73 | Allowing evidence-based program account money to be used on certain children, requiring the Department of Corrections to build data systems, allowing for overall case length limit extensions for certain juvenile offenders and authorizing detention sanctions for probation violations | Passed | Passed | Passed substitute bill | Passed substitute bill | Related bills: SB 174, HB 2021 |
| HB 2033 | Changing the criteria used to refer and admit juveniles to a juvenile crisis intervention center | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Related bill: HB 2021 |
KanCare Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 45 | Updating income eligibility requirements for the state Children’s Health Insurance Program | Hearing, no vote | Related bill: HB 2050 | |||
| SB 225 | Establishing the KanCare Bridge to a Healthy Kansas program to expand Medicaid eligibility | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2415 |
Sales Tax Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 169 | Making various changes to income, sales and property tax law, including accelerating the elimination of state sales and compensating use tax on food and food ingredients and the associated repeal of the food sales tax credit | Passed | Passed | Passed substitute bill | Passed substitute bill, as amended | Veto sustained; Related bill: HB 2457 |
| SB 252 | Creating property and sales tax exemptions for certain businesses, including child care centers, located in cities where a facility owned or operated by a governmental entity competes against the business | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | No hearing | ||
| HB 2416 | Providing a sales tax exemption for area agencies on aging and purchases made by Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ, Inc. | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | No hearing | ||
| HB 2457 | Discontinuing the food sales tax credit, establishing a 0% state rate for sales and use taxes for food and food ingredients on July 1, 2023 | Hearing, no vote | Related bill: SB 269 |
Welfare Reform Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 2094 | Specifying certain requirements necessary to demonstrate fiscal soundness for health maintenance organizations and Medicare provider organizations applying for certificates of authority, increasing the age range of able-bodied adults without dependents required to complete an employment and training program to receive food assistance, removing non-cooperation with child support from disqualifications for child care assistance | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Veto overridden; Related bills: SB 26, HB 2140, HB 2179 |
| HB 2141 | Requiring custodial and non-custodial parents to cooperate with child support enforcement programs and disqualifying such parents for being delinquent in payments | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | ||
| HB 2430 | Enacting the Safe Cities Act, creating the crime of unauthorized use of state lands, prohibiting political subdivisions from adopting or enforcing any policy that interferes with the enforcement of any order or ordinance banning public camping, sleeping or obstruction of public right-of-way | Hearing, no vote |
Workforce Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 112 | Amending the scope of practice for registered nurse anesthetists to allow independent practice within the scope of the licensee’s education and qualifications | Passed, as amended | Passed | No hearing | ||
| Sub SB 131 | Authorizing the state Board of Healing Arts to issue a sports waiver to practice healing arts professions in this state on a limited basis during certain sporting events, enacting the No Patient Left Alone Act to allow in-person visitation to patients at patient care facilities and authorizing pharmacy technicians to administer certain vaccines | Passed substitute bill | Passed substitute bill | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bills: HB 2263, HB 2264, HB 2340 |
| SB 176 | Increasing the membership of the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board, decreasing the years of practice required for reciprocity licensure of certain professions, extending the license period for temporary licenses, establishing new license categories, providing additional continuing education requirements, and requiring that clinical social work supervisors be approved by the Board | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2340 | |||
| HB 2260 | Increasing the number of medical student loan agreements that may be provided by the University of Kansas School of Medicine and prohibiting impediments to switching between residency programs | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | On General Orders | Related bills: SB 98, S Sub for HB 2060 |
| HB 2263 | Authorizing pharmacy technicians to administer certain vaccines | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Related bills: Sub for SB 131, SB 233 |
| HB 2288 | Enacting the Counseling Compact to provide for interstate practice privileges for professional counselors | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed |
| HB 2375 | Creating a new type of temporary license for certain applicants who have graduated from a social work program, that is in candidacy from a national accrediting body recognized by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended |
Vaccination Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 6 | Restricting the authority of the Secretary of KDHE and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases, repealing the authority of the Secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bill: S Sub for HB 2390 | |
| SB 314 | Prohibiting the Secretary of KDHE from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for any child cared for in a child care facility, any student enrolling or enrolled in a school, preschool or day care program, prior to admission or attendance | Passed | Passed | No hearing | Related bill: S Sub for HB 2390 | |
| SB 315 | Requiring child care facilities, elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions and employers to grant exemptions from vaccine requirements without inquiring into the sincerity of the request and repealing the meningitis vaccine requirement to live in student housing | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | No hearing | Related bill: S Sub for HB 2390 | |
| HB 2285 | Requiring the Secretary of KDHE to study overdose deaths, restricting the duties and authority of the Secretary and local heath officers regarding infectious and contagious diseases, prohibiting the Secretary from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for any child cared for in a child care facility, any student enrolling in a school, preschool or daycare program operated by a school, for the first time | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Related bill: SB 119 |
| S Sub HB 2390 | Requiring the Secretary of KDHE to study drug overdose death cases and providing for the confidentiality of acquired and related records, restricting the authority of the Secretary and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases and repealing the authority of the Secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Passed substitute bill | Passed substitute bill | Related bills: SB 6, SB 314, SB 315 |
Other Bills
| Bill | Summary | Originating Committee | Originating Chamber Vote | Opposite Committee | Opposite Chamber Vote | Governor/ Other Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 25 | Making and concerning appropriations for fiscal years 2023-2028 for various state agencies, constituting the omnibus reconciliation spending limit bill | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed, with 7 line-item vetoes |
| SB 119 | Amending the requirements for demonstration of fiscal soundness to be submitted by a health maintenance organization or a Medicare provider organization when applying for a certificate of authority | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Passed, as amended | Signed; Related bills: SB 26, HB 2285 |
| SB 173 | Authorizing the over-the-counter purchase of ivermectin tablets and hydroxychloroquine tablets | No hearing | Related bill: HB 2126 | |||
| SB 191 | Establishing requirements for the involuntary discharge or transfer of a resident in an adult residential care facility, the right to appeal such discharge or transfer and a process for such appeal | Hearing, no vote | Related bill: Sub for HB 2246 | |||
| SB 194 | Requiring hospital district board members to be qualified electors of the county where the hospital is located or any adjacent county | Passed, as amended | Passed, as further amended | Passed | Related bill: H Sub for SB 42 | |
| HB 2184 | Making and concerning appropriations for fiscal years 2023 through 2028 for various state agencies | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed, as amended | Signed, with 26 line-item vetoes, 7 overridden |
| Sub HB 2246 | Establishing requirements for the involuntary discharge or transfer of a resident in an adult residential care facility and authorizing the secretary to investigate and assess a penalty for violations | Passed substitute bill | Related bill: SB 191 | |||
| HB 2269 | Amending the Kansas cigarette and tobacco products act to raise the minimum age to 21 years old for the sale, purchase or possession of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes or tobacco products | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Signed |
| HB 2304 | Standardizing firearms safety programs in school districts | Passed | Passed | Passed | Passed | Veto sustained; Related bill: H Sub for SB 116 |
| HB 2330 | Increasing the amount of state moneys distributed to local health departments | Hearing, no vote |
About Kansas Health Institute
The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.