2025 Kansas Legislative Recap

Session Overview

The 2025 regular legislative session began on Jan. 13 and ended around 5 p.m., on Friday, April 11, after a two-day veto session during which legislators worked quickly to override several of Governor Laura Kelly’s vetoed bills and line-item vetoes. During the 72-day, accelerated session, 707 bills were introduced, including more than 100 health-related bills. Of that total, 129 bills became law, including more than a dozen health-related bills. Gov. Kelly vetoed 19 bills, including 11 health-related bills, and 31 line items in appropriations bills, including 15 health-related items. Legislators overrode all but five of the Governor’s vetoed bills and overrode 15 of the line-item vetoes, including six of the health-related items.

After a three-month break, the 2025 special and joint interim committees began meeting in August and will continue to meet into December. The 2026 legislative session will begin on Monday, Jan. 12. Because 2025 was the first year of a legislative biennium, a total of 547 bills will be carried over to the 2026 session. All members of the House of Representatives are up for reelection in 2026.

While numerous bills related to behavioral health, welfare reform and scope of practice were considered and enacted in 2025, child welfare was once again a key area of activity for the 2025 Legislature, along with a wide variety of bills that challenged legislators to consider numerous health-related issues.

Behavioral Health

Funding for substance use disorder treatment and formal establishment of the new state mental hospital were approved.

House Bill (HB) 2221, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 1, created a new fund within the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) for alcohol and drug abuse treatment, transferred funds and liabilities to the fund, and abolished a corresponding Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) fund.

HB 2249, signed by the Governor on April 8, added provisions that would become part of and supplemental to the Rural Emergency Hospital Act. The bill authorized the Secretary of KDADS, upon application by a rural emergency hospital (REH) and in compliance with certain requirements, to grant a physical environment waiver for existing nursing facilities to an REH to provide skilled nursing facility care. The bill also established the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital, created a fee fund, updated the catchment areas for the state hospitals and renamed “Parsons State Hospital and Training Center” to “Parsons State Hospital.”

HB 2236 would have established the Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) Program in state statute and provided incentives for coordination between school districts, qualified schools and MHIT providers. The program, which has been operated under a budget proviso since 2018, facilitates partnerships between school districts and mental health providers to expand behavioral health services for students. The bill would have established definitions and authorized KDADS to approve providers and create funding mechanisms for schools and mental health providers. The bill died on General Orders in the House.

Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice

During the session, the Legislature accomplished one of its key priorities and established the Kansas Office of Early Childhood to oversee the state’s programs and policies related to early childhood services. Lawmakers also continued their focus on child welfare and juvenile justice, considering a range of policy changes related to child protection, custody procedures, the definition of neglect, standards for foster or adoptive placements, and juvenile offender placement.

HB 2045, signed by the Governor on April 24, established the Kansas Office of Early Childhood for the purpose of creating greater transparency, safety and efficiency to Kansans with the oversight of all funds, programs and policies related to early childhood care services provided in Kansas. The office will be under the supervision of the Director, who will be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Director will serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Director will be required to submit to the Legislature an annual request for the office for appropriations and include the use of moneys subject to the provisions of Kansas law applicable to the Kansas Children’s Cabinet.

HB 2062, vetoed by the Governor on April 9 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, amended law regarding child support to require such support be calculated from the date of conception, to require the court to consider the value of a qualified retirement account in determination of child support orders, and to eliminate the exemption of such accounts from claims to collect child support. The bill also allows a personal exemption for any unborn child for the purposes of income taxation. The term “unborn child” means a living individual organism of the species Homo sapiens, in utero, at any stage of gestation from fertilization to birth.

HB 2075, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, amended law concerning when law enforcement may take a child under 18 into custody for suspected abuse or neglect (police protective custody); added a procedure for law enforcement to report suspected abuse or neglect to the Secretary of the Department for Children and Families (DCF) for the purposes of initiating an investigation; and amended law concerning the frequency of, and requirements for, permanency hearings under the Revised Code for the Care of Children.

HB 2311, vetoed on April 3 by Gov. Kelly but overridden by both chambers on April 10, created law in the Kansas Revised Code for the Care of Children prohibiting the Secretary of DCF from adopting, implementing or enforcing certain policies that may conflict with sincerely held religious or moral beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, with respect to who can be considered for selection as out-of-home or adoptive placement, custody, or appointment as permanent or Support, Opportunity, Unity, Legal Relationships (SOUL) custodian for a child in need of care. The bill also created a right of action for violations of the law.

Senate Bill (SB) 135, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, made technical amendments to law concerning orders issued under the Protection from Abuse Act by reorganizing certain sections to clarify how a protection order may be affected when a child-related order is issued pursuant to another legal action.

SB 186, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 24, modified elements in the crimes of sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful transmission of a visual depiction of a child and breach of privacy; prohibits certain acts related to visual depictions in which the person depicted is indistinguishable from a real child, morphed from a real child’s image or generated without any actual child involvement; provides an exception for cable services in the crime of breach of privacy; and prohibits dissemination of certain items that appear to depict or purport to depict an identifiable person.

HB 2104 would have created law related to firearm safety education programs conducted in public school districts. The bill would have allowed local school boards of education to provide firearm safety education programs. The State Board of Education would have been directed to establish curriculum guidelines for a standardized firearm safety education program, including accident prevention. The bill would have specified programs to be used based on the grade level of students. The bill was passed by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Feb. 14 but withdrawn from the House Calendar on Feb. 20.

Substitute (Sub.) for HB 2132 would have modified the definition of “neglect” in the Kansas Code for Care of Children, prohibited the removal of a child from the child’s home due solely to lack of financial resources, required the facts of serious harm demonstrate more than one fact of certain listed factors, determined when a law enforcement officer may or shall take a child into custody and required the Secretary of DCF to provide means for a law enforcement officer to refer potential cases of abuse or neglect and provide a response to such referrals. The Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care recommended the substitute bill be passed on March 7. The bill died on General Orders in the House.

HB 2329 would have increased the cumulative detention limit for juvenile offenders and criminal penalties for juvenile offenders who use a firearm in the commission of an offense or who are repeat offenders, provided for increased placement of offenders in non-foster home beds in youth residential facilities, required the Secretary of KDOC to pay for the costs associated with such placements, and authorized the Secretary to make expenditures from the evidence-based programs account of the State General Fund to contract for such beds. The bill, as amended, was passed by the House on March 13 but failed to receive a hearing in the Senate.

Public Assistance

In 2025, legislators expanded the scope of the Inspector General to include audit and investigation of the state’s public assistance programs and the Legislature’s oversight of state agencies related to new or expansion of existing public assistance programs.

HB 2027, which became law without the Governor’s signature on April 10, reorganizes subsections within the public assistance statute (K.S.A. 39-709) pertaining to eligibility requirements for the cash assistance program (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF), the food assistance program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP), and the child care subsidy program.

HB 2101, which became law without the Governor’s signature on April 10, prohibits cities and counties from adopting an ordinance or enforcing a resolution that establishes or provides for the operation of a guaranteed income program that uses tax revenue unless the Legislature, by an act, expressly consents to and approves of such program. The bill renders any such prohibited ordinance or resolution adopted prior to July 1, 2025, null and void. The bill defines “guaranteed income” to mean a program that is not expressly required by federal law or regulation and provides individuals with regular periodic cash payments.

HB 2217, vetoed by Gov. Kelly on April 3 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, expands the scope of the Inspector General within the Office of the Attorney General to include the audit, investigation and performance review of all state cash, food and health assistance programs. The bill grants the Inspector General the power to subpoena, administer oaths and execute search warrants.

Senate Sub. for HB 2240, vetoed by the Governor on April 9 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, prohibits state agencies, on and after July 1, 2025, from seeking or implementing any public assistance program waiver or other authorization from the federal government that would expand eligibility for any public assistance program or would increase any cost to the state without legislative approval. The bill also prohibits making certain changes to services for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities without the express consent or approval of either the Legislature or the Legislative Coordinating Council.

SB 79, vetoed by Gov. Kelly on April 3 and sustained on April 10, would have directed the Secretary of DCF to request a waiver from the federal SNAP rules that would allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks with food assistance. Despite the sustainment of the Governor’s veto, the Legislature was able to add this provision to the approved budget bill (SB 125), and a waiver was submitted by DCF on May 13. Note: As of Sept. 10, the waiver submitted by DCF on May 8 had not been approved.

SB 85 would have directed the Secretary of DCF to enter into agreements with state agencies for the continuous review and comparison of data for public assistance eligibility and require the Secretary to review federal sources to verify such eligibility. The bill was passed by the Senate on Feb. 19 and had a hearing in the House Committee on Welfare Reform on March 6 but did not get a vote.

Licensing and Scope of Practice

Legislative action during the session included amending laws related to home health agency credentialing, the authorized activities of emergency medical services and providers, and enactment of four new multistate licensure compacts.

HB 2039, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, amends statutes relating to home health agencies to clarify the definition of “home health agency” for the purposes of credentialing; amends law regarding emergency medical services (EMS) and EMS providers to clarify authorized activities of paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians (advanced EMTs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and emergency medical responders; and amends the Health Care Provider Insurance Availability Act to add certain maternity centers to the definition of “health care provider.”

HB 2069, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, enacts four multistate licensure compacts: the School Psychologist Compact, the Dietitian Compact, the Cosmetologist Licensure Compact, and the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact.

Sub. for SB 67, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 1, amended law to expand the independent prescription authority of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to prescribe, procure and administer drugs consistent with the CRNA’s education and qualifications.

SB 175, signed by Gov. Kelly on March 21, updates the definition of athletic trainer in the Athletic Trainers Licensure Act; provides an exemption for those licensed in another state, District of Columbia, territory or foreign country to practice in Kansas; and makes changes to the application for licensure.

HB 2223 would have modified certain provisions of the optometry law related to scope of practice, definitions and credentialing requirements. The bill passed the House on March 18 and had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare but did not get a vote.

Other Bills

The 2025 Legislature addressed a wide variety of health-related issues, including a new name for a long-standing state agency, creation of a task force to study the state’s future water supply, new rules for contracting with managed care organizations, human development education, and funding for local health departments.

HB 2050, signed by the Governor on April 8, amends the Kansas Insurance Code to rename the Kansas Insurance Department as the Kansas Department of Insurance. The bill also removes the requirement for the Senate to confirm the Department of Insurance Assistant Commissioner.

Senate Sub. for HB 2172, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 7, creates a 16-member Water Program Task Force and a five-member Water Planning Work Group to study and make recommendations to the Legislature on water policy and funding.

HB 2284, vetoed by Gov. Kelly on April 3 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, requires the Department of Administration to adopt written policies regarding the negotiated procurement of contracted Medicaid services provided by managed care organizations. The written policies will be required to have an appeals process, which will be overseen and adjudicated by an appeals committee composed of 10 members of the Legislature.

HB 2307, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 3, transfers the authority over the prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions awareness programs from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities, creates the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Programs Fund, and directs a one-time $25,000 transfer from the State General Fund to the new fund on July 1, 2025.

Senate Sub. for HB 2382, vetoed by Gov. Kelly on April 9 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, requires any school district that offers courses or other instruction regarding human growth, human development or human sexuality to include, as part of the course or instruction, a human fetal development presentation. The bill requires the human fetal development presentation to meet the following requirements:

• Be a high-quality, computer-generated animation or high-definition ultrasound.
• Be at least three minutes in length.
• Show the development of the brain, heart and other vital organs in early human fetal development.

SB 3 would have amended the Kansas Lay Caregiver Act to require KDHE to audit hospital compliance with caregiver designation and aftercare procedures. The results of these audits would have needed to be reported annually to the Legislature starting in 2026. The bill also would have repealed the existing section of K.S.A. 65-431a to incorporate these changes. The bill died in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

SB 14, vetoed by Gov. Kelly on March 26 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, establishes a system of continuing appropriation by which existing appropriations would carry forward into the subsequent fiscal year unless the Legislature adjusts them. Continuing appropriations is defined as appropriations provided for in the previous fiscal year. The Secretary of Administration, in consultation with the Director of the Budget and the Director of Legislative Research, would have the authority to make temporary allocations (borrow) between appropriated funds and special revenue funds when the balance of a fund is determined to be insufficient to meet its obligations. Such borrowing would require approval of the State Finance Council.

Sub. for SB 29, vetoed by the Governor on April 3 but overridden by both chambers on April 10, requires the Secretary to have probable cause before taking action to prevent the introduction or spread of an infectious or contagious disease within Kansas; permits any aggrieved party to file a civil action regarding an order made by the Secretary or a local health officer; and provides for a county or joint board of health or local health officer to recommend against rather than prohibit public gatherings when necessary for the control of infectious or contagious disease.

SB 63, vetoed by the Governor on Feb. 11 but overridden by both chambers on Feb. 18, enacted the Help Not Harm Act, which prohibits health care providers from providing certain treatments to a child who has a perceived gender or perceived sex that is different than the child’s biological sex; prohibits recipients of state funds, including the Kansas Medicaid program and its managed care organizations, from using such funds to provide or subsidize the prohibited treatment; defines that a health care provider in violation of the act would be engaged in unprofessional conduct and provides authority to sanction the licensee; and establishes strict liability standards, establishes a statute of limitations of 10 years from the child’s 18th birthday and creates a private cause of action.

SB 125 (the budget bill), signed by the Governor on April 9 with 31 line-item vetoes, makes and concerns appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2025, June 30, 2026, and June 30, 2027, for state agencies. A summary of the health-related provisions of the bill appears below.

House Sub. for SB 126, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, updates the current newborn screening program to establish the Advance Universal Newborn Screening Program; increases the minimum statutory state financial assistance to local health departments from $7,000 per year to $12,000 per year; increases the hospital provider annual assessment on services rate to an amount no greater than 6.0 percent of each hospital’s net inpatient and outpatient operating revenue as determined by the Healthcare Access Improvement Panel; and exempts from the assessment critical access and licensed rural emergency hospitals that have revenues below a threshold determined by the Healthcare Access Improvement Panel. On Sept. 9, CMS approved the 2025 provider tax increase that allows the state to draw down federal matching funds at 6.0 percent.

Sub. for SB 193, signed by Gov. Kelly on April 8, amends the Statewide Opioid Antagonist Protocol, related to dispensing and providing prescription-only opioid antagonists in Kansas, by exempting law enforcement agencies from the protocol’s requirement to utilize a physician medical director or licensed pharmacist unless the agency was electing to use an emergency opioid antagonist dispensed or furnished pursuant to the protocol.

SB 250, which was allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature on April 10, creates the Right to Try for Individualized Treatments Act. The bill authorizes a manufacturer operating in an eligible facility to make available individualized investigative treatments and allows individuals with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses to request an individualized investigational drug, biologic product or device from such manufacturers (referred to as “investigational treatment products”). The bill defines terms used in the act; defines and establishes a procedure for use of a patient’s biospecimen; addresses requirements for informed consent for investigational treatments, manufacturer requirements and liability exemptions. The bill does not expand the coverage required of an insurer under the Kansas Insurance Code.

Note: Alexa Heseltine contributed to this work while serving as an intern at the Kansas Health Institute beginning in January 2025 through October 2025.