During the legislative session, KSCPA’s government affairs representatives – Marlee Carpenter and Natalie Bright of Bright & Carpenter Consulting, LLC – track bills and provide legislative updates and a bill tracker summary weekly via video, podcast, and write-up. See below.
Note: This content is only accessible to KSCPA members. Log in or join to view.
February 17, 2025
Last week was the last full week for non-exempt committees to complete their work for the first half of the legislative session. While most Fridays have been ProForma (not in session), the Legislature worked a full Friday to make up for Wednesday’s snow day. Lawmakers, particularly committee chairs, are certainly feeling the pinch of this year’s condensed session calendar.
Read more
February 10, 2025
With only two weeks left before Turnaround – when bills must pass their original chamber to stay alive for the year – the pace picked up significantly last week in the Kansas Legislature. Revisors worked furiously to meet Friday's non-exempt bill deadline.
Read more
February 3, 2025
Last week was only week three of the legislative session, and 163 more bills were introduced. This is typically when committees go into overdrive to meet approaching legislative deadlines. Over 75 hearings are already scheduled for this week.
Read more
January 27, 2025
The fast pace and sense of urgency that kicked off this legislative session continued last week with 95 more bills introduced as critical bill deadlines loom. Turnaround is less than one month away, set for February 20. This is when all non-exempt bills must pass their House of Origin to stay alive for this session. Both old and new legislators are navigating an intense political landscape focused on getting work done quickly and efficiently.
Read more
January 21, 2025
Lawmakers reconvened in Topeka on January 13, 2025, to start the 2025 Kansas Legislative Session. New legislators were sworn in last Monday and committees began meeting last Tuesday. It was mostly introductions and housekeeping items, followed by informational briefings by agency heads. The Governor gave her executive address to the Legislature on January 15, and preliminary budget discussions started that will shape the state’s fiscal direction. Over 70 bills were introduced, and several hearings are already scheduled for this week.
Read more
December 2, 2024
The Kansas Legislature convened in Topeka to elect their new Senate and House leaders for the 2025-2026 biennium legislative session.
Read more
June 20, 2024
The Kansas Legislature returned to Topeka for a one-day special session on June 18 to pass another income tax cut bill after three previous versions failed to get Governor Laura Kelly’s signature this spring.
Read more
May 2, 2024
Lawmakers officially adjourned the 2024 Kansas Legislative Session just past midnight on Wednesday morning. The three-day veto session included successfully overriding several of Governor Kelly’s vetoes, passing the omnibus budget, and finishing a few remaining conference committee reports.
Read more
April 26, 2024
April 9, 2024
The Kansas Legislature adjourned the regular part of the 2024 Legislative Session around 2:30 am Saturday morning after voting to suspend the midnight rule and continue their work. Before leaving for their three-week spring break, lawmakers spent several long days and nights in conference committees and on the floor approving bills to send to the Governor’s desk.
Read more
April 1, 2024
Last week was a quick but full week in the Kansas Legislature. The House and Senate spent Monday through Wednesday debating and passing over 100 bills. Thursday was technically the last day for all non-exempt bills to be considered in either chamber, but most Legislators were on their way home by Wednesday evening.
Read more
March 25, 2024
Friday marked the last day for non-exempt committees to meet for the 2024 Kansas Legislative Session. Last week was a frenzy of a week as committee chairs churned through bills and worked quickly to wrap up their business for the year.
Read more
March 18, 2024
The Senate debated and passed their budget bill last week, signaling that the end of the 2024 Kansas Legislative Session is nearing. As important deadlines loom, committees were busy hearing and working bills – many with three to four hearings a day. They have this week to complete their work before March 22, when all non-exempt committees are done meeting for the year.
Read more
March 11, 2024
As usual, the last few weeks of committee meetings are packed full of back-to-back hearings and final action on bills. Other than those that are exempt from legislative deadlines (Budget, Tax, Federal and State Affairs), committees have two more weeks to complete their work. March 22 is their last day to meet and pass any bills they want to move forward this session. After that, Legislators are mostly on the floor, then conference committees begin their work on April 1.
Read more
March 4, 2024
Lawmakers returned from their five-day recess last Wednesday to officially start the second half of the 2024 Legislative Session. The Legislature was Pro Forma on Wednesday and Friday, making last week very quiet. While they slowly eased back into committee work, over 75 hearings are scheduled for this week. It is typically after Turnaround when the tempo speeds up significantly to meet bill deadlines for the year. It should be fast and furious from here on out.
Read more
February 26, 2024
The Kansas Legislature adjourned for Turnaround break late Thursday afternoon and will return to Topeka on Wednesday, February 28. Committees met on Monday and Tuesday and spent Wednesday and Thursday debating and passing legislation on the floor. Any non-exempt bills that did not pass their house of origin or get “blessed” by leadership last week are dead for the year.
Read more
February 19, 2024
Last week was the last full week for non-exempt committees to complete their work for the first half of the legislative session. Nevertheless, the Statehouse was quieter than usual on Monday following the Chiefs Super Bowl win, and several lawmakers were out for the parade on Wednesday.
Read more
February 12, 2024
With only two weeks left before Turnaround – when bills must pass their original chamber to stay alive for the year – the pace picked up significantly last week in the Kansas Legislature. Revisors worked furiously to meet Friday's deadline when all non-exempt bills must be introduced. The House began considering a few non-controversial bills on their General Orders, 162 more bills were introduced, and hearings quickly filled up committee calendars. The last day for non-exempt committees to meet is February 20, followed by Turnaround on February 23.
Read more
February 5, 2024
Last week was the fourth week of the legislative session, and 112 more bills were introduced. This is typically when committees go into overdrive to meet approaching legislative deadlines. Over 65 hearings are scheduled for this week.
Read more
January 29, 2024
The pace picked up significantly last week in the Kansas Legislature. Lawmakers hit the first legislative deadline today when all member-sponsored bill drafts must be requested by the revisor's office. We saw 93 new bills introduced last week and 60 hearings scheduled for this week.
Read more
January 22, 2024
The Legislature began their second week of work on Tuesday, January 16. However, bitterly cold temperatures and more snow kept some legislators at home another day, making last week another short week. While a few committee meetings were cancelled on Tuesday, it was mostly business as usual as lawmakers were eager to fast-track a tax bill to the Governor’s desk by the end of the week.
Read more
January 15, 2024
The 2024 Kansas Legislative Session kicked off on January 8, 2024, with rare first-day floor action to pass resolutions showing support for Israel but was quickly halted by a winter storm that hit Topeka Monday night. Most committee chairmen cancelled their meetings on Tuesday, so Wednesday was essentially the first day of business.
Read more
March 10, 2023
An update from the KSCPA Advocate Task Force on KSCPA's advocacy efforts regarding the SALT Parity Act.
Read more
January 14, 2022
Help your state legislators understand issues important to Kansas CPAs and let them know that KSCPA is here to be their informational resource!
Read more
January 11, 2022
January 10, 2022
© Copyright 2025 KSCPA | All Rights Reserved