Most people are more aware of who is in Washington D.C. controlling the federal government; however, those at the state level are lesser known, and yet they have more control over the lives of Kansans. Through our Political Deep Dives (PDD), you can see how YOUR representatives have voted on key issues that affect your day-to-day life. In this PDD, we will be focusing on Kansas House of Representatives on sports.
This information is available thanks to justfacts.votesmart.org and ballotpedia.org
KEY: (Political Party, District number, Voted Yes/No/Did not vote)—Names that are crossed out are representatives that voted on these issues but, for one reason or another, are no longer in the HoR.
**If you are unsure what district you are in, you can click here to find out.
Michael Houser (R,1,Y), Kenneth Collins (R,2,Y), Charles “Chuck” Smith (R,3,Y), Trevor Jacobs (R,4,Y), Mark Samsel (R,5,N), Samantha M. Poetter Parshall (R,6,Y), Richard J. Proehl (R,7,Y), Chris Croft (R,8,Y), Kent L. Thompson (R,9,DNV), Christina Haswood (D,10,N), Jim Kelly (R,11,Y), Doug Blex (R,12,Y), Joe Newland (R,13,Y), Charlotte Esau (R,14,Y), John M. Toplikar (R,15,Y), Linda Featherston (D,16,N), Jo Ella Hoye (D,17,N), Cindy Neighbor (D,18,N), Stephanie Sawyer Clayton (D,19,N), Mari-Lynn Poskin (D,20,N), Jerry Stogsdill (D,21,N), Lindsay Vaughn (D,22,N), Susan Ruiz (D,23,N), Jarrod Ousley (D,24,N), Rui Xu (D,25,N), Adam Thomas (R,26,Y), Sean E. Tarwater Sr. (R,27,Y), Carl Turner (R,28,Y), Brett Parker (D,29,N), Brandon T. Woodard (D,30,N), Louis E. Ruiz (D,31,DNV), Pam Curtis (D,32,N), Tom Burroughs (D,33,N), Valdenia Camille Winn (D,34,N), Broderick T. Henderson (D,35,N), Kathy Wolfe Moore (D,36,N), Aaron Coleman (D,37,N), Timothy Johnson (R, 38,Y), Owen Donohoe (R,39,Y), David W. French (R,40,Y), Pat Proctor (R,41,Y), Lance Neelly (R,42,Y), William “Bill” Sutton (R,43,Y), Barbara W. Ballard (D,44,N), Mike Amyx (D,45,N), Dennis J. Highberger (D,46,N), Ronald B. Ellis (R,47,Y), Jennifer Day (D,48,N), Megan Lynn (R,49,DNV), Fred C. Patton (R,50,Y), Ron L. Highland (R,51,Y), Jesse Borjon (R,52,N), Jim Gartner (D,53,N), Ken Corbet (R,54,Y), Annie Kuether (D,55,N), Virgil Weigel (D,56,N), John Alcala (D,57,N), Vic Miller (D,58,N), Blaine Finch (R,59,Y), Mark Schreiber (R,60,N), Francis Awerkamp (R,61,Y), Randy Garber (R,62,Y), John R. Eplee (R,63,Y), Susan L. Carlson (R,64,Y), Lonnie G. Clark (R,65,Y), Sydney Carlin (D,66,N), Mike Dodson (R,67,Y), Dave Baker (R,68,N), Clarke Sanders (R,69,Y), John E. Barker (R,70,DNV), Steven K. Howe (R,71,Y), Avery Anderson (R,72,Y), Les Mason (R,73,Y), Stephen Owens (R,74,Y), Will Carpenter (R,75,Y), Eric L. Smith (R,76,Y), Kristey S. Williams (R,77,Y), Ron Ryckman Jr. (R,78,Y), Cheryl Helmer (R,79,Y), Bill Rhiley (R,80,Y), Blake Carpenter (R,81,Y), Jesse Burris (R,82,Y), Henry M. Helgerson Jr. (D,83,N), Gail Finney (D,84,N), Patrick Penn (R,85,Y), Stephanie Byers (D,86,N), Susan Oliver Estes (R,87,Y), Elizabeth B. Bishop (D,88,N), Kelechi “KC” Ohaebosim (D,89,N), Steve Huebert (R,90,Y), Emil M. Bergquist (R,91,Y), John Carmichael (D,92,N), Brian Bergkamp (R,93,Y), Leo G. Delperdang (R,94,Y), Tom Sawyer (D,95,N), Tom Kessler II (R,96,Y), Nick J. Hoheisel (R,97,Y), Ron Howard (R,98,DNV), Susan Humphries (R,99,Y), Daniel R. Hawkins (R,100,Y), Joe Seiwert (R,101,Y), Jason Probst (D,102,N), Ponka-We Victors (D,103,DNV), Paul Waggoner (R,104,Y), Brenda K. Landwehr (R,105,Y), Lisa M. Moser (R,106,Y), Susan L. Concannon (R,107,N), Steven C. Johnson (R,108,Y), Troy L. Waymaster (R,109,Y), Ken Rahjes (R,110,Y), Barbara K. Wasinger (R,111,Y), Tory Marie Arnberger (R,112,Y), Brett Fairchild (R,113,Y), Michael Murphy (R,114,Y), Boyd Orr (R,115,Y), Kyle Hoffman (R,116,Y), Tatum Lee (R,117,Y), James “Jim” Minnix (R,118,Y), Bradley Ralph (R,119,N), Adam C. Smith (R,120,Y), John Resman (R,121,Y), Russell Jennings (R,122,Y), John P. Wheeler Jr. (R,123,Y), Martin Long (R,124,Y), Shannon Francis (R,125,Y)
SB 55 passed the Kansas House of Representatives with 76 yes votes—all Republicans. There was a total of 43 no votes including 37 Democrats and 6 Republicans. Five Representatives did not vote including four Republicans and a Democrat. As of this publication, five Representatives are no longer serving in the Kansas House of Representatives including three who voted against this bill, one who voted in favor of this bill, and one who did not vote.
Highlights of this SB 55 include: Alleges there are "inherent differences between men and women," and that these differences "remain cause for celebration, but not for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual's opportunity" (Sec. 2.a). Alleges one place where sex classifications allow for the "full development of the talent and capacities of our Nation's people" is in the context of sports and athletics (Sec. 2.g). Requires any school or other postsecondary educational institution whose students or teams compete against a public school or postsecondary educational institution to be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex (Sec. 3.a): Males, men or boys; Females, women or girls; or Coed or mixed. Requires the Kansas state high school activities association to adopt rules and regulations for its member schools for the implementation of this law (Sec. 3.c-1). Requires the state board of regents and the governing body for each municipal university, community college and technical college to adopt rules and regulations for the postsecondary educational institutions governed by each such entity, respectively, for the implementation of this law (Sec. 3-2). Prohibits governmental entity, licensing or accrediting organization or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, open an investigation or take any other adverse action against a school or postsecondary educational institution for maintaining separate interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural or club athletic teams or sports for students of the female sex (Sec. 4). Authorizes any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation to have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the school or postsecondary educational institution (Sec. 5.a). Establishes any school or postsecondary educational institution that suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation will have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the governmental entity, licensing or accrediting organization or athletic association or organization (Sec. 5.c). Requires civil actions must be initiated within 2 years after the harm occurred. Persons or organizations who prevail on a claim brought pursuant to this section shall be entitled to monetary damages, including for any psychological, emotional and physical harm suffered, reasonable attorney fees and costs and any other appropriate relief (Sec. 5.d).
Michael Houser (R,1,N), Kenneth Collins (R,2,Y), Charles “Chuck” Smith (R,3,N), Trevor Jacobs (R,4,N), Mark Samsel (R,5,Y), Samantha M. Poetter Parshall (R,6,Y), Richard J. Proehl (R,7,Y), Chris Croft (R,8,Y), Kent L. Thompson (R,9,Y), Christina Haswood (D,10,Y), Jim Kelly (R,11,Y), Doug Blex (R,12,N), Joe Newland (R,13,N), Charlotte Esau (R,14,N), John M. Toplikar (R,15,Y), Linda Featherston (D,16,Y), Jo Ella Hoye (D,17,Y), Cindy Neighbor (D,18,Y), Stephanie Sawyer Clayton (D,19,Y), Mari-Lynn Poskin (D,20,Y), Jerry Stogsdill (D,21,Y), Lindsay Vaughn (D,22,Y), Susan Ruiz (D,23,Y), Jarrod Ousley (D,24,Y), Rui Xu (D,25,Y), Adam Thomas (R,26,Y), Sean E. Tarwater Sr. (R,27,Y), Carl Turner (R,28,Y), Brett Parker (D,29,Y), Brandon T. Woodard (D,30,Y), Louis E. Ruiz (D,31,Y), Pam Curtis (D,32,Y), Tom Burroughs (D,33,Y), Valdenia Camille Winn (D,34,Y), Broderick T. Henderson (D,35,Y), Kathy Wolfe Moore (D,36,Y), Aaron Coleman (D,37,Y), Timothy Johnson (R, 38,N), Owen Donohoe (R,39,Y), David W. French (R,40,N), Pat Proctor (R,41,Y), Lance Neelly (R,42,Y), William “Bill” Sutton (R,43,Y), Barbara W. Ballard (D,44,Y), Mike Amyx (D,45,Y), Dennis J. Highberger (D,46,Y), Ronald B. Ellis (R,47,N), Jennifer Day (D,48,Y), Megan Lynn (R,49,Y), Fred C. Patton (R,50,Y), Ron L. Highland (R,51,Y), Jesse Borjon (R,52,Y), Jim Gartner (D,53,Y), Ken Corbet (R,54,Y), Annie Kuether (D,55,Y), Virgil Weigel (D,56,Y), John Alcala (D,57,N), Vic Miller (D,58,Y), Blaine Finch (R,59,Y), Mark Schreiber (R,60,Y), Francis Awerkamp (R,61,Y), Randy Garber (R,62,N), John R. Eplee (R,63,N), Susan L. Carlson (R,64,Y), Lonnie G. Clark (R,65,N), Sydney Carlin (D,66,Y), Mike Dodson (R,67,Y), Dave Baker (R,68,Y), Clarke Sanders (R,69,Y), John E. Barker (R,70,Y), Steven K. Howe (R,71,N), Avery Anderson (R,72,Y), Les Mason (R,73,N), Stephen Owens (R,74,Y), Will Carpenter (R,75,Y), Eric L. Smith (R,76,N), Kristey S. Williams (R,77,Y), Ron Ryckman Jr. (R,78,Y), Cheryl Helmer (R,79,N), Bill Rhiley (R,80,N), Blake Carpenter (R,81,Y), Jesse Burris (R,82,Y), Henry M. Helgerson Jr. (D,83,N), Gail Finney (D,84,Y), Patrick Penn (R,85,Y), Stephanie Byers (D,86,Y), Susan Oliver Estes (R,87,Y), Elizabeth B. Bishop (D,88,N), Kelechi “KC” Ohaebosim (D,89,Y), Steve Huebert (R,90,N), Emil M. Bergquist (R,91,N), John Carmichael (D,92,N), Brian Bergkamp (R,93,Y), Leo G. Delperdang (R,94,N), Tom Sawyer (D,95,Y), Tom Kessler II (R,96,Y), Nick J. Hoheisel (R,97,Y), Ron Howard (R,98,DNV), Susan Humphries (R,99,Y), Daniel R. Hawkins (R,100,Y), Joe Seiwert (R,101,N), Jason Probst (D,102,Y), Ponka-We Victors (D,103,Y), Paul Waggoner (R,104,Y), Brenda K. Landwehr (R,105,Y), Lisa M. Moser (R,106,Y), Susan L. Concannon (R,107,Y), Steven C. Johnson (R,108,Y), Troy L. Waymaster (R,109,Y), Ken Rahjes (R,110,Y), Barbara K. Wasinger (R,111,Y), Tory Marie Arnberger (R,112,Y), Brett Fairchild (R,113,Y), Michael Murphy (R,114,N), Boyd Orr (R,115,Y), Kyle Hoffman (R,116,N), Tatum Lee (R,117,N), James “Jim” Minnix (R,118,Y), Bradley Ralph (R,119,Y), Adam C. Smith (R,120,Y), John Resman (R,121,N), Russell Jennings (R,122,Y), John P. Wheeler Jr. (R,123,Y), Martin Long (R,124,Y), Shannon Francis (R,125,Y)
HB 2264 passed the Kansas House of Representatives with 95 yes votes. This was a bipartisan bill with 60 Republicans voting yes and 35 Democrats voting yes. A total of 25 Republicans and 4 Democrats voted no. One Republican did not vote. All but five Representatives still preside in the House of Representatives.
Highlights of the bill include: Defines "student athlete" or "athlete" as a participant in varsity intercollegiate athletics who is a student at a postsecondary educational institution registered for courses full-time on the first day of class of a semester, session or term or who practices or competes in intercollegiate athletics (Sec. 1.f). Prohibits an athletic association from doing the following (Sec. 2.b): Prevent, restrict, impose any condition or penalty upon or otherwise limit a student athlete of a postsecondary educational institution from fully participating in intercollegiate athletics and earning compensation as a result of the student athlete's use of the student athlete's name, image, likeness rights or athletic reputation; or Prevent, restrict, impose any condition or penalty upon or otherwise limit a postsecondary educational institution, its employees or volunteers from fully participating in intercollegiate athletics as a result of a student athlete's use of the student athlete's name, image, likeness rights or athletic reputation to earn compensation. Prohibits a postsecondary educational institution or athletic association from doing the following (Sec. 3.a): Interfere with or prevent a student athlete who is enrolled at a postsecondary educational institution within the state of Kansas and who participates in intercollegiate athletics from obtaining professional representation in relation to contracts or legal matters, including, but not limited to, representation provided by an athlete agent or legal representation provided by an attorney; or Interfere with or prevent a student athlete from fully participating in intercollegiate athletics as a result of the student athlete obtaining professional representation in relation to contracts or legal matters, including, but not limited to, representation provided by an athlete agent or legal representation provided by an attorney. Requires a student athlete to be deemed to have granted the student's postsecondary educational institution the right, royalty-free and without compensation in return therefor, to use the student athlete's name, image, likeness rights or athletic reputation and any alterations thereto, to the extent and in the form determined in the institution's sole discretion, at any time for its advertising and marketing related to the postsecondary educational institution's athletic, academic, promotional and historical interests (Sec. 4.a). Specifies this act does not apply to any accredited not-for-profit postsecondary educational institution with a physical presence in this state that is exempted from the Kansas private and out-of-state postsecondary educational institution act if such institution elects to be exempted from the provisions of this act (Sec. 5.b).