5 new laws and vetoed bills that have potential to get overridden in Kansas

Article/Government and Politics - 6 minutes

Governor Laura Kelly has been busy signing bills into law or vetoing them and sending them back to the House and Senate to vote to override. I’ve already written about a few of these bills including the ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,’ the ‘Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,’ and the Eddie the Eagle Firearms Education program, so I will not be going over those. However, there is still a lot of interesting bills that Kansans need to know about, so let’s dive in.

1. H Sub for SB116—Removing state agency fees for licenses to carry concealed handguns

Governor Kelly signed H Sub for SB116 into law on Thursday, April 20, 2023, making Kansas the second state in the country with both constitutional carry and free concealed carry permits. Originally, there was a nonrefundable licensing fee of $132.50. This is a combined total of the money paid to the Attorney General ($100) and to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides ($32.50). You still have to pay the $32.50 to the sheriff of your county, but the $100 fee to the Attorney General is gone, allowing more Kansans to be able to afford a concealed carry permit should they want one, essentially eliminating a barrier to receive safety training for concealed carry. This was a bipartisan bill that received so much support in both the House and Senate that even if Governor Kelly had vetoed it, the veto would have likely been overridden. Given Governor Kelly’s history with gun laws, it does make sense that she would support this bill, as she has voted for constitutional carry in the past when she was a Kansas Senator.

2. SB180—The ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’

Governor Kelly vetoed the ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ on Thursday, April 20, 2023, preventing it from becoming law for the time being. What this bill does is provide a legal definition for ‘female’ across state law. This bill does have potential to be overridden, however, as the Senate supported the bill with enough votes to override a veto. The House passed the bill as well 83-41, they will need 84 votes to override the veto.

3. HB2264—The ‘No Patient Left Alone Act’ and the abortion pill reversal notice

This is really a couple bills in one and we can speculate that the governor vetoed it due to the abortion pill reversal notice. Kansas Truth Caucus did a pretty good summary of the ‘No Patient Left Alone Act.’ They state that the act,

“establishes a patient’s right to receive visitors they designate at a patient care facility. Should the patient be incapable of deciding who may visit them, the patient’s agent for health care, appointed by a durable power of attorney, may appoint visitors, instead. Additionally, the bill establishes a Patient’s Bill of Rights, which ensures the patient’s right to information and confidentiality, as well as their right to be free from abuse and corporal punishment, among other things.”

As far as the abortion reversal side goes, what this bill does is make it so that women who receive a medication abortion involving the drug mifepristone receive a notice that it is not always effective and may even be possible to reverse as long as the second pill or tablet (misoprostol) has not been administered.

Governor Kelly vetoed this bill on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, stating, “In August, Kansans made clear that they believe personal healthcare decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in Topeka. This bill would interfere with that relationship and given the uncertain science behind it, could be harmful to Kansans’ health.”

The abortion pill reversal often uses progesterone. Those who tend to be pro-life claim it is safe and if used within 24 hours, there is a 62 percent chance the pregnancy will continue. Those who tend to be pro-abortion say treatment is inconclusive at best. Planned Parenthood claiming no “reliable medical study” has proven it works. However, Planned Parenthood also stated,

“Studies on the abortion pill do show that if you take the first medicine but not the second, the abortion pill is less likely to work. So if you’ve begun the process of having an abortion using the abortion pill but are having second thoughts, contact the doctor or nurse you saw for the abortion right away to talk about your best next steps and what to expect.”

So, what is progesterone? Essentially, it’s a naturally occurring hormone created early on in pregnancy, playing an essential role in nurturing the developing fetus and maintaining a supportive environment. Taking progesterone early on is already recommended for women with a high risk of early miscarriage who are having any vaginal spotting or bleeding. It isn’t always effective, but it does work sometimes.

There is somewhat of a chance that this bill will get overridden. The House passed it 80-38—there were seven House members who did not show to vote including four Republicans who tend to be more pro-life. The Senate passed the bill 26-11, they would need 27 to override the veto.

4. S Sub for HB2138—Separating students of each biological sex

Governor Kelly vetoed this bill on April 20, 2023. She released a statement regarding her veto of this bill along with SB26—Parents’ Bill of Rights, SB180—Women’s Bill of Rights, and SB228—would ensure males and females are separated while incarcerated.

“Companies have made it clear that they are not interested in doing business with states that discriminate against workers and their families,” Governor Kelly stated. “By stripping away rights from Kansans and opening the state up to expensive and unnecessary lawsuits, these bills would hurt our ability to continue breaking economic records and landing new business deals.

“I’m focused on the economy. Anyone care to join me?”

What this bill would do would make it so schools would have to separate students based on biological sex while providing accommodations on overnight trips including athletic, club, and fundraising events.

Despite the governor’s veto, this bill passed both the House and Senate with enough votes to override, so should they vote to override the veto, this will most likely become Kansas law.

5. SB228—Adopts language to ensure males and females are separated when incarcerated

This bill was bipartisan, passing the House 86-37, the Senate 33-3; however, Governor Kelly did veto this bill. This bill was in response to male rapists identifying as women and being transferred to women’s prisons, according to Kansas Truth Caucus. The big thing this bill does is change the language on laws regarding prisoners and jails to ensure females and males are separated when incarcerated.

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