Editor’s note: Kansas passed dozens of bills into law this legislative session, as well as several budget policies. The following laws, policies and failed bills were covered by The Sunflower throughout the session, or have been selected by editors because of their potential impacts on Wichita State students.

The Kansas legislature passed many bills and budget policies during its most recent session, causing significant changes for Kansas universities and residents.

The session ran between Jan. 12 and April 11.

Budget provisos

The legislature used a new budget process this session — taking full control of creating it — where in previous years, the governor created a budget draft and the legislature could add or take away line items. The governor can still veto the proposed budget. 

All of the state’s public research universities — WSU, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University — received a 2.5% cut in base operations funding. Still, the budget does allow the universities to raise tuition. WSU is planning to raise tuition 4-5%, pending state approval. 

Though a bill presented by the Kansas House restricting universities from requiring classes that include diversity, equity and inclusion related content did not make it out of committee, a budget provision, or policy, with the same goal was passed. 

Over the past three years, provisos relating to DEI have been passed in the higher education budget, starting with prohibiting hiring or promoting faculty or staff based on DEI, then banning any DEI programming or activities. 

Wichita State has worked to comply with all the provisos, most recently by changing general education requirements to remove DEI content. 

Budget provisions have also affected the Student Government Association. 

After a student at K-State reported to the legislature that their SGA violated budget provisions around DEI, the legislature decided that student governments are “quasi-governmental” and make decisions on behalf of their universities and must follow all provisos. 

To avoid conflicts with the law, SGA changed all of its agencies, many of which were related to diversity, into recognized student organizations, which do not have to follow budget provisos. 

The former agencies that were under SGA included the Shockers Vote! Coalition, Spectrum: LGBTQ & Allies, the Black Student Union, the Graduate Student Council, the First-Generation Student Organization, the Asian Student Conference, Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the International Student Union. 

Underserved senator positions, which were defined in SGA’s bylaws as those “who self-identify as LGBTQ+ or disabled individuals, as well as all persons of color,” were changed to at-large senators to comply with budget provisos. 

Bathroom bill

A bill outlawing anyone from using bathrooms or any other single-gender area that doesn’t align with their assigned sex at birth passed after overriding a veto from Governor Laura Kelly. This applies to state universities, and failure to enforce this law will result in a $25,000 fine on the first offence and $125,000 every time after. For individuals, the first offence would result in a written notice, the second could include a $1,000 fine and the third would be a misdemeanor. 

Abortion bills

Two bills have passed this session that would affect how abortions are administered in Kansas. 

House Bill 2727 makes the process of suing doctors or clinics for providing care to patients easier for people who have had abortions and HB 2729 which requires the voluntary and informed consent of whoever receives an abortion. Both bills relate to the woman’s-right-to-know act. 

Proposed bills

Many bills are presented during legislative sessions, but fewer actually pass and become law. Here are two bills that did not pass, but would’ve had a large impact on Kansans. 

Senate Bill 254 was vetoed by Kelly and the veto was sustained by the legislature. This bill would have prohibited undocumented immigrants in Kansas from receiving in-state tuition at public higher education institutions. Undocumented immigrants can receive in-state tuition if they attended a Kansas high school and have not committed a felony. 

Another bill that would have allowed local police officers and federal agents — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers — the ability to establish a 25-foot area around them that citizens could not approach was proposed in the Senate, but died in the House.